Royal Navy Cup cancelled for 2026 as SWRRG unable to find organiser
The Royal Navy Cup will not take place in 2026 after the South West Road Race Working Group confirmed it has been unable to secure an organiser, halting the young National B event ahead of what would have been its third edition.
The Royal Navy Cup will not take place in 2026 after the South West Road Race Working Group (SWRRG) confirmed it has been unable to find a replacement organiser for the event.
The race will not be registered with British Cycling this year, bringing an abrupt pause to what would have been its third edition.
Held on the Ilton circuit at RNAS Merryfield in Somerset, the Royal Navy Cup quickly established itself as one of the South West’s distinctive early-season fixtures. At 120km, the open race qualified as a road race despite being run on a closed circuit, offering riders a valuable opportunity to accumulate race miles and National B ranking points in March.
The event first ran in 2024, when Jordan Giles claimed victory in the open race and Niamh Murphy won the women’s event.
2025 Royal Navy Cup. Image Credit: PelotonPix / Dave Dodge Photography
In 2025, Monte Guerrini (Le Col Race Team) won the Royal Navy Cup road race in a two-up sprint against breakaway companion Jamie Whitcher (BmthCycleworks VitecFire FordCE), the pair having animated the race with a decisive move clear of the field.
The women’s circuit race delivered equally compelling drama. Katie-Anne Calton (Team Boompods) secured victory in an exhilarating sprint finish, narrowly edging out UCI Continental rider Holly Ramsey (Hess Cycling Team). Jennifer Lemen (PDQ Cycle Coaching Property Elite), who had instigated the decisive late move, completed the podium.
The cancellation removes what would have been the second National B road race of the 2026 season.
The first National B Open road race in the South West will now be the Totnes Vire Stage Race on the first weekend of April. The National Junior event at Hatherleigh (8 March) remains on the calendar, as do several circuit races at RNAS Merryfield later in the year, including the 1st Chard Wheelers Circuit Races, the Panaracer GP and the Kalas Cup / White Lake Cheese Stage Races.
The Royal Navy Cup will not take place in 2026 after the South West Road Race Working Group (SWRRG) confirmed it has been unable to find a replacement organiser for the event.
The race will not be registered with British Cycling this year, bringing an abrupt pause to what would have been its third edition.
Held on the Ilton circuit at RNAS Merryfield in Somerset, the Royal Navy Cup quickly established itself as one of the South West’s distinctive early-season fixtures. At 120km, the open race qualified as a road race despite being run on a closed circuit, offering riders a valuable opportunity to accumulate race miles and National B ranking points in March.
The event first ran in 2024, when Jordan Giles claimed victory in the open race and Niamh Murphy won the women’s event.
In 2025, Monte Guerrini (Le Col Race Team) won the Royal Navy Cup road race in a two-up sprint against breakaway companion Jamie Whitcher (BmthCycleworks VitecFire FordCE), the pair having animated the race with a decisive move clear of the field.
The women’s circuit race delivered equally compelling drama. Katie-Anne Calton (Team Boompods) secured victory in an exhilarating sprint finish, narrowly edging out UCI Continental rider Holly Ramsey (Hess Cycling Team). Jennifer Lemen (PDQ Cycle Coaching Property Elite), who had instigated the decisive late move, completed the podium.
The cancellation removes what would have been the second National B road race of the 2026 season.
The first National B Open road race in the South West will now be the Totnes Vire Stage Race on the first weekend of April. The National Junior event at Hatherleigh (8 March) remains on the calendar, as do several circuit races at RNAS Merryfield later in the year, including the 1st Chard Wheelers Circuit Races, the Panaracer GP and the Kalas Cup / White Lake Cheese Stage Races.
Featured image: PelotonPix/Dave Dodge Photography
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