Northern Regional Road Race Championships: women’s race cancelled for second consecutive year
The women’s Northern Regional Road Race Championships have been cancelled for the second consecutive year, with the North East, North West and Yorkshire titles now set to be absorbed into the Midlands championships. The decision raises wider questions about promotion, rider commitment and the future of regional championship racing.
The women’s Northern Regional Road Race Championships have been cancelled for the second consecutive year, removing the women’s championship races for three British Cycling regions from the calendar while the open race on the same day goes ahead.
The 2026 race, scheduled for Sunday 31 May on the Scorton circuit near Catterick, combined the North East, North West and Yorkshire regional championships, with separate medals to be awarded in each region. Its cancellation means three women’s regional road titles will not be contested in their intended form this year.
Emails, messages and event records seen by The British Continental show a strikingly similar outcome to 2025: the women’s race cancelled for lack of entries, the open race continuing, and riders directed instead towards a combined Midlands championship event.
“Despite the best efforts of all involved, we haven’t received enough entries to allow the event to go ahead,” Makinson wrote. “We only received 18 entries before closing, with 25 needed to make it viable.”
Image: Joe Hudson Photo
Citing the volunteer infrastructure required, he continued: “I am sure you can all appreciate that we can’t run a road race event with 18 entrants (of which I expect one or two to withdraw in the period prior) with the NEG, Marshal and other volunteer resources required.”
The 2025 race, scheduled for 1 June at Carlisle, was also pulled due to lack of entries. The British Cycling event page for that race carries the notice: “Due to lack of entries, the Women’s Northern Regional Champs will now be incorporated into the Midlands RR Champs.” The 2025 open race went ahead and produced a full result.
The decision has been challenged publicly by one of this year’s entrants. Georgina Oakley, who rides for the Loughborough Lightning team, emailed Makinson on Sunday morning to question the timing.
“Really disappointing to hear this,” she wrote in the email, which she shared with The British Continental. “Can you not offer entry on the day as the numbers are not far off what you need and the men’s race is already on too so it’s not a stand alone event?” She added: “Everyone I know enters races in the two weeks prior so offering late entry would definitely help. It doesn’t do women’s racing any favours just calling it off.”
That late-entry pattern appears to have been decisive in saving the open race. In a Facebook post on the British Cycling Yorkshire page on 12 May, Makinson wrote that the open race had 43 entries, below the 60 he said were needed. By the deadline, the open race had reached 66 — an increase of 23 in the final five days. The women’s race, by contrast, had nine entries on 12 May and 18 by the time entries closed. It was still seven short of the stated 25-rider threshold when the decision was made.
Makinson replied to Oakley later that morning, in a message also shared with The British Continental. “Unfortunately I can’t extend the date any further as I need to pull all of race information together, confirm to volunteers exactly what they are doing and finalise my budgets” before being away the following week and out of contact.
On promotion, he wrote: “The promotion and push for entrants has been going on across social media for the last 3 weeks with clear messaging in the last week or so saying the Womens event was in jeopardy.” He continued: “I have pushed as hard as I can to make the event viable, but can’t have 30+ Volunteers deployed and the inevitable optics to the public when we shut down junctions for 15 – 18 riders.”
Georgina Oakley at the Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix 2025. Image: Mathew Wells/SWpix.com
Oakley then posted publicly on Instagram stories. “Sorry state of affairs for racing at the moment, a lot of cancellations across the board… Women’s northern RR champs now cancelled,” she wrote. “This comes more than 2 weeks out and after riders offered to advertise (haven’t seen any advertisement from the organisers) and suggested extending entries or allowing EOL, but the organiser refused, citing planning deadlines and the fact he is going on holiday the weekend before the event. The decision feels like women’s racing has been deprioritised and cancelled prematurely rather than given every chance to succeed.”
Speaking to The British Continental, Oakley said she had been unable to find evidence of the promotion Makinson described. “Not seen a single promotion. I even searched the race on socials and nothing came up,” she said. “Only saw the email from Phil in my junk yesterday, nothing online about the cancellation.”
The British Continental has identified two Facebook posts promoting the race in the run-up. The first, on the British Cycling Yorkshire page on 12 May, was Makinson’s own, posted in his capacity as a regional officer of British Cycling Yorkshire. “Currently 9 women entered, so event in jeopardy and a combined EM / WM / NE / NW / Y champs may need to go ahead,” the post read. The second, on the North East Crit League page on 14 May, gave the race the following line: “And don’t forget the Northern Region Road Race Champs takes place on 31st May at Ellerton Lake”.
For Oakley, the issue is not simply one race, but the conditions under which women’s racing is expected to survive. “It can feel like women’s fields are often expected to meet the same viability thresholds without equivalent support, promotion, or flexibility,” she said. “When events are cancelled at short notice or women’s races are the first to be cut it can become a self-perpetuating cycle: fewer opportunities lead to less confidence in entering races, which then impacts numbers further.”
On this race specifically, she added: “As it wasn’t a standalone women’s event, it feels like more could have been done to keep it running, whether that was extending entries, allowing late sign-ups, or making one final push to promote it.” Asked what she would most like to see change, she said: “Stronger promotion of women’s events, earlier and clearer communication if entries are low, and more commitment from organisers to exhaust all options before cancelling women’s races — particularly when they are already part of a larger event.”
Approached by The British Continental, Marc Etches, Chair of the British Cycling Yorkshire regional board, framed the cancellation as a matter of mutual responsibility between riders and organisers.
“It’s a two way street though,” Etches said. “Riders have to actually appreciate that it’s a Championship event and organisers need commitment from riders. This event is across three regions, so I don’t think it’s unreasonable to set a minimum entry level of just 25, which is 8 per region.”
On the financial framework, Etches said BC Yorkshire was willing to underwrite the regional championships within limits. “As previously mentioned, we are more than willing to financially support the regionals, but we also have to be mindful that our funds aren’t an endless pot and ensure we serve and support other age groups, disciplines and the general membership within our region.”
Image: Joe Hudson Photo
The cancellation comes during a period in which both grassroots and championship racing have lost fixtures. On the National B calendar, five races have now fallen from the 2026 schedule, including the DAP CC Road Race in Suffolk, cancelled on 14 May after the organiser was unable to secure a Chief Commissaire or the required number of accredited marshals, and the women’s Kennel Hill Classic, which was shelved due to low entry numbers.
At championship level, the open Welsh Road Race Championships, scheduled for Saturday 30 May at Builth Wells, were postponed by Welsh Cycling today (19 May), citing low entries. The announcement, posted via Beicio Cymru on Instagram stories, said the decision had been taken “so that volunteers, officials, venues and event partners could be informed before further costs were committed.” A new date and location are being explored. The women’s Welsh championship is being held separately, as part of the Ermington Classic in Devon on Sunday 31 May, combined with the South West and South regional championships.
The case raises questions about how regional championship racing is supported, promoted and protected. A 25-rider threshold may be a practical operational requirement. Volunteer capacity is real. So are budgets, commissaire availability and the strain placed on organisers. But when three regional women’s championships disappear for the second year running, when grassroots races are already falling from the calendar, and when a national championship is postponed the following weekend for the same reason — the issue is no longer one organiser’s spreadsheet. It is whether the championship model itself, across multiple regions and nations, is producing the racing it was designed to.
Marc Etches said this week that he would be taking the issue to British Cycling’s Road Commission. “It appears that the regional championships has lost its appeal, which is another issue,” he said. “I’ll be taking this to Road Commission as I think we need to assess future promotions, not just in the north, but across all regions. I’m going to also reach out to riders to gauge what we can do to revive the champs and hopefully be in a position to promote a meaningful event in the future.” Whether the review he has called for can change the picture in 2027 is the next test.
The British Continental asked Phil Makinson for comment; no response had been received at the time of publication.
