2026 PB Performance Espoirs Road Race: preview and startlist
The U23 Open National Road Series opens on Sunday 29 March with the PB Performance Espoirs Road Race - a new circuit, a full field, and a guaranteed new name on the trophy.
80 of Britain’s best under-23 road racers descend on south Leicestershire this Sunday for the opening round of the U23 Open National Road Series – and for the fourth edition of a race that has become one of the most reliable early-season showcases for the next generation of domestic talent. The PB Performance Espoirs Road Race has already produced three different winners in three editions; on a new circuit, with a new series standings to play for, the fourth chapter is wide open.
Featured image:Gary Main
What is it?
The PB Performance Espoirs Road Race is the opening round of the 2026 U23 Open National Road Series, a five-event competition that also takes in the Danum Trophy, the Stourbridge CC U23 Road Race, the Yorkshire U23 Classic, and the Chas Messenger Trophy. With the best four scores from five rounds counting towards the overall standings, Round 1 matters – not just for the points, but for the momentum it can give a rider going into the rest of the season.
The race is organised by Team PB Performance, the Leicestershire-based development outfit run by Paul and Louise Bennett. That a domestic club team organises, marshals, and largely staffs a National Series event entirely through its own riders, members, and volunteers says something about both the ambition and the community spirit at the heart of the club. It is, as much as anything, a labour of love – and it shows in the quality of the event.
Now in its fourth edition, the race has built a roll of honour that already reads as a small who’s who of recent young domestic talent: Will Truelove won the inaugural edition in 2023 under the ROKiT–SRCT banner; Archie Peet took it the following year for Reflex Racing in what was widely regarded as an upset; and Alex Beldon, racing as a late reserve entry for Muc-Off–SRCT–Storck in 2025, emerged from a five-rider sprint to take the win.
Route
The 2026 race uses a new circuit – a change from the Breedon course that hosted the previous three editions. Riders will complete 15.5 laps of a 9.68km loop based around the villages of Gilmorton and Ashby Magna in south Leicestershire, with a 4.1km neutralised roll-out from race headquarters at Gilmorton Community Playing Fields. Total racing distance is 150 kilometres.
The new circuit is considerably shorter than its predecessor – almost five kilometres per lap less than the Breedon course – which means laps come around more frequently and the tactical texture of the race will be quite different. Where the old circuit had a relatively long runway between major efforts, the compressed loop here keeps the action relentless.
Races on this circuit tend to blow to pieces. The profile shows a consistently rolling parcours with around 125 metres of climbing per lap: that adds up to just under 1,940 metres of total elevation gain across the full race distance, spread across repeated rises and drags rather than a single defining climb. Without a feature as stark as last year’s Vinegar Hill to organise the race around, the final selection is likely to emerge from accumulated fatigue and accumulated aggression rather than one decisive moment.
Timings
The race begins at 14.00. A Reg A 2/3/4 race takes place in the morning from 9.00.
Contenders
Samuel Nisbet is a good place to begin. The Team Tactic U23 rider – who spent the previous two seasons at Reflex Nopinz – finished second here in 2025, clawing back the five-rider lead group in the final lap before losing the sprint to Beldon. He arrives having visibly hit form early in 2026, finishing 4th at the Peak 2 Day.
Maxwell Hereward arrives as defending series champion. The Zappi Racing rider won the U23 Open National Road Series title in 2025 – a campaign that included fourth place in this race. A new team for 2026 means a new set of colleagues to work with, but his ability to perform across a full series, rather than on one particular day, is well established.
JAKROO Handsling are the strongest team on paper. Alex Franks was third here last year and is now in his second season at the team – enough experience and form – he was 8th last weekend at the Wally Gimber – to make him a co-favourite. Oliver Dawson, the former national junior road race champion, arrives with growing senior confidence and has also made a strong season start, including 6th at the Peak 2 Day. Dylan Belton Owen, a first-year U23 with the Cadence Junior Road Race on his palmares and 2nd at the Jock Wadley Memorial, is another option, while Harrison Dainty and Oscar Nisbett add further depth. With Phill Maddocks in the team car, they have the tactical direction to use their numbers well.
Alex Franks. Image: Mark James
Aero CLCTV are the most intriguing tactical proposition in the field. The rider-led collective founded by Elliott Colyer lines up with Bobby Buenfeld, Colyer, Oscar Hoult, and Archie Wright – riders with a track record of making races uncomfortable for better-resourced outfits. On a short, repetitive circuit that rewards aggression over individual firepower, they have the collective temperament to cause problems from early on.
A week ago, Luca Nicholson was a surprise second at the Dulwich Paragon Wally Gimber Trophy – a result that will have put the Velo Club Baracchi rider on more radars than he was on before. That kind of early-season sharpness is exactly what this race can reward. Jamie Whitcher, lining up for Hubo–Scott Cycling Team, is a specialist time triallist with the engine to make a race over repeated rolling laps; he will hope the new circuit suits him better than a single explosive finish would. Henry Hunter, now with 360cycling after SRCT disbanded, is another rider capable of going with the race’s best moves on a course that keeps asking questions rather than delivering one definitive verdict.
BCC Race Team bring the largest EDT contingent in familiar surroundings. Lewis Tinsley was 11th here in 2025 and has been consistent at this level over several seasons. 3rd at the Peak 2 Day makes him a contender this time around. Ethan Squires makes them a genuine two-card outfit. Host team PB Performance’s George Watch and Iestyn Jones will carry the Bennetts’ hopes on home roads while. John Bardsley, now riding for Atom 6–ADWD, was fifth here in 2025 and is a reliable U23 series performer. Finally, Piers Mahn (DAS Richardsons) is a powerful rider and 4th at the Evesham Vale Road Race suggests he has the form to contend.
