Some races anchor the calendar. Others push at its edges. A few manage to do both – shaping not only the season’s results, but its atmosphere, identity and sense of possibility. The Domestic Race of the Year award recognises those events whose organisation, course design, crowd energy and wider impact helped define British domestic cycling in 2025.
Last year’s winner, the Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix, remains one of the jewels in the crown of British road racing – historic, beloved, and as important to the fabric of the sport as ever. But with Lincoln already honoured in 2024, the panel chose to shine the spotlight on a different set of races this year, each of which brought something distinctive to the 2025 season.
Shortlist
Otley Cycle Races
Few events capture the spirit of British cycling quite like the Otley Cycle Races. What began as a local evening criterium has, over the decades, become one of the most iconic fixtures on the domestic calendar – a midweek celebration of speed, noise and Yorkshire grit, with thousands packing into the town centre to witness the chaos. For the past seven years, the race has been steered with calm authority by Sonja Harper, whose commitment to detail and community partnership has kept Otley thriving even as other races have struggled.
The 2025 edition demonstrated once again why Otley is a jewel of the British crit scene: fast, technical racing; a densely-packed crowd; and an atmosphere that leaves a mark on anyone who’s ever raced or watched it. This year also came with the added resonance of a changing future. Former world champion Lizzie Deignan, who grew up nearby, will take over the organising reins from 2026. She refers to Otley, with a mixture of fondness and accuracy, as the “unofficial crit world champs”. On the evidence of 2025, she wasn’t exaggerating: Otley remains a rare blend of history, community and consistently elite bike racing.
Image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
Rutland–Melton CiCLE Classic
If Otley represents the heart of British criterium racing, the Rutland–Melton CiCLE Classic is its test of endurance – an uncompromising one-day epic that stands alone in the domestic calendar. Steeped in its own traditions, inspired by the northern classics and shaped by the rough backroads of Rutland and Melton, the CiCLE Classic remains Britain’s only UCI 1.2 road race; a vital proving ground for developing talent in the UK. And in 2025, it delivered one of its most memorable editions yet.
For the first time, the race began and ended in Oakham, a change that brought a fresh rhythm and a deeper sense of occasion to an event already rich in atmosphere. The familiar brutality remained: the crunch of gravel under tyres, and the narrow farm tracks that tear races to pieces. The peloton fractured early, reformed, then fractured again, before the strongest finally rose to the top. The day belonged to Ben Granger, whose victory was both a breakout ride and a fitting winner for a race defined by toughness, intuition and timing.
The CiCLE Classic remains a benchmark of British road racing – unpredictable, brilliantly organised by Colin Clews, and utterly genuine in its character. In 2025, it was all of that and more.
Image: Milan Josy/The British Continental
VIA Criterium
A comparatively young race but already one of the most forward-looking, the VIA Criterium continued its rise in 2025 as one of the most ambitious events in British cycling. Staged across multiple days in the heart of London, VIA brought a modern, festival-like feel to the domestic crit scene, creating an environment where committed fans and complete newcomers watched shoulder-to-shoulder as the racing played out at arm’s length.
The course was technical and unforgiving, the racing fast and unpredictable, but VIA’s strength lay just as much in its sense of theatre. The backdrop of Coal Drops Yard, the crowds spilling out from cafés and pavements, and the organisers’ clear vision for what city-centre racing can be combined into something rare in British cycle sport: a truly public-facing event that felt open, inviting and energetic. This year’s edition deepened that identity. The racing was sharp, the presentation slick, and the whole weekend carried a sense of ambition – a belief that criterium racing, given the right platform, can reach audiences well beyond the sport’s traditional boundaries.
In a domestic scene hungry for innovation, VIA offered a glimpse of what the next chapter might look like.
Image: Calum Brookes
What’s Next
Three races, three radically different stories. A historic Yorkshire criterium woven into the fabric of its town. A gravel-strewn classic that tests riders to their limits. A contemporary London showcase pointing toward the sport’s future.
