Across the 2025 domestic season, three riders consistently shaped races, elevated the standard of competition, and delivered results that defined the narrative of women’s road racing in Britain. The Domestic Rider of the Year – Female award recognises the rider who showed the most complete body of work on British roads and beyond – through consistency, impact, leadership, and big-moment performances.
Last year’s winner, Eilidh Shaw, set a high bar with a season of relentless progress. This year’s shortlist reflects a similarly exceptional level of talent and influence – three riders who each, in their own way, became central figures in the domestic calendar.
Shortlist
Kate Richardson (Handsling Alba Development RT)
Kate Richardson’s 2025 season was defined by resilience, clarity of purpose and two milestone victories that re-established her as one of Britain’s most complete young racers. After a traumatic 2024 – a hit-and-run incident, broken bones, and the collapse of her Lifeplus-Wahoo team – Richardson began this year uncertain whether she even had a future in the sport. By March, she had returned to the environment where her career first flourished, rejoining Handsling Alba Development RT. What followed was a striking resurgence.
Her breakthrough came in Czechia, where she produced one of the most composed British performances of the year to win the Tour de Feminin overall – her first UCI victory and the first UCI win in Handsling Alba’s history. After the opening team time trial left the squad 43 seconds down, Richardson grew stronger each day. In the torrential, hilly Queen Stage she forced the decisive move with Ester Wong, Emilie Fortin and Robyn Clay, attacking for bonus seconds and finishing 55 seconds ahead of the peloton to take yellow. On the final stage she held firm under repeated pressure from Malwina Mul and Tess Moerman, finishing safely in the front group to secure the GC. Manager Bob Lyons hailed her as “exceptional… incredibly talented and strong,” praising both her composure and the team’s unity.
Back on home roads a month later, Richardson added the National Circuit Race Championship in Aberystwyth, winning one of the closest finishes in the event’s history after a dead-heat sprint with Lidl–Trek’s Izzy Sharp. For a rider who spent early winter in a difficult mental place, considering stepping away from the sport altogether, the victory confirmed the level she always believed she could reach: competitive with WorldTour riders, and capable of beating them.
Image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
Anna Morris
Anna Morris arrived into 2025 with world-class pedigree on the track – and then delivered a domestic road season that reminded everyone just how complete a rider she has become.
Across the summer, Morris produced one of the most consistent sets of results in Britain, highlighted by a run of four National Circuit Series victories at Colne, Sheffield, Ilkley and Dawlish. Her series campaign was defined by precision and racecraft: she was rarely out of position, rarely off the podium, and repeatedly the quickest rider when it mattered most. That sequence of wins placed her firmly in contention for the Rapha Super-League title all the way to the final round, where she ultimately finished just four points behind Robyn Clay.
Beyond the circuits, Morris was a force across multiple terrains – second at the Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix and the Witheridge Grand Prix, fifth at Wentworth Woodhouse and East Cleveland, and a battling fourth at the National Time Trial Championships.
Her road season was framed by a historic year on the track. In February, she won the European 4000m individual pursuit title, breaking the world record twice in a single day. She then improved that world record again a week later at the British Championships. By autumn, she added team pursuit bronze at the 2025 UCI Track World Championships and successfully defended her individual pursuit world title, rounding out her season with silver in the points race.
The combination of global track dominance and domestic road excellence made Morris one of the defining British riders of 2025. Whether on the boards or through Britain’s town centres, she set the standard week after week – a rider equally capable of devastating solo speed and ruthless finishing power.
Image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
Robyn Clay (DAS–Hutchinson)
Robyn Clay’s 2025 season was one defined by composure, timing and a quiet but unmistakable rise to the very top of the British domestic scene. After a disrupted start — a ten-week Achilles injury lay-off that once might have derailed her entirely — she returned not rushed, but ready. What followed was one of the most complete domestic campaigns of recent years.
Clay won across every terrain the British calendar could offer: the Alexandra Tour of the Reservoir, the Otley Grand Prix, and the Guildford Town Centre Races, each victory marking another step in a season built on patience and self-belief. On sodden Bohemian roads she also claimed her first UCI stage win at the Tour de Feminin, outsprinting Kate Richardson after forcing the decisive split on the Queen Stage.
But it was at home where she made history. Clay became the first rider ever to win all three major season-long titles in the same year – the National Road Series, the National Circuit Series, and the inaugural Rapha Super-League – a treble achieved through consistency as much as brilliance. Her silver medal at the U23 National Time Trial Championships, secured on a borrowed setup against WorldTour opposition, further underlined her versatility and resilience.
By August, Clay had become the benchmark rider in Britain: the one others measured themselves against, the one whose presence shaped how races unfolded. Her results delivered something more lasting too – a first professional contract, signed with Team PicNic–PostNL for 2026, and the realisation of a goal set months earlier in the margins of a notebook.
Image: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com
What next
Three riders who shaped the season.
Only one can win the Domestic Rider of the Year – Female award.