Featured image: Milan Josy/The British Continental
The women’s Northern Regional Road Race Championships have been cancelled for the second consecutive year, removing the women’s championship races for three British Cycling regions from the calendar while the open race on the same day goes ahead.
The 2026 race, scheduled for Sunday 31 May on the Scorton circuit near Catterick, combined the North East, North West and Yorkshire regional championships, with separate medals to be awarded in each region. Its cancellation means three women’s regional road titles will not be contested in their intended form this year.
Emails, messages and event records seen by The British Continental show a strikingly similar outcome to 2025: the women’s race cancelled for lack of entries, the open race continuing, and riders directed instead towards a combined Midlands championship event.
The cancellation email was sent at 14:27 on Saturday 16 May, the same day entries closed, by event organiser Phil Makinson, who serves as British Cycling Yorkshire’s Regional Competition Administrator.
“Despite the best efforts of all involved, we haven’t received enough entries to allow the event to go ahead,” Makinson wrote. “We only received 18 entries before closing, with 25 needed to make it viable.”
Citing the volunteer infrastructure required, he continued: “I am sure you can all appreciate that we can’t run a road race event with 18 entrants (of which I expect one or two to withdraw in the period prior) with the NEG, Marshal and other volunteer resources required.”
He added that he had spoken to James Hawkins, delegate organiser of the combined East and West Midlands championships, “who will extend an invite to the NE / NW & Yorks regions to enter his event.” Refunds for the 18 women entrants would be issued.
The 2025 race, scheduled for 1 June at Carlisle, was also pulled due to lack of entries. The British Cycling event page for that race carries the notice: “Due to lack of entries, the Women’s Northern Regional Champs will now be incorporated into the Midlands RR Champs.” The 2025 open race went ahead and produced a full result.
The decision has been challenged publicly by one of this year’s entrants. Georgina Oakley, who rides for the Loughborough Lightning team, emailed Makinson on Sunday morning to question the timing.
“Really disappointing to hear this,” she wrote in the email, which she shared with The British Continental. “Can you not offer entry on the day as the numbers are not far off what you need and the men’s race is already on too so it’s not a stand alone event?” She added: “Everyone I know enters races in the two weeks prior so offering late entry would definitely help. It doesn’t do women’s racing any favours just calling it off.”
That late-entry pattern appears to have been decisive in saving the open race. In a Facebook post on the British Cycling Yorkshire page on 12 May, Makinson wrote that the open race had 43 entries, below the 60 he said were needed. By the deadline, the open race had reached 66 — an increase of 23 in the final five days. The women’s race, by contrast, had nine entries on 12 May and 18 by the time entries closed. It was still seven short of the stated 25-rider threshold when the decision was made.
Makinson replied to Oakley later that morning, in a message also shared with The British Continental. “Unfortunately I can’t extend the date any further as I need to pull all of race information together, confirm to volunteers exactly what they are doing and finalise my budgets” before being away the following week and out of contact.
On promotion, he wrote: “The promotion and push for entrants has been going on across social media for the last 3 weeks with clear messaging in the last week or so saying the Womens event was in jeopardy.” He continued: “I have pushed as hard as I can to make the event viable, but can’t have 30+ Volunteers deployed and the inevitable optics to the public when we shut down junctions for 15 – 18 riders.”
Oakley then posted publicly on Instagram stories. “Sorry state of affairs for racing at the moment, a lot of cancellations across the board… Women’s northern RR champs now cancelled,” she wrote. “This comes more than 2 weeks out and after riders offered to advertise (haven’t seen any advertisement from the organisers) and suggested extending entries or allowing EOL, but the organiser refused, citing planning deadlines and the fact he is going on holiday the weekend before the event. The decision feels like women’s racing has been deprioritised and cancelled prematurely rather than given every chance to succeed.”
Speaking to The British Continental, Oakley said she had been unable to find evidence of the promotion Makinson described. “Not seen a single promotion. I even searched the race on socials and nothing came up,” she said. “Only saw the email from Phil in my junk yesterday, nothing online about the cancellation.”
