2026 BUCS Road Race Championships: preview and startlists
The British Universities and Colleges Sport Road Race Championships return to Devon on Sunday, 24 May, with the University of Exeter Cycling Club hosting for a second consecutive year.
The British Universities and Colleges Sport Road Race Championships return to Devon on Sunday, 24 May, with the University of Exeter Cycling Club hosting for a second consecutive year — though not, as originally planned, on the new Woodbury circuit. A late venue switch has moved the race to the Jacobstowe circuit east of Okehampton, a short and fast loop better known in regional racing than as a championship venue.
With neither of last year’s champions defending, here’s our preview.
Featured image: Chris Godfrey
What is it?
The BUCS Road Race Championships have long served as a launching pad. Anna Henderson took the women’s crown in 2019 before her WorldTour career kicked off; Tom Stewart did the men’s honours in 2012 ahead of an eight-year stint in the paid ranks. Last year’s winners, were Archie Peet and Madeline Cooper. Peet is racing the Rás this week for O’Neills Spirit Racing Team, while Cooper joined UCI Continental outfit Handsling Alba Development Road Team at the beginning of the year and has enjoyed a productive international race programme. Neither defends here.
That makes 2026 an open year, on a circuit nobody has raced as a BUCS championship before. The original plan was the University of Exeter’s new Woodbury Common loop. Police permit issues forced a relocation a few months ago — the second year running that the championships have had to move to a back-up venue, after the 2025 edition shifted from Witheridge to Bridestowe owing to roadworks.
The hosting effort behind the event is significant. Race organiser Will Shipton Jones, a team of University of Exeter Cycling Club members, alumni and parents, partner clubs and the British Cycling South West officiating crew put the championships on the road — the kind of volunteer infrastructure that underpins almost every domestic race in the calendar at a time when staging them is becoming progressively harder.
Route
The women’s race rolls out from Hatherleigh Community Centre at 09:30 — seven laps of the Jacobstowe circuit, 85 kilometres in total, 1,285 metres of elevation. The open race follows at 14:00 with 10 laps, 119 kilometres and 1,827 metres of climbing.
The Jacobstowe circuit is no stranger to racers in the region. It is regularly paired with the neighbouring Hatherleigh loop for regional events and hosted a stage of this year’s Totnes Stage Race, but as a standalone race it has not been used in some time. Roughly 12 kilometres long, the loop sits on the western edge of Dartmoor National Park, taking in the villages of Inwardleigh and Jacobstowe and the lanes east towards Exbourne.
Organisers describe it as a short, fast circuit that will suit a strong breakaway. The lap profile is rolling rather than dominated by one selective climb, on a mix of wide, well-surfaced A-roads (the A3072 and A386) connected by quieter lanes.
The circuit is lumpy, as you’d expect in this part of the world, and the finish is slightly uphill, the kind of false-flat finale that rewards positioning and timing as much as legs.
Riders to watch
Women’s race
The women’s field of 20 is thinner than in 2025, and concentrated in fewer institutions. Loughborough roll up with six riders, while several institutions are sending one rider each, which means a lot of the field will be racing on their own ticket.
By Stats Hub points, the strongest rider in the field is Lily Martin of Loughborough — seventh in the national rankings. The 20-year-old, signed for 2026 by Loughborough Lightning from London Academy, won the Banbury Star Women’s Road Race last weekend, attacking the final ascent of The Knowle to take a solo win around 15 seconds clear of Amy Henchoz. That was the latest of a steady string: fourth overall at the Peak 2 Day in March, eighth at the ANEXO/CAMS Women’s CiCLE Classic, and 15th at the Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix.
Lily Martin wins the Banbury Star Road Race. Image: Mark James
Another Loughborough card on serious form is Ella Tandy, in her first season with Simpson Nouvelles. Tandy is 13th in the national rankings — second only to Martin in the field — off the back of second at the National B Florrie Newbery Classic in April, 13th at the Lincoln Grand Prix, and 10th at the same Banbury Star race Martin won. The 19-year-old won the West Midlands regional road race title at Duffield last summer.
Loughborough’s third card is Elena Day, second at last year’s BUCS and now in her first season with UCI Continental outfit Smurfit Westrock Cycling Team after moving across from Loughborough Lightning. Day’s 2025 yielded a maiden National B win at the Duncan Murray Wines Road Race in August, plus fifth in a combined East and West Midlands regional championship at Duffield, 14th at the Lincoln Grand Prix, and fourth at the Kennel Hill Classic. Her winter was equally productive: U23 British cyclocross champion in January (fifth in the elite race), a National Trophy U23 round win, and fourth in the final National Trophy CX standings. Her 2026 spring has been quieter so far — 10th at the ANEXO/CAMS Women’s CiCLE Classic in March is the standout result.