Across the 2025 domestic season, three riders consistently shaped races, elevated the standard of competition, and delivered results that defined the narrative of women’s road racing in Britain. The Domestic Rider of the Year – Female award recognises the rider who showed the most complete body of work on British roads and beyond – through consistency, impact, leadership, and big-moment performances.
Last year’s winner, Eilidh Shaw, set a high bar with a season of relentless progress. This year’s shortlist reflects a similarly exceptional level of talent and influence – three riders who each, in their own way, became central figures in the domestic calendar.
Shortlist
Kate Richardson (Handsling Alba Development RT)
Kate Richardson’s 2025 season was defined by resilience, clarity of purpose and two milestone victories that re-established her as one of Britain’s most complete young racers. After a traumatic 2024 – a hit-and-run incident, broken bones, and the collapse of her Lifeplus-Wahoo team – Richardson began this year uncertain whether she even had a future in the sport. By March, she had returned to the environment where her career first flourished, rejoining Handsling Alba Development RT. What followed was a striking resurgence.
Her breakthrough came in Czechia, where she produced one of the most composed British performances of the year to win the Tour de Feminin overall – her first UCI victory and the first UCI win in Handsling Alba’s history. After the opening team time trial left the squad 43 seconds down, Richardson grew stronger each day. In the torrential, hilly Queen Stage she forced the decisive move with Ester Wong, Emilie Fortin and Robyn Clay, attacking for bonus seconds and finishing 55 seconds ahead of the peloton to take yellow. On the final stage she held firm under repeated pressure from Malwina Mul and Tess Moerman, finishing safely in the front group to secure the GC. Manager Bob Lyons hailed her as “exceptional… incredibly talented and strong,” praising both her composure and the team’s unity.
Back on home roads a month later, Richardson added the National Circuit Race Championship in Aberystwyth, winning one of the closest finishes in the event’s history after a dead-heat sprint with Lidl–Trek’s Izzy Sharp. For a rider who spent early winter in a difficult mental place, considering stepping away from the sport altogether, the victory confirmed the level she always believed she could reach: competitive with WorldTour riders, and capable of beating them.
Anna Morris
Anna Morris arrived into 2025 with world-class pedigree on the track – and then delivered a domestic road season that reminded everyone just how complete a rider she has become.
Across the summer, Morris produced one of the most consistent sets of results in Britain, highlighted by a run of four National Circuit Series victories at Colne, Sheffield, Ilkley and Dawlish. Her series campaign was defined by precision and racecraft: she was rarely out of position, rarely off the podium, and repeatedly the quickest rider when it mattered most. That sequence of wins placed her firmly in contention for the Rapha Super-League title all the way to the final round, where she ultimately finished just four points behind Robyn Clay.
Beyond the circuits, Morris was a force across multiple terrains – second at the Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix and the Witheridge Grand Prix, fifth at Wentworth Woodhouse and East Cleveland, and a battling fourth at the National Time Trial Championships.
Her road season was framed by a historic year on the track. In February, she won the European 4000m individual pursuit title, breaking the world record twice in a single day. She then improved that world record again a week later at the British Championships. By autumn, she added team pursuit bronze at the 2025 UCI Track World Championships and successfully defended her individual pursuit world title, rounding out her season with silver in the points race.
The combination of global track dominance and domestic road excellence made Morris one of the defining British riders of 2025. Whether on the boards or through Britain’s town centres, she set the standard week after week – a rider equally capable of devastating solo speed and ruthless finishing power.
Robyn Clay (DAS–Hutchinson)
Robyn Clay’s 2025 season was one defined by composure, timing and a quiet but unmistakable rise to the very top of the British domestic scene. After a disrupted start — a ten-week Achilles injury lay-off that once might have derailed her entirely — she returned not rushed, but ready. What followed was one of the most complete domestic campaigns of recent years.
Clay won across every terrain the British calendar could offer: the Alexandra Tour of the Reservoir, the Otley Grand Prix, and the Guildford Town Centre Races, each victory marking another step in a season built on patience and self-belief. On sodden Bohemian roads she also claimed her first UCI stage win at the Tour de Feminin, outsprinting Kate Richardson after forcing the decisive split on the Queen Stage.
But it was at home where she made history. Clay became the first rider ever to win all three major season-long titles in the same year – the National Road Series, the National Circuit Series, and the inaugural Rapha Super-League – a treble achieved through consistency as much as brilliance. Her silver medal at the U23 National Time Trial Championships, secured on a borrowed setup against WorldTour opposition, further underlined her versatility and resilience.
By August, Clay had become the benchmark rider in Britain: the one others measured themselves against, the one whose presence shaped how races unfolded. Her results delivered something more lasting too – a first professional contract, signed with Team PicNic–PostNL for 2026, and the realisation of a goal set months earlier in the margins of a notebook.
What next
Three riders who shaped the season.
Only one can win the Domestic Rider of the Year – Female award.
The winner will be announced next week.
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