The winner of Domestic Race of the Year will be announced next week.
Some races anchor the calendar. Others push at its edges. A few manage to do both – shaping not only the season’s results, but its atmosphere, identity and sense of possibility. The Domestic Race of the Year award recognises those events whose organisation, course design, crowd energy and wider impact helped define British domestic cycling in 2025.
Last year’s winner, the Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix, remains one of the jewels in the crown of British road racing – historic, beloved, and as important to the fabric of the sport as ever. But with Lincoln already honoured in 2024, the panel chose to shine the spotlight on a different set of races this year, each of which brought something distinctive to the 2025 season.
Shortlist
Otley Cycle Races
Few events capture the spirit of British cycling quite like the Otley Cycle Races. What began as a local evening criterium has, over the decades, become one of the most iconic fixtures on the domestic calendar – a midweek celebration of speed, noise and Yorkshire grit, with thousands packing into the town centre to witness the chaos. For the past seven years, the race has been steered with calm authority by Sonja Harper, whose commitment to detail and community partnership has kept Otley thriving even as other races have struggled.
The 2025 edition demonstrated once again why Otley is a jewel of the British crit scene: fast, technical racing; a densely-packed crowd; and an atmosphere that leaves a mark on anyone who’s ever raced or watched it. This year also came with the added resonance of a changing future. Former world champion Lizzie Deignan, who grew up nearby, will take over the organising reins from 2026. She refers to Otley, with a mixture of fondness and accuracy, as the “unofficial crit world champs”. On the evidence of 2025, she wasn’t exaggerating: Otley remains a rare blend of history, community and consistently elite bike racing.
Rutland–Melton CiCLE Classic
If Otley represents the heart of British criterium racing, the Rutland–Melton CiCLE Classic is its test of endurance – an uncompromising one-day epic that stands alone in the domestic calendar. Steeped in its own traditions, inspired by the northern classics and shaped by the rough backroads of Rutland and Melton, the CiCLE Classic remains Britain’s only UCI 1.2 road race; a vital proving ground for developing talent in the UK. And in 2025, it delivered one of its most memorable editions yet.
For the first time, the race began and ended in Oakham, a change that brought a fresh rhythm and a deeper sense of occasion to an event already rich in atmosphere. The familiar brutality remained: the crunch of gravel under tyres, and the narrow farm tracks that tear races to pieces. The peloton fractured early, reformed, then fractured again, before the strongest finally rose to the top. The day belonged to Ben Granger, whose victory was both a breakout ride and a fitting winner for a race defined by toughness, intuition and timing.
The CiCLE Classic remains a benchmark of British road racing – unpredictable, brilliantly organised by Colin Clews, and utterly genuine in its character. In 2025, it was all of that and more.
VIA Criterium
A comparatively young race but already one of the most forward-looking, the VIA Criterium continued its rise in 2025 as one of the most ambitious events in British cycling. Staged across multiple days in the heart of London, VIA brought a modern, festival-like feel to the domestic crit scene, creating an environment where committed fans and complete newcomers watched shoulder-to-shoulder as the racing played out at arm’s length.
The course was technical and unforgiving, the racing fast and unpredictable, but VIA’s strength lay just as much in its sense of theatre. The backdrop of Coal Drops Yard, the crowds spilling out from cafés and pavements, and the organisers’ clear vision for what city-centre racing can be combined into something rare in British cycle sport: a truly public-facing event that felt open, inviting and energetic. This year’s edition deepened that identity. The racing was sharp, the presentation slick, and the whole weekend carried a sense of ambition – a belief that criterium racing, given the right platform, can reach audiences well beyond the sport’s traditional boundaries.
In a domestic scene hungry for innovation, VIA offered a glimpse of what the next chapter might look like.
What’s Next
Three races, three radically different stories.
A historic Yorkshire criterium woven into the fabric of its town.
A gravel-strewn classic that tests riders to their limits.
A contemporary London showcase pointing toward the sport’s future.
The winner of Domestic Race of the Year will be announced next week.
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