The Totnes–Vire Two-Day returns to Devon this weekend (4 and 5 April) for its 52nd edition. We preview the route, the contenders, and a field that arrives without a defending champion.
Fifty-two years after Mid Devon CC first promoted a stage race to mark the twinning of Totnes with Vire in Normandy, the tradition holds. Three stages, two days, one of the longest-running events on the British domestic calendar – and a Devon parcours that has a habit of producing memorable racing.
The Totnes–Vire Two-Day returns to Devon this weekend for its 52nd edition. We preview the route, the contenders, and a field that arrives without a defending champion.
The Totnes-Vire Two-Day traces its origins to 1973 and the formal twinning of Totnes with Vire in Normandy – a partnership that gave the race its name and an early sense of occasion that has outlasted the civic ceremony by half a century. Now in its 52nd edition, it remains one of the most warmly regarded stage races on the British domestic calendar, organised and promoted by Mid Devon CC under the coordination of Mike Gratton.
As in previous editions, each stage is named in memory of three club members the Mid Devon CC has lost in recent years: Stage 1 is the Colin Lewis Velopark Criterium, Stage 2 the Ken’s Oddicombe Hill Climb, Stage 3 the Roy Hopkins Dartmoor View Road Race.
Previous winners include Peter Longbottom, Matt Holmes, Rory Townsend, and Steve Lampier, who claimed multiple victories across a long domestic career. Gabe Dellar won the 2024 edition; Luke Barfoot took the 2025 title in dramatic circumstances after overnight leader George Kimber suffered a puncture on the Dartmoor stage.
Route
This year’s edition features three stages set over two days.
Stage 1 | Saturday 4 April | Colin Lewis Velopark Criterium
The race opens on the closed circuit at the Torbay Velopark in Paignton. Signing on from 09:30; start at 10:45. Racing runs for one hour fifteen minutes plus five laps, with the first lap neutralised. Lapped riders are withdrawn and penalised on a sliding scale from two to ten minutes depending on when they are pulled. Time bonuses of 15, ten, and five seconds apply to the top three at the finish.
Stage 2 | Saturday 4 April | Ken’s Oddicombe Hill Climb
The afternoon stage is a hill climb up Oddicombe Hill, Babbacombe – a closed road beside the cliff railway, running 850 yards from the beach through four hairpin bends to the cliff top above. The course has its origins in motor racing from the early 1960s and the track is among the steepest climbs in the country.
Riders set off at one-minute intervals from 15:31, signing on at the top of the hill near the finish. A five-minute break follows rider 29 to allow the second group to descend to the start.
Stage 3 | Sunday 5 April | Roy Hopkins Dartmoor View Road Race
The final stage of the Totnes–Vire Two-Day wraps up with a classic Devon test: narrow lanes, rolling countryside, and plenty of chances to turn the race upside down.
The race starts from Hatherleigh Community Centre at 10:30. The course runs 1.75 large circuits of approximately 48 kilometres through the lanes around Halwill Junction and Beaworthy, cutting at Lamerton Cross onto three and a half laps of a tighter 12-kilometre Jacobstowe circuit. At Bassets Cross the route rejoins the large circuit and returns north to the A386 finish in Hatherleigh. Around 117 kilometres in total, with approximately 1,650 metres of climbing. Time bonuses of 15, ten, and five seconds apply at the finish.
The roads on the smaller circuit are technical – narrow, with sharper corners — and the rolling exposure of the large laps rewards riders who can manage their effort over many hours. With GC gaps typically still marginal after the first day, the Dartmoor stage regularly produces decisive racing.
Riders to watch
Cameron McLaren (TAAP Kalas) returns to a race where he won the opening criterium in 2025, and he arrives as part of the largest squad in the field – seven riders who will look to control the race for him where they can. A stage hunter rather than a guaranteed GC threat, he is worth watching on the Torbay Velopark circuit and at the finish in Hatherleigh if the race comes together in a way that suits him.
The clearest form line belongs to Matthew Gilmour (Nopinz RT), who finished second at the Portsdown Classic in February and ninth at the Jock Wadley in March – the strongest early-season result among those present this weekend. Gilmour spent 2025 at Primera–TeamJobs before signing for the rebranded Nopinz outfit over winter, and arrives at Totnes–Vire with six teammates and a point to prove.
Piers Mahn (DAS Richardsons) is back where he finished second twelve months ago, albeit in different colours. The 20-year-old moved from Halesowen A&CC to DAS Richardsons over the winter, and his early-season results suggest the transition has not cost him sharpness: fourth in the break at Evesham Vale in March, fifteenth at the Peaks 2-Day. He returns to Devon knowing what the race demands and knowing he can ride to the podium.
