The 65th Dulwich Paragon Wally Gimber Trophy returns to the punchy Bletchingley circuit on Sunday, 22 March - a year after a fallen tree brought proceedings to an abrupt halt - with Dylan Hicks, OllyCurd, and a well-stocked JAKROO Handsling Racing line-up among the names to note on a startlist.
The 65th Dulwich Paragon Wally Gimber Trophy returns to the punchy Bletchingley circuit on Sunday, 22 March – a year after a fallen tree brought proceedings to an abrupt halt – with Dylan Hicks, OllyCurd, and a well-stocked JAKROO Handsling Racing line-up among the names to note on a startlist.
Organised by Dulwich Paragon CC and sponsored by JAKROO, the 65th edition covers 140 kilometres on a circuit that has already established a reputation for producing selective, hard racing. This preview covers the course, the riders to watch, and the provisional startlist.
Featured image: Mark James
What is it?
The Wally Gimber Trophy is one of the longest-running road races in the United Kingdom. First run in 1960, the race takes its name from Wally Gimber, a Dulwich Paragon member who excelled at Herne Hill in the late 1940s – London track, massed start, and roller champion in 1948–49, and holder of a national tandem-paced half-mile record of 48.55 seconds. He presented the trophy in person at the club’s 50th anniversary dinner in 1985, and remained in contact with the club until his death in 1993.
The roll of past winners is formidable: Sir Bradley Wiggins won in 2001; Andy Lyons – now team manager of DAS Richardsons – in 2000. Simon Cope and Rob Hurd each won four editions. More recently, Alex Richardson won in 2019 and 2022; Dylan Westley took the 2024 edition in a USKIS Saint Piran one-two. The 2023 edition was stopped after a collision on lap two, and last year’s race was abandoned after a tree came down on the course. Both are unhappy memories the organisers are glad to leave behind.
That the race is happening at all in 2026 owes something to the support of title sponsor JAKROO. Race organiser Patrick Hawkins explains that rising costs and the addition of professional medical provision have left Dulwich Paragon CC covering losses in recent years, compounded by rider numbers that have not recovered to pre-pandemic levels. “Thanks to JAKROO we were able to promote Wally Gimber 2026 with great confidence,” Hawkins says. “They’ve also given us a pretty cool winner’s jersey too.” It is a candid acknowledgement of the financial precarity that sits behind many National B promotions – and a reminder of what title sponsorship can mean in practice.
Route
The race covers 140km, made up of eight and a half laps of a 16.4km circuit. Riders will see eight laps to go the first time they cross the line, with the finish in Outwood.
The circuit is characterised by short, sharp climbs leading into and out of the finish, a false flat along the A25, and a descent and flat section to the southern base of the loop. The key climb is Scott’s Hill, which carries double-digit gradients and, over eight-and-a-half ascents, becomes the decisive selector. Pure rouleurs who can sustain power on repeated short climbs will thrive here; sprinters relying on a large bunch finish will find the terrain works against them.
With 226 metres of elevation per lap, the total climbing sits just under 2,000 metres. It is a course that rewards riders willing to attack on the climbs, and penalises anyone who lets a gap open on the key ascent in the closing laps.
Timings
The race starts at 11.05am. A finish around 2.45pm is anticipated.
Contenders
This looks less like a race with one clear favourite than one where a small number of teams could decide how hard it becomes. DAS Richardsons has the clearest recent winning evidence, JAKROO Handsling and Ride Revolution Coaching both have the numbers and depth to make the race awkward, and Foran CT has riders that suit a selective, wearing day.
DAS Richardsons arrive with the strongest recent proof that they can turn control into a result. Olly Curd won the Jock Wadley Memorial two weeks ago, finishing off a well-executed DAS one-two, and that gives him the freshest outright road-race win of anyone here. He had already opened his 2026 road season with 14th at the Portsdown Classic, so he comes in with both a result and a little continuity behind him. Beside him, Alex Peters gives DAS a different kind of option: not simply another name, but a rider whose experience and judgement become more valuable the harder and more reduced the race gets. If the repeated drags take the edge off the quicker finishers, DAS has two very different but equally plausible winning cards.
