Sunday’s Witham Hall and Timmy James Memorial Grands Prix double as a Lincoln warm-up, run a week before the cobbles of Michaelgate. JAKROO Handsling’s Oliver Dawson, who tops the open rankings, arrives with three 4th places this spring and no win to show for them. Pursuit world champion Anna Morris, already a winner at the Peaks 2-Day and Capernwray, starts the women’s race as the favourite.
Both fields are deep, and the Timmy James goes without two-time winner James McKay. Several teams bring five or more riders, giving the day a tactical dimension on a course where blind corners and a punchy finish-line drag reward team work.
Tracing its roots back to a junior race organised by Bourne Wheelers – which still runs under a separate stage race, won by Aalia Clay and Gus Dutton (both CAMS majaco) this year – the Witham Hall was converted into a Women’s Nat B in 2024 and has seen a remarkable track record of winners including multiple-time national road race champion Pfeiffer Georgi, Anna Shackley, Jess Roberts, and 2025 winner Phoebe Roche (FTP–Fulfil The Potential Racing).
The Timmy James Memorial was first staged in 2021 as a tribute to club member Tim James, who sadly passed away on 14 May of that year. In addition to celebrating Tim’s life, the event aims to raise much-needed funds for Young Lives vs Cancer, a charity which provided invaluable support to Tim and his family during his final months.
Winner of the first edition of the Memorial, staged by the SwiftCarbon ProCycling Team James had joined ahead of the 2020 season, is the now INEOS Grenadier Sam Watson. James McKay (Atom 6–Cycleur de Luxe–Auto Stroo Continental Team) took victories in both 2023 and 2025, sandwiching Alex Richardson’s triumph for Saint Piran.
Route
More undulating than you would expect when you imagine a course in the traditionally flatter landscape of Lincolnshire, the 18.6km course is devoid of any notable hills but offers 185m of elevation per lap – enough to keep the sprinters and puncheurs interested, especially on the drag up the final rise before the flat run to the finish.
After a neutralised section from Witham Hall Prep School, the race gets going properly from the finish line on Barber’s Hill on the left hand side of the roughly triangular course, which is run anti-clockwise.
Crossing the finish, the circuit continues south on the B1176, dropping down into Ryhall Village. From there, the course turns left and heads up the A6121 and goes through Essendine and Carlby Villages before a 90-degree left back toward the HQ and its tight right/left square corners which could be made even more challenging should parked cars or traffic make an appearance.
Past the school, the race descends towards Little Bytham before a left toward Careby and a short half-a-kilometre climb back to the finish. At 4.2% it’s not the steepest of climbs on the British calendar but come the closing stages of the race it’s more than enough to shake up the peloton as they rush for the chequered flag.
That circuit is tackled 5.5 times for the Witham Hall GP (96km), with an extra three tours added for the Timmy James Memorial (8.5 laps/150km).
Timings
The Witham Hall Women’s Grand Prix kicks off the action at 9.30, with the Timmy James Memorial getting underway at 13.30.
At the moment, the Met Office suggests the weather is going to be overcast and cloudy, with a southerly breeze – a handy tailwind down the finishing straight?
Riders to watch
Witham Hall Grand Prix
As a good leg stretcher ahead of Lincoln, there’s a decent sized entry for both races, with any number of riders in with a chance of starting the Lincolnshire double-header with a win under their belts.
Anna Morris taking victory at Capernwray (Image: Joe Hudson)
Anna Morris is the stand-out rider on the entry list, bringing no end of firepower and stamina to a rolling course that should suit the Individual Pursuit world champion down to the ground. Despite a limited road programme this year, she’s already taken stage and GC glory at the Peaks 2-Day and a win at the Capernwray Road Race. A 5th at the East Cleveland Classic demonstrates she’s not afraid of steep ascents like that found at Saltburn Bank.
That said, Georgia Lancaster (Loughborough Lightning) comes to what is a home race for her with good form of her own. Her success at the Florrie Newbery Classic showcased both performance and tactical nous as she prevailed in a three-up sprint to take a well-earned first win of the season, and with this course flattening out to a lengthy sprint, don’t count her out for putting out the same wattage that took victory a few short weeks ago.
Isabella Johnson (Jadan Vive le Velo p/b Glasdon) heads to Lincolnshire on the back of 4th at the Florrie Newbery, mirroring her runner-up finish at the same race in 2025. A 10th at Witham Hall last year confirms the circuit suits her.