Lightning also field Peggy Simpkins, signed from O’Shea Development for 2026, alongside Amelia Cebak and Jacqui Kinsey. With six riders, Loughborough are the only team capable of riding collectively in a 20-woman field.
The strongest CV on the list belongs to Connie Hayes of Reading. The 25-year-old re-signed for O’Shea Red Chilli Bikes for 2026 — the rebranded CJ O’Shea outfit — and brings UCI Continental experience that few in this field can match: a three-time RideLondon Classique starter and a 2021 Tour of Britain finisher as a 20-year-old. Her 2026 has been quiet, with 16th overall at the Peak 2 Day in March the only domestic result on the books, but on paper her pedigree marks her out.
Holly Ramsey of Bournemouth had a disrupted 2025. The 20-year-old started the year with Hess Cycling Team, took her first National Road Series podium with second at the East Cleveland Classic in April, sat fifth in the women’s National Road Series overall by midsummer, and made the day’s breakaway at the National Road Race Championships in June. She also rode the UCI 1.1 Volta Limburg Classic last spring, finishing 21st. When Hess collapsed in August, she moved across to Smurfit Westrock; she is with Handsling Alba Development Road Team for 2026, where here focus has been on UCI road racing.
Holly Ramsey at the 2025 Lloyds National Road Race Championship. Image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
Amelia Staunton of Swansea, who normally rides for Brother UK–On Form, is a first-year under-23 with a strong international CV, including rides at the junior women’s Gent–Wevelgem, Tour of Flanders and Grand Prix Plouay last summer. She was second at the Witham Hall Grand Prix in 2024 as a 16-year-old, fifth at the same race in 2025. She arrives at BUCS off third at the Florrie Newbery Classic in April. Hope Inglis of Birmingham, fourth at last year’s BUCS and fifth in 2024, has moved from Brother UK–On Form to London Academy for 2026. The 20-year-old had a strong cyclocross winter — eighth at the British Championships in January and seventh in the final National Trophy CX standings — though her road spring has been quieter, with 16th at the Florrie Newbery the best result.
Freya Taylor is the outside bet. The 22-year-old joined Jadan Vive le Velo p/b Glasdon for 2026 after a 2025 with Team Empella. She rides for Cambridge here off the back of fifth at the Florrie Newbery Classic and seventh at the London Academy Easter Road Race. She was 13th at the 2025 BUCS.
The two Nottingham options are Hannah Clough and Florence Lissaman, both under-23s. Clough was fifth at last year’s BUCS and finished 12th overall at the Peak 2 Day in March; Lissaman was 11th at last year’s BUCS. Watch also for Emma Leslie of Bath, who came home sixth at the Banbury Star Women’s Road Race last weekend.
Open race
The open race attracts 68 starters and a handful of deep squads: Cambridge bring eight riders, Loughborough six, Stirling and Swansea five apiece, and Exeter, Nottingham and Lancaster four. On 10 laps of a short, breakaway-friendly circuit, the universities with depth have the tools to shape the race; the strongest individuals will have to make whatever they get count.
By Stats Hub points, the strongest rider in the field is Matthew Lord of Loughborough — 103 ranking points and 28th in the national rankings. The 22-year-old has returned to DAS Richardsons for 2026 after a season in France with Team Bricquebec Cotentin. His domestic spring has read across multiple tiers of the calendar: third at the Capernwray Road Race in April, fifth overall at the Peak 2 Day in March with eighth on the second stage, ninth at the Timmy James Memorial Grand Prix earlier this month. This is a rider in form against National B fields. Eighth at the 2024 BUCS as a 20-year-old, he’s built for the kind of attritional race the Jacobstowe circuit promises.
Matthew Lord at the Rutland-Melton CiCLE Classic. Image: Josh Wheeler/SWpix.com
Another rider arriving with serious recent form is Daniel Barnes of Loughborough. The 23-year-old, who moved to Wold Top Pactimo for 2026 after three seasons with Spectra Racing, was 13th at the Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix only two weeks ago and tenth at the Timmy James Memorial Grand Prix. He’s also one of the most consistent British cyclocross riders on the start line, fourth at the British Championships in January after finishing third in the elite race in 2025.
George Stephen of Nottingham, in his second consecutive season with BCC Race Team, was fifth at the 2024 BUCS and seventh in 2025 in the winning move. His 2026 spring has been solid: second at the U23 National B PB Performance Espoirs Road Race in March, 17th at the East Cleveland Classic, 25th overall at the Peak 2 Day. Cai Davies of Leicester is a rider with one of the longest senior CVs in the field. At 27 he is in his third season with DAS Richardsons after switching from Kalas Motip Race Team in 2024, and was 12th at the Beaumont Trophy and ninth at the National Circuit Series Guildford Grand Prix last summer. His 2026 spring has yielded tenth on GC at the Totnes-Vire (with fifth on stage two), 11th at the Andrews Trophy and 18th at the Jock Wadley. He was 20th at the 2025 BUCS.