Curd (right) wins the Jock Wadley Memorial. Image: Mark James
JAKROO Handsling Racing looks well built for a race that breaks up gradually. Former national junior road race champion Oliver Dawson has the clearest 2026 marker there: ninth on stage one and 11th on stage two of the Peak 2 Day, both signs that he is already competitive on punchy, wearing terrain. Dylan Belton Owen is a fast finisher, as demonstrated by his second place at the Jock Wadley last season, and offers the team another card that also fields road captain Tom Heal, Alex Franks and Oscar Nisbett.
Ride Revolution Coaching has two riders who should come into the picture if the race becomes a proper selection. Clay Davies does not yet have a standout 2026 road result on the board, but his domestic pedigree means he rarely needs much prompting to be competitive deep into a hard National B. Gabriel Dellar has current form to point to: 12th on stage one and fourth on stage two at the Peaks 2-Day last weekend, with a Nat B win already on his record. Alex Pickering and Cameron Still add further race-winning potential to a team with genuine collective strength.
Foran CT also have strong options. Nathan Levitt has already shown his hand in 2026 with fourth at the Portsdown Classic, a ride that immediately backed up the promise he showed as a junior. 2024 Rás Tailteann winner Dom Jackson can never be ruled out if the racing gets selective, while Danylo Riwnyj was one of the breakthrough domestic riders last season with two National B road race wins and a string of strong National Road Series results.
Snodden wins the Evesham Vale Road Race. Image: Josh Wheeler/JoWSportsMedia
OliverSnodden (Mandene Racing) won the Evesham Vale Road Race two weekends ago, which puts him immediately on the shortlist for any selective National B. Samuel Nisbet (Team Tactic U23) finished fourth overall at the Peaks 2-Day and is among the strongest under-23s in the field. Dylan Hicks (UN Cycling Team x Pyörävarikko) is the most recognisable name here – Beaumont Trophy winner in 2025 and a UCI stage winner at the Tour of Hellas in 2024 – and will be marked closely from the start.
Matthew Gilmour (Nopinz RT) arrived at the season opener in second place at the Portsdown Classic and looks a natural fit for this circuit — his strength suits a race that rewards sustained output over repeated short climbs rather than a flat-out bunch finish. Mohammad Ganjkhanlou (Stolen Goat 4Endurance) showed a sharp finish with fifth at the Jock Wadley, while new Wheelbase CabTech Castelli signing Ewan Warren won the Primavera Road Race in Devon last weekend and arrives in form.
Rapha presents The British Continental.
The 65th Dulwich Paragon Wally Gimber Trophy returns to the punchy Bletchingley circuit on Sunday, 22 March – a year after a fallen tree brought proceedings to an abrupt halt – with Dylan Hicks, OllyCurd, and a well-stocked JAKROO Handsling Racing line-up among the names to note on a startlist.
Organised by Dulwich Paragon CC and sponsored by JAKROO, the 65th edition covers 140 kilometres on a circuit that has already established a reputation for producing selective, hard racing. This preview covers the course, the riders to watch, and the provisional startlist.
Featured image: Mark James
What is it?
The Wally Gimber Trophy is one of the longest-running road races in the United Kingdom. First run in 1960, the race takes its name from Wally Gimber, a Dulwich Paragon member who excelled at Herne Hill in the late 1940s – London track, massed start, and roller champion in 1948–49, and holder of a national tandem-paced half-mile record of 48.55 seconds. He presented the trophy in person at the club’s 50th anniversary dinner in 1985, and remained in contact with the club until his death in 1993.
The roll of past winners is formidable: Sir Bradley Wiggins won in 2001; Andy Lyons – now team manager of DAS Richardsons – in 2000. Simon Cope and Rob Hurd each won four editions. More recently, Alex Richardson won in 2019 and 2022; Dylan Westley took the 2024 edition in a USKIS Saint Piran one-two. The 2023 edition was stopped after a collision on lap two, and last year’s race was abandoned after a tree came down on the course. Both are unhappy memories the organisers are glad to leave behind.
That the race is happening at all in 2026 owes something to the support of title sponsor JAKROO. Race organiser Patrick Hawkins explains that rising costs and the addition of professional medical provision have left Dulwich Paragon CC covering losses in recent years, compounded by rider numbers that have not recovered to pre-pandemic levels. “Thanks to JAKROO we were able to promote Wally Gimber 2026 with great confidence,” Hawkins says. “They’ve also given us a pretty cool winner’s jersey too.” It is a candid acknowledgement of the financial precarity that sits behind many National B promotions – and a reminder of what title sponsorship can mean in practice.
Route
The race covers 140km, made up of eight and a half laps of a 16.4km circuit. Riders will see eight laps to go the first time they cross the line, with the finish in Outwood.
The circuit is characterised by short, sharp climbs leading into and out of the finish, a false flat along the A25, and a descent and flat section to the southern base of the loop. The key climb is Scott’s Hill, which carries double-digit gradients and, over eight-and-a-half ascents, becomes the decisive selector. Pure rouleurs who can sustain power on repeated short climbs will thrive here; sprinters relying on a large bunch finish will find the terrain works against them.
With 226 metres of elevation per lap, the total climbing sits just under 2,000 metres. It is a course that rewards riders willing to attack on the climbs, and penalises anyone who lets a gap open on the key ascent in the closing laps.
Timings
The race starts at 11.05am. A finish around 2.45pm is anticipated.
Contenders
This looks less like a race with one clear favourite than one where a small number of teams could decide how hard it becomes. DAS Richardsons has the clearest recent winning evidence, JAKROO Handsling and Ride Revolution Coaching both have the numbers and depth to make the race awkward, and Foran CT has riders that suit a selective, wearing day.
DAS Richardsons arrive with the strongest recent proof that they can turn control into a result. Olly Curd won the Jock Wadley Memorial two weeks ago, finishing off a well-executed DAS one-two, and that gives him the freshest outright road-race win of anyone here. He had already opened his 2026 road season with 14th at the Portsdown Classic, so he comes in with both a result and a little continuity behind him. Beside him, Alex Peters gives DAS a different kind of option: not simply another name, but a rider whose experience and judgement become more valuable the harder and more reduced the race gets. If the repeated drags take the edge off the quicker finishers, DAS has two very different but equally plausible winning cards.
JAKROO Handsling Racing looks well built for a race that breaks up gradually. Former national junior road race champion Oliver Dawson has the clearest 2026 marker there: ninth on stage one and 11th on stage two of the Peak 2 Day, both signs that he is already competitive on punchy, wearing terrain. Dylan Belton Owen is a fast finisher, as demonstrated by his second place at the Jock Wadley last season, and offers the team another card that also fields road captain Tom Heal, Alex Franks and Oscar Nisbett.
Ride Revolution Coaching has two riders who should come into the picture if the race becomes a proper selection. Clay Davies does not yet have a standout 2026 road result on the board, but his domestic pedigree means he rarely needs much prompting to be competitive deep into a hard National B. Gabriel Dellar has current form to point to: 12th on stage one and fourth on stage two at the Peaks 2-Day last weekend, with a Nat B win already on his record. Alex Pickering and Cameron Still add further race-winning potential to a team with genuine collective strength.
Foran CT also have strong options. Nathan Levitt has already shown his hand in 2026 with fourth at the Portsdown Classic, a ride that immediately backed up the promise he showed as a junior. 2024 Rás Tailteann winner Dom Jackson can never be ruled out if the racing gets selective, while Danylo Riwnyj was one of the breakthrough domestic riders last season with two National B road race wins and a string of strong National Road Series results.
Oliver Snodden (Mandene Racing) won the Evesham Vale Road Race two weekends ago, which puts him immediately on the shortlist for any selective National B. Samuel Nisbet (Team Tactic U23) finished fourth overall at the Peaks 2-Day and is among the strongest under-23s in the field. Dylan Hicks (UN Cycling Team x Pyörävarikko) is the most recognisable name here – Beaumont Trophy winner in 2025 and a UCI stage winner at the Tour of Hellas in 2024 – and will be marked closely from the start.
Matthew Gilmour (Nopinz RT) arrived at the season opener in second place at the Portsdown Classic and looks a natural fit for this circuit — his strength suits a race that rewards sustained output over repeated short climbs rather than a flat-out bunch finish. Mohammad Ganjkhanlou (Stolen Goat 4Endurance) showed a sharp finish with fifth at the Jock Wadley, while new Wheelbase CabTech Castelli signing Ewan Warren won the Primavera Road Race in Devon last weekend and arrives in form.
Provisional startlist
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