Megan Cherry (CAMS majaco) brings recent knowledge of this very course, having taken two top fives on her way to 5th in the GC at the Witham Hall Junior Women’s 2 Day. Combine that with victory at GP La Taintignoise and 24th at the always brutal Women’s CiCLE Classic means Cherry could be a dark horse for a good result.
Megan Cherry at the CiCLE Classic (Image: Olly Hassell/SWPix.com)
Amelia Staunton (Brother UK – On Form) leads a deep eight-rider Brother UK contingent. The 18-year-old took 3rd at the Florrie Newbery and brings personal form she has translated into Witham success in each of the past two editions: 2nd in 2024, 5th in 2025.
8th at this race last year was Isabel Darvill (O’Shea – Development Team), and she heads to the Lincolnshire/Rutland border on a solid run of form. Top tens at the London Academy Easter Road Race and at Florrie Newbery shows she’s hitting the levels one would expect of a circuit series front-runner as she continues to make a comeback from an injury-disrupted 2025. This course rewards riders who can showcase solid bike handling skills, and Darvill has those in spades.
In our preview for the Florrie Newbery, we highlighted Sophie Holmes (The Hera Project) as one to watch as she continues her road back to 100% fitness after a promising 2025 was cut short after a hit-and-run. After 12th place in Essex, it seems more certain than ever that Holmes is closing in on recapturing the form that propelled her to two wins last season.
After a year which began on the track, Katie-Anne Calton (Paralloy RT) took 6th in the chaos of the sprint at the Florrie Newbery to add to a 2nd place at the March Hare Classic and will be looking to build from there as she combines further events on the velodrome with ventures out onto the road. She arrives as part of a six-rider Paralloy RT contingent — the largest team line-up in the women’s race — which also includes Millie Skinner, 9th here in 2025 in Boompods colours.
Alderney Baker (Image: Olly Hassell/SWPix.com)
A proven winner off-road, Alderney Baker (Team Empella) is getting back to racing on asphalt after a pause to recover from a winter of cyclocross. Taking 15th at London Academy’s Easter Road Race at the start of April, she’s got the engine and explosive power to quickly slip out of sight on the blind corners that make up the lap. Don’t count her out from bagging a positive result this Bank Holiday weekend.
Timmy James Memorial Grand Prix
With two-time winner James McKay not on the startlist for this weekend, there’s an opportunity for another rider to step up and take victory.
Jack Rootkin-Gray is an intriguing addition to the startlist for the Timmy James. Echoing what we said in our preview for the Chitterne Road Race, Rootkin-Gray presents something of an unknown quantity for this race too. After two years in the WorldTour with EF Education–EasyPost, the 23-year-old is back on the British scene and seemingly looking to get more mileage in his legs as he builds up to whatever might be next. Whilst his longer-term objectives might be unknown, one thing we can be certain of is his ability to grab this race by the scruff of the neck and make it his own.
Oliver Dawson (JAKROO Handsling Racing) heads into this race at the top of The British Continental road race rankings and for good reason. His has been a season of consistency, with 4th places at the Clayton Spring Classic, PB Performance Espoirs Road Race, and the Rutland–Melton CiCLE Classic, complementing a handful of top 15s at other Nat Bs across the country. What’s missing, though, is a break-through win to cap off an early season run that has marked the 19-year-old out as one to watch over whichever parcours he tackles.
Oliver Dawson at the Clayton Spring Classic (Image: Joe Hudson)
Chasing him down in the standings is Clay Davies (RideRevolution Coaching CT), and with 2nd in the GC at Totnes–Vire – aided by a runner-up spot on Stage 3 – he is banking the points as and where he can. A 7th at the East Cleveland Classic shows he doesn’t mind tackling ascents, and will be looking for a positive finish here to make up for a DNF at the Andrews Trophy – a blip on what has been a strong season so far.
All but one result within the top 20 from six starts this season has put Josh Housley (RideRevolution Coaching CT) in a strong position to capitalise in Lincolnshire. 7th in 2024, his versatility could come in crucial. Combined with Davies’ explosive start to the season, it could be a good day for the team. Another RideRevolution Coaching CT rider, Gabriel Dellar, gives the team a third card to play, fresh from 4th on stage 2 at the Peak 2 Day. He has unfinished business with this race, too: 12th in each of the last two editions.