The British Continental has identified two Facebook posts promoting the race in the run-up. The first, on the British Cycling Yorkshire page on 12 May, was Makinson’s own, posted in his capacity as a regional officer of British Cycling Yorkshire. “Currently 9 women entered, so event in jeopardy and a combined EM / WM / NE / NW / Y champs may need to go ahead,” the post read. The second, on the North East Crit League page on 14 May, gave the race the following line: “And don’t forget the Northern Region Road Race Champs takes place on 31st May at Ellerton Lake”.
For Oakley, the issue is not simply one race, but the conditions under which women’s racing is expected to survive. “It can feel like women’s fields are often expected to meet the same viability thresholds without equivalent support, promotion, or flexibility,” she said. “When events are cancelled at short notice or women’s races are the first to be cut it can become a self-perpetuating cycle: fewer opportunities lead to less confidence in entering races, which then impacts numbers further.”
On this race specifically, she added: “As it wasn’t a standalone women’s event, it feels like more could have been done to keep it running, whether that was extending entries, allowing late sign-ups, or making one final push to promote it.” Asked what she would most like to see change, she said: “Stronger promotion of women’s events, earlier and clearer communication if entries are low, and more commitment from organisers to exhaust all options before cancelling women’s races — particularly when they are already part of a larger event.”
Approached by The British Continental, Marc Etches, Chair of the British Cycling Yorkshire regional board, framed the cancellation as a matter of mutual responsibility between riders and organisers.
“It’s a two way street though,” Etches said. “Riders have to actually appreciate that it’s a Championship event and organisers need commitment from riders. This event is across three regions, so I don’t think it’s unreasonable to set a minimum entry level of just 25, which is 8 per region.”
On the financial framework, Etches said BC Yorkshire was willing to underwrite the regional championships within limits. “As previously mentioned, we are more than willing to financially support the regionals, but we also have to be mindful that our funds aren’t an endless pot and ensure we serve and support other age groups, disciplines and the general membership within our region.”
The cancellation comes during a period in which both grassroots and championship racing have lost fixtures. On the National B calendar, five races have now fallen from the 2026 schedule, including the DAP CC Road Race in Suffolk, cancelled on 14 May after the organiser was unable to secure a Chief Commissaire or the required number of accredited marshals, and the women’s Kennel Hill Classic, which was shelved due to low entry numbers.
At championship level, the open Welsh Road Race Championships, scheduled for Saturday 30 May at Builth Wells, were postponed by Welsh Cycling today (19 May), citing low entries. The announcement, posted via Beicio Cymru on Instagram stories, said the decision had been taken “so that volunteers, officials, venues and event partners could be informed before further costs were committed.” A new date and location are being explored. The women’s Welsh championship is being held separately, as part of the Ermington Classic in Devon on Sunday 31 May, combined with the South West and South regional championships.
The case raises questions about how regional championship racing is supported, promoted and protected. A 25-rider threshold may be a practical operational requirement. Volunteer capacity is real. So are budgets, commissaire availability and the strain placed on organisers. But when three regional women’s championships disappear for the second year running, when grassroots races are already falling from the calendar, and when a national championship is postponed the following weekend for the same reason — the issue is no longer one organiser’s spreadsheet. It is whether the championship model itself, across multiple regions and nations, is producing the racing it was designed to.
Marc Etches said this week that he would be taking the issue to British Cycling’s Road Commission. “It appears that the regional championships has lost its appeal, which is another issue,” he said. “I’ll be taking this to Road Commission as I think we need to assess future promotions, not just in the north, but across all regions. I’m going to also reach out to riders to gauge what we can do to revive the champs and hopefully be in a position to promote a meaningful event in the future.” Whether the review he has called for can change the picture in 2027 is the next test.
The British Continental asked Phil Makinson for comment; no response had been received at the time of publication.
Featured image: Milan Josy/The British Continental
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