Snodden wins the Evesham Vale Road Race. Image: Josh Wheeler/JoWSportsMedia
Among those likely to make their mark on individual stages: Ollie Snodden (Mandene Racing) comes in as the most recent National B winner in the field, having taken victory at Evesham Vale in March – a well-timed attack from a four-man group that earned him his first win at that level and had him telling The British Continental afterwards, “coming out of winter, it’s always hard to gauge how well you’re going, and I couldn’t have wished for a better start.” The 25-year-old also raced the Tour of Kosovo last season.
Clay Davies (RideRevolution Coaching CT) has quietly built the most consistent early-season record of anyone in this startlist – ninth at the Portsdown Classic after an untimely puncture on the finishing climb, fifth at the Wally Gimber, fifth again at Kennel Hill Classic, placing him seventh in the national rankings with 90 points. The 33-year-old is a difficult rider to lose over three stages on Devon roads, and RideRevolution send two riders here, with Alex Pickering the other. Pickering, 22, has had a quietly promising start to 2026 – third at the Wally Gimber Trophy in March is the standout result, and sixth on stage two of the Peaks 2-Day suggests he can handle varied terrain. Primarily a time trialist by background, the Oddicombe hill climb is likely to be his stage of the weekend.
Lewis Tinsley (BCC Race Team) arrives with arguably the strongest stage racing form in the field. Third overall at the Peaks 2-Day in March – sixth on stage one, fifth on stage two – he has shown he can back up across consecutive days on demanding terrain. Tenth at the PB Performance Espoirs Road Race adds further weight. Of all the riders here, Tinsley may be the one whose early-season form is most directly transferable to what Totnes–Vire asks.
Joshua Horsfield joined Cycling Sheffield this winter at 24 – slightly older than the team’s usual profile – after a 2025 that included a stage win at the Sherpa Performance Stage Race and seven National B top tens. He opened his 2026 account with sixth at the Portsdown Classic and has followed that with 14th at Evesham Vale.
Josh Horsfield. Image: Paceline Media
Elliott Colyer (Aero CLCTV Race Team) is the founder and rider of the new collective, a physics graduate whose racing background has always blended speed with intelligence. A winner of the Pain on Portsdown time trial in 2026, Colyer formerly raced for TAAP Kalas before leaving to launch Aero CLCTV. He brings four riders to Devon. Oddicombe may be his morning.
Fifty-two years after Mid Devon CC first promoted a stage race to mark the twinning of Totnes with Vire in Normandy, the tradition holds. Three stages, two days, one of the longest-running events on the British domestic calendar – and a Devon parcours that has a habit of producing memorable racing.
The Totnes–Vire Two-Day returns to Devon this weekend for its 52nd edition. We preview the route, the contenders, and a field that arrives without a defending champion.
Featured image: Chris Godfrey
What is it?
The Totnes-Vire Two-Day traces its origins to 1973 and the formal twinning of Totnes with Vire in Normandy – a partnership that gave the race its name and an early sense of occasion that has outlasted the civic ceremony by half a century. Now in its 52nd edition, it remains one of the most warmly regarded stage races on the British domestic calendar, organised and promoted by Mid Devon CC under the coordination of Mike Gratton.
As in previous editions, each stage is named in memory of three club members the Mid Devon CC has lost in recent years: Stage 1 is the Colin Lewis Velopark Criterium, Stage 2 the Ken’s Oddicombe Hill Climb, Stage 3 the Roy Hopkins Dartmoor View Road Race.
Previous winners include Peter Longbottom, Matt Holmes, Rory Townsend, and Steve Lampier, who claimed multiple victories across a long domestic career. Gabe Dellar won the 2024 edition; Luke Barfoot took the 2025 title in dramatic circumstances after overnight leader George Kimber suffered a puncture on the Dartmoor stage.
Route
This year’s edition features three stages set over two days.
Stage 1 | Saturday 4 April | Colin Lewis Velopark Criterium
The race opens on the closed circuit at the Torbay Velopark in Paignton. Signing on from 09:30; start at 10:45. Racing runs for one hour fifteen minutes plus five laps, with the first lap neutralised. Lapped riders are withdrawn and penalised on a sliding scale from two to ten minutes depending on when they are pulled. Time bonuses of 15, ten, and five seconds apply to the top three at the finish.
Stage 2 | Saturday 4 April | Ken’s Oddicombe Hill Climb
The afternoon stage is a hill climb up Oddicombe Hill, Babbacombe – a closed road beside the cliff railway, running 850 yards from the beach through four hairpin bends to the cliff top above. The course has its origins in motor racing from the early 1960s and the track is among the steepest climbs in the country.
Riders set off at one-minute intervals from 15:31, signing on at the top of the hill near the finish. A five-minute break follows rider 29 to allow the second group to descend to the start.
Stage 3 | Sunday 5 April | Roy Hopkins Dartmoor View Road Race
The final stage of the Totnes–Vire Two-Day wraps up with a classic Devon test: narrow lanes, rolling countryside, and plenty of chances to turn the race upside down.
The race starts from Hatherleigh Community Centre at 10:30. The course runs 1.75 large circuits of approximately 48 kilometres through the lanes around Halwill Junction and Beaworthy, cutting at Lamerton Cross onto three and a half laps of a tighter 12-kilometre Jacobstowe circuit. At Bassets Cross the route rejoins the large circuit and returns north to the A386 finish in Hatherleigh. Around 117 kilometres in total, with approximately 1,650 metres of climbing. Time bonuses of 15, ten, and five seconds apply at the finish.
The roads on the smaller circuit are technical – narrow, with sharper corners — and the rolling exposure of the large laps rewards riders who can manage their effort over many hours. With GC gaps typically still marginal after the first day, the Dartmoor stage regularly produces decisive racing.
Riders to watch
Cameron McLaren (TAAP Kalas) returns to a race where he won the opening criterium in 2025, and he arrives as part of the largest squad in the field – seven riders who will look to control the race for him where they can. A stage hunter rather than a guaranteed GC threat, he is worth watching on the Torbay Velopark circuit and at the finish in Hatherleigh if the race comes together in a way that suits him.
The clearest form line belongs to Matthew Gilmour (Nopinz RT), who finished second at the Portsdown Classic in February and ninth at the Jock Wadley in March – the strongest early-season result among those present this weekend. Gilmour spent 2025 at Primera–TeamJobs before signing for the rebranded Nopinz outfit over winter, and arrives at Totnes–Vire with six teammates and a point to prove.
Piers Mahn (DAS Richardsons) is back where he finished second twelve months ago, albeit in different colours. The 20-year-old moved from Halesowen A&CC to DAS Richardsons over the winter, and his early-season results suggest the transition has not cost him sharpness: fourth in the break at Evesham Vale in March, fifteenth at the Peaks 2-Day. He returns to Devon knowing what the race demands and knowing he can ride to the podium.
Among those likely to make their mark on individual stages: Ollie Snodden (Mandene Racing) comes in as the most recent National B winner in the field, having taken victory at Evesham Vale in March – a well-timed attack from a four-man group that earned him his first win at that level and had him telling The British Continental afterwards, “coming out of winter, it’s always hard to gauge how well you’re going, and I couldn’t have wished for a better start.” The 25-year-old also raced the Tour of Kosovo last season.
Clay Davies (RideRevolution Coaching CT) has quietly built the most consistent early-season record of anyone in this startlist – ninth at the Portsdown Classic after an untimely puncture on the finishing climb, fifth at the Wally Gimber, fifth again at Kennel Hill Classic, placing him seventh in the national rankings with 90 points. The 33-year-old is a difficult rider to lose over three stages on Devon roads, and RideRevolution send two riders here, with Alex Pickering the other. Pickering, 22, has had a quietly promising start to 2026 – third at the Wally Gimber Trophy in March is the standout result, and sixth on stage two of the Peaks 2-Day suggests he can handle varied terrain. Primarily a time trialist by background, the Oddicombe hill climb is likely to be his stage of the weekend.
Lewis Tinsley (BCC Race Team) arrives with arguably the strongest stage racing form in the field. Third overall at the Peaks 2-Day in March – sixth on stage one, fifth on stage two – he has shown he can back up across consecutive days on demanding terrain. Tenth at the PB Performance Espoirs Road Race adds further weight. Of all the riders here, Tinsley may be the one whose early-season form is most directly transferable to what Totnes–Vire asks.
Joshua Horsfield joined Cycling Sheffield this winter at 24 – slightly older than the team’s usual profile – after a 2025 that included a stage win at the Sherpa Performance Stage Race and seven National B top tens. He opened his 2026 account with sixth at the Portsdown Classic and has followed that with 14th at Evesham Vale.
Elliott Colyer (Aero CLCTV Race Team) is the founder and rider of the new collective, a physics graduate whose racing background has always blended speed with intelligence. A winner of the Pain on Portsdown time trial in 2026, Colyer formerly raced for TAAP Kalas before leaving to launch Aero CLCTV. He brings four riders to Devon. Oddicombe may be his morning.
Provisional startlist
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