Cycling Sheffield bring six riders, with Alexander Foster the standout. The 21-year-old won the Danum Trophy two weeks ago, opened his season with 3rd at the Clayton Spring Classic, and has banked top-10s at Capernwray and the PB Performance Espoirs Road Race in between. He’s the squad’s clearest contender for the win. Teammate Joshua Horsfield will be looking to bounce back from a DNF at the CiCLE Classic and rediscover the form he showed at the start of the road season.
Josh Housley at the East Cleveland Classic (Image: Simon Wilkinson/SWPix.com)
Will Truelove (JAKROO Handsling) is a rider with a point to prove. As he told The British Continental in a recent interview, he’s more motivated than ever to take his first win since 2023. Whilst this season has probably started the way he’d have wanted, a 24th at the CiCLE has shown there are signs that his legs are getting back into the sort of zone that took him to three podiums and a dozen more top tens in 2025. Alex Franks (JAKROO Handsling Racing) gives Dawson and Truelove a third in-form team-mate to play with. The 20-year-old took 3rd at the East Cleveland Classic three weeks ago and 2nd at the Kennel Hill Classic in March — the most consistent podium threat in JAKROO’s spring campaign. With five JAKROO riders on the start sheet, the team has the numbers to race tactically as well as individually.
Luca Nicholson (Velo Club Baracchi) is the less familiar name on the startlist worth knowing. The 18-year-old took 2nd at the Wally Gimber Trophy in March before winning the U23-only PB Performance Espoirs Road Race a week later — an opening pair of results that mark him as one of 2026’s early breakouts.
George Stephen (BCC Race Team) anchors a seven-strong BCC line-up. The 20-year-old took 2nd at the PB Performance Espoirs Road Race in March – beaten only by Nicholson – and has built steadily through the spring. Jack Crook (Moda RT) is back on British roads after two seasons in France with UV Aube and Bricquebec Cotentin. The 26-year-old took 2nd at the Andrews Trophy two weeks ago and 7th at the Wally Gimber Trophy in March.
Matthew Lord (DAS Richardsons) is making his debut at the Timmy James this weekend, and will be angling to put another podium onto his palmarès this season after success at Capernwray. Expect him to put in a typically gutsy performance.
Sunday’s Witham Hall and Timmy James Memorial Grands Prix double as a Lincoln warm-up, run a week before the cobbles of Michaelgate. JAKROO Handsling’s Oliver Dawson, who tops the open rankings, arrives with three 4th places this spring and no win to show for them. Pursuit world champion Anna Morris, already a winner at the Peaks 2-Day and Capernwray, starts the women’s race as the favourite.
Both fields are deep, and the Timmy James goes without two-time winner James McKay. Several teams bring five or more riders, giving the day a tactical dimension on a course where blind corners and a punchy finish-line drag reward team work.
Featured image: Joe Hudson
Use code TBC10 at 4Endurance.co.uk for 10% off your order.
What is it?
Tracing its roots back to a junior race organised by Bourne Wheelers – which still runs under a separate stage race, won by Aalia Clay and Gus Dutton (both CAMS majaco) this year – the Witham Hall was converted into a Women’s Nat B in 2024 and has seen a remarkable track record of winners including multiple-time national road race champion Pfeiffer Georgi, Anna Shackley, Jess Roberts, and 2025 winner Phoebe Roche (FTP–Fulfil The Potential Racing).
The Timmy James Memorial was first staged in 2021 as a tribute to club member Tim James, who sadly passed away on 14 May of that year. In addition to celebrating Tim’s life, the event aims to raise much-needed funds for Young Lives vs Cancer, a charity which provided invaluable support to Tim and his family during his final months.
Winner of the first edition of the Memorial, staged by the SwiftCarbon ProCycling Team James had joined ahead of the 2020 season, is the now INEOS Grenadier Sam Watson. James McKay (Atom 6–Cycleur de Luxe–Auto Stroo Continental Team) took victories in both 2023 and 2025, sandwiching Alex Richardson’s triumph for Saint Piran.
Route
More undulating than you would expect when you imagine a course in the traditionally flatter landscape of Lincolnshire, the 18.6km course is devoid of any notable hills but offers 185m of elevation per lap – enough to keep the sprinters and puncheurs interested, especially on the drag up the final rise before the flat run to the finish.
After a neutralised section from Witham Hall Prep School, the race gets going properly from the finish line on Barber’s Hill on the left hand side of the roughly triangular course, which is run anti-clockwise.
Crossing the finish, the circuit continues south on the B1176, dropping down into Ryhall Village. From there, the course turns left and heads up the A6121 and goes through Essendine and Carlby Villages before a 90-degree left back toward the HQ and its tight right/left square corners which could be made even more challenging should parked cars or traffic make an appearance.
Past the school, the race descends towards Little Bytham before a left toward Careby and a short half-a-kilometre climb back to the finish. At 4.2% it’s not the steepest of climbs on the British calendar but come the closing stages of the race it’s more than enough to shake up the peloton as they rush for the chequered flag.
That circuit is tackled 5.5 times for the Witham Hall GP (96km), with an extra three tours added for the Timmy James Memorial (8.5 laps/150km).
Timings
The Witham Hall Women’s Grand Prix kicks off the action at 9.30, with the Timmy James Memorial getting underway at 13.30.
At the moment, the Met Office suggests the weather is going to be overcast and cloudy, with a southerly breeze – a handy tailwind down the finishing straight?
Riders to watch
Witham Hall Grand Prix
As a good leg stretcher ahead of Lincoln, there’s a decent sized entry for both races, with any number of riders in with a chance of starting the Lincolnshire double-header with a win under their belts.
Anna Morris is the stand-out rider on the entry list, bringing no end of firepower and stamina to a rolling course that should suit the Individual Pursuit world champion down to the ground. Despite a limited road programme this year, she’s already taken stage and GC glory at the Peaks 2-Day and a win at the Capernwray Road Race. A 5th at the East Cleveland Classic demonstrates she’s not afraid of steep ascents like that found at Saltburn Bank.
That said, Georgia Lancaster (Loughborough Lightning) comes to what is a home race for her with good form of her own. Her success at the Florrie Newbery Classic showcased both performance and tactical nous as she prevailed in a three-up sprint to take a well-earned first win of the season, and with this course flattening out to a lengthy sprint, don’t count her out for putting out the same wattage that took victory a few short weeks ago.
Isabella Johnson (Jadan Vive le Velo p/b Glasdon) heads to Lincolnshire on the back of 4th at the Florrie Newbery, mirroring her runner-up finish at the same race in 2025. A 10th at Witham Hall last year confirms the circuit suits her.
Megan Cherry (CAMS majaco) brings recent knowledge of this very course, having taken two top fives on her way to 5th in the GC at the Witham Hall Junior Women’s 2 Day. Combine that with victory at GP La Taintignoise and 24th at the always brutal Women’s CiCLE Classic means Cherry could be a dark horse for a good result.
Amelia Staunton (Brother UK – On Form) leads a deep eight-rider Brother UK contingent. The 18-year-old took 3rd at the Florrie Newbery and brings personal form she has translated into Witham success in each of the past two editions: 2nd in 2024, 5th in 2025.
8th at this race last year was Isabel Darvill (O’Shea – Development Team), and she heads to the Lincolnshire/Rutland border on a solid run of form. Top tens at the London Academy Easter Road Race and at Florrie Newbery shows she’s hitting the levels one would expect of a circuit series front-runner as she continues to make a comeback from an injury-disrupted 2025. This course rewards riders who can showcase solid bike handling skills, and Darvill has those in spades.
In our preview for the Florrie Newbery, we highlighted Sophie Holmes (The Hera Project) as one to watch as she continues her road back to 100% fitness after a promising 2025 was cut short after a hit-and-run. After 12th place in Essex, it seems more certain than ever that Holmes is closing in on recapturing the form that propelled her to two wins last season.
After a year which began on the track, Katie-Anne Calton (Paralloy RT) took 6th in the chaos of the sprint at the Florrie Newbery to add to a 2nd place at the March Hare Classic and will be looking to build from there as she combines further events on the velodrome with ventures out onto the road. She arrives as part of a six-rider Paralloy RT contingent — the largest team line-up in the women’s race — which also includes Millie Skinner, 9th here in 2025 in Boompods colours.
A proven winner off-road, Alderney Baker (Team Empella) is getting back to racing on asphalt after a pause to recover from a winter of cyclocross. Taking 15th at London Academy’s Easter Road Race at the start of April, she’s got the engine and explosive power to quickly slip out of sight on the blind corners that make up the lap. Don’t count her out from bagging a positive result this Bank Holiday weekend.
Timmy James Memorial Grand Prix
With two-time winner James McKay not on the startlist for this weekend, there’s an opportunity for another rider to step up and take victory.
Jack Rootkin-Gray is an intriguing addition to the startlist for the Timmy James. Echoing what we said in our preview for the Chitterne Road Race, Rootkin-Gray presents something of an unknown quantity for this race too. After two years in the WorldTour with EF Education–EasyPost, the 23-year-old is back on the British scene and seemingly looking to get more mileage in his legs as he builds up to whatever might be next. Whilst his longer-term objectives might be unknown, one thing we can be certain of is his ability to grab this race by the scruff of the neck and make it his own.
Oliver Dawson (JAKROO Handsling Racing) heads into this race at the top of The British Continental road race rankings and for good reason. His has been a season of consistency, with 4th places at the Clayton Spring Classic, PB Performance Espoirs Road Race, and the Rutland–Melton CiCLE Classic, complementing a handful of top 15s at other Nat Bs across the country. What’s missing, though, is a break-through win to cap off an early season run that has marked the 19-year-old out as one to watch over whichever parcours he tackles.
Chasing him down in the standings is Clay Davies (RideRevolution Coaching CT), and with 2nd in the GC at Totnes–Vire – aided by a runner-up spot on Stage 3 – he is banking the points as and where he can. A 7th at the East Cleveland Classic shows he doesn’t mind tackling ascents, and will be looking for a positive finish here to make up for a DNF at the Andrews Trophy – a blip on what has been a strong season so far.
All but one result within the top 20 from six starts this season has put Josh Housley (RideRevolution Coaching CT) in a strong position to capitalise in Lincolnshire. 7th in 2024, his versatility could come in crucial. Combined with Davies’ explosive start to the season, it could be a good day for the team. Another RideRevolution Coaching CT rider, Gabriel Dellar, gives the team a third card to play, fresh from 4th on stage 2 at the Peak 2 Day. He has unfinished business with this race, too: 12th in each of the last two editions.
Cycling Sheffield bring six riders, with Alexander Foster the standout. The 21-year-old won the Danum Trophy two weeks ago, opened his season with 3rd at the Clayton Spring Classic, and has banked top-10s at Capernwray and the PB Performance Espoirs Road Race in between. He’s the squad’s clearest contender for the win. Teammate Joshua Horsfield will be looking to bounce back from a DNF at the CiCLE Classic and rediscover the form he showed at the start of the road season.
Will Truelove (JAKROO Handsling) is a rider with a point to prove. As he told The British Continental in a recent interview, he’s more motivated than ever to take his first win since 2023. Whilst this season has probably started the way he’d have wanted, a 24th at the CiCLE has shown there are signs that his legs are getting back into the sort of zone that took him to three podiums and a dozen more top tens in 2025. Alex Franks (JAKROO Handsling Racing) gives Dawson and Truelove a third in-form team-mate to play with. The 20-year-old took 3rd at the East Cleveland Classic three weeks ago and 2nd at the Kennel Hill Classic in March — the most consistent podium threat in JAKROO’s spring campaign. With five JAKROO riders on the start sheet, the team has the numbers to race tactically as well as individually.
Luca Nicholson (Velo Club Baracchi) is the less familiar name on the startlist worth knowing. The 18-year-old took 2nd at the Wally Gimber Trophy in March before winning the U23-only PB Performance Espoirs Road Race a week later — an opening pair of results that mark him as one of 2026’s early breakouts.
George Stephen (BCC Race Team) anchors a seven-strong BCC line-up. The 20-year-old took 2nd at the PB Performance Espoirs Road Race in March – beaten only by Nicholson – and has built steadily through the spring. Jack Crook (Moda RT) is back on British roads after two seasons in France with UV Aube and Bricquebec Cotentin. The 26-year-old took 2nd at the Andrews Trophy two weeks ago and 7th at the Wally Gimber Trophy in March.
Matthew Lord (DAS Richardsons) is making his debut at the Timmy James this weekend, and will be angling to put another podium onto his palmarès this season after success at Capernwray. Expect him to put in a typically gutsy performance.
Startlists
Witham Hall Grand Prix
Timmy James Grand Prix
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