80 of Britain’s best under-23 road racers descend on south Leicestershire this Sunday for the opening round of the U23 Open National Road Series – and for the fourth edition of a race that has become one of the most reliable early-season showcases for the next generation of domestic talent. The PB Performance Espoirs Road Race has already produced three different winners in three editions; on a new circuit, with a new series standings to play for, the fourth chapter is wide open.
Featured image: Gary Main
What is it?
The PB Performance Espoirs Road Race is the opening round of the 2026 U23 Open National Road Series, a five-event competition that also takes in the Danum Trophy, the Stourbridge CC U23 Road Race, the Yorkshire U23 Classic, and the Chas Messenger Trophy. With the best four scores from five rounds counting towards the overall standings, Round 1 matters – not just for the points, but for the momentum it can give a rider going into the rest of the season.
The race is organised by Team PB Performance, the Leicestershire-based development outfit run by Paul and Louise Bennett. That a domestic club team organises, marshals, and largely staffs a National Series event entirely through its own riders, members, and volunteers says something about both the ambition and the community spirit at the heart of the club. It is, as much as anything, a labour of love – and it shows in the quality of the event.
Now in its fourth edition, the race has built a roll of honour that already reads as a small who’s who of recent young domestic talent: Will Truelove won the inaugural edition in 2023 under the ROKiT–SRCT banner; Archie Peet took it the following year for Reflex Racing in what was widely regarded as an upset; and Alex Beldon, racing as a late reserve entry for Muc-Off–SRCT–Storck in 2025, emerged from a five-rider sprint to take the win.
Route
The 2026 race uses a new circuit – a change from the Breedon course that hosted the previous three editions. Riders will complete 15.5 laps of a 9.68km loop based around the villages of Gilmorton and Ashby Magna in south Leicestershire, with a 4.1km neutralised roll-out from race headquarters at Gilmorton Community Playing Fields. Total racing distance is 150 kilometres.
The new circuit is considerably shorter than its predecessor – almost five kilometres per lap less than the Breedon course – which means laps come around more frequently and the tactical texture of the race will be quite different. Where the old circuit had a relatively long runway between major efforts, the compressed loop here keeps the action relentless.
Races on this circuit tend to blow to pieces. The profile shows a consistently rolling parcours with around 125 metres of climbing per lap: that adds up to just under 1,940 metres of total elevation gain across the full race distance, spread across repeated rises and drags rather than a single defining climb. Without a feature as stark as last year’s Vinegar Hill to organise the race around, the final selection is likely to emerge from accumulated fatigue and accumulated aggression rather than one decisive moment.
Timings
The race begins at 14.00. A Reg A 2/3/4 race takes place in the morning from 9.00.
Contenders
Samuel Nisbet is a good place to begin. The Team Tactic U23 rider – who spent the previous two seasons at Reflex Nopinz – finished second here in 2025, clawing back the five-rider lead group in the final lap before losing the sprint to Beldon. He arrives having visibly hit form early in 2026, finishing 4th at the Peak 2 Day.
Maxwell Hereward arrives as defending series champion. The Zappi Racing rider won the U23 Open National Road Series title in 2025 – a campaign that included fourth place in this race. A new team for 2026 means a new set of colleagues to work with, but his ability to perform across a full series, rather than on one particular day, is well established.
JAKROO Handsling are the strongest team on paper. Alex Franks was third here last year and is now in his second season at the team – enough experience and form – he was 8th last weekend at the Wally Gimber – to make him a co-favourite. Oliver Dawson, the former national junior road race champion, arrives with growing senior confidence and has also made a strong season start, including 6th at the Peak 2 Day. Dylan Belton Owen, a first-year U23 with the Cadence Junior Road Race on his palmares and 2nd at the Jock Wadley Memorial, is another option, while Harrison Dainty and Oscar Nisbett add further depth. With Phill Maddocks in the team car, they have the tactical direction to use their numbers well.
Aero CLCTV are the most intriguing tactical proposition in the field. The rider-led collective founded by Elliott Colyer lines up with Bobby Buenfeld, Colyer, Oscar Hoult, and Archie Wright – riders with a track record of making races uncomfortable for better-resourced outfits. On a short, repetitive circuit that rewards aggression over individual firepower, they have the collective temperament to cause problems from early on.
A week ago, Luca Nicholson was a surprise second at the Dulwich Paragon Wally Gimber Trophy – a result that will have put the Velo Club Baracchi rider on more radars than he was on before. That kind of early-season sharpness is exactly what this race can reward. Jamie Whitcher, lining up for Hubo–Scott Cycling Team, is a specialist time triallist with the engine to make a race over repeated rolling laps; he will hope the new circuit suits him better than a single explosive finish would. Henry Hunter, now with 360cycling after SRCT disbanded, is another rider capable of going with the race’s best moves on a course that keeps asking questions rather than delivering one definitive verdict.
BCC Race Team bring the largest EDT contingent in familiar surroundings. Lewis Tinsley was 11th here in 2025 and has been consistent at this level over several seasons. 3rd at the Peak 2 Day makes him a contender this time around. Ethan Squires makes them a genuine two-card outfit. Host team PB Performance’s George Watch and Iestyn Jones will carry the Bennetts’ hopes on home roads while. John Bardsley, now riding for Atom 6–ADWD, was fifth here in 2025 and is a reliable U23 series performer. Finally, Piers Mahn (DAS Richardsons) is a powerful rider and 4th at the Evesham Vale Road Race suggests he has the form to contend.
Provisional startlist
*Numbers 81 to 87 are reserves.
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