Ben Marsh of Derby has had a winding development path: a 2023 Junior CiCLE Classic winner with BCC Race Team, a 2024 season abroad with Project 1 in Italy — including a ride at the UCI 1.2U Gran Premio della Liberazione — followed by a year in France in 2025, and a return to BCC for 2026 to study at the University of Derby alongside the team’s race programme. The 21-year-old was 11th at the PB Performance Espoirs Road Race in March and 45th at Rutland-Melton; a steady form curve in his return to UK racing.
Sam Chaplin of Loughborough joined MyPadRacing p/b ONDO Sports for 2026 from Cycling Sheffield. The 21-year-old has probably had the most active April–May form line of the under-23s here: 11th at the East Cleveland Classic, 12th at the U23 National B PB Performance Espoirs Road Race in March, 19th at the Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix earlier this month. He was also 5th overall at the UCI Tour of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Louis Herring of York, 19 and in his second season with Prologue Racing Team. He arrives at BUCS off a major spring result: fourth at the Danum Trophy in April, his best UK road result to date.
Sam Chaplin at the 2024 East Cleveland Classic. Image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
Elijah Kwon of Bristol continues to ride for Edinburgh Bike Fitting RT — the team he founded last year to keep Scottish riders racing together after the closure of The Cycling Academy. The 21-year-old’s 2026 has been quiet by necessity (university commitments), but the form line is interesting: 18th on GC at the Totnes-Vire in early April with eighth on the third stage, fifth at the Evesham Vale Road Race in March. His Edinburgh Bike Fitting RT teammate Craig Paterson of Glasgow arrives won the Hugh Dornan Memorial Road Race earlier this month; a genuine outside bet.
Swansea’s sharpest hand is Hamish Johnstone. The 20-year-old, who rides for Team Tor 2000 Kala, won Stage 1 of the Totnes-Vire on the same Devon roads in early April, finished fifth overall on GC, and was 16th at the Portsdown Classic in February. Swansea’s five-rider squad — Aaron Field, Finlay Mowat, Frank Schefer and Mathys Venter all alongside Johnstone — gives the Welsh side the numbers to control or animate.
Two riders deserve a mention for their 2025 BUCS results. James Satoor of Nottingham Trent was third last year on the Bridestowe drag — following up with second at the U23 Halesowen national road race and sixth at the Witheridge Grand Prix later in the summer — and George Cottrell of Nottingham was fourth. Both were in the winning eight-man break.
The wildcard is the way the open race develops. The combination of a short circuit, ten laps and the cut-off rule means the bunch will likely fragment well before the finish. A breakaway sticks here if it gets clear with the right balance; a select group going up the A386 finishing drag is the other obvious script.
The British Universities and Colleges Sport Road Race Championships return to Devon on Sunday, 24 May, with the University of Exeter Cycling Club hosting for a second consecutive year — though not, as originally planned, on the new Woodbury circuit. A late venue switch has moved the race to the Jacobstowe circuit east of Okehampton, a short and fast loop better known in regional racing than as a championship venue.
With neither of last year’s champions defending, here’s our preview.
Featured image: Chris Godfrey
What is it?
The BUCS Road Race Championships have long served as a launching pad. Anna Henderson took the women’s crown in 2019 before her WorldTour career kicked off; Tom Stewart did the men’s honours in 2012 ahead of an eight-year stint in the paid ranks. Last year’s winners, were Archie Peet and Madeline Cooper. Peet is racing the Rás this week for O’Neills Spirit Racing Team, while Cooper joined UCI Continental outfit Handsling Alba Development Road Team at the beginning of the year and has enjoyed a productive international race programme. Neither defends here.
That makes 2026 an open year, on a circuit nobody has raced as a BUCS championship before. The original plan was the University of Exeter’s new Woodbury Common loop. Police permit issues forced a relocation a few months ago — the second year running that the championships have had to move to a back-up venue, after the 2025 edition shifted from Witheridge to Bridestowe owing to roadworks.
The hosting effort behind the event is significant. Race organiser Will Shipton Jones, a team of University of Exeter Cycling Club members, alumni and parents, partner clubs and the British Cycling South West officiating crew put the championships on the road — the kind of volunteer infrastructure that underpins almost every domestic race in the calendar at a time when staging them is becoming progressively harder.
Route
The women’s race rolls out from Hatherleigh Community Centre at 09:30 — seven laps of the Jacobstowe circuit, 85 kilometres in total, 1,285 metres of elevation. The open race follows at 14:00 with 10 laps, 119 kilometres and 1,827 metres of climbing.
The Jacobstowe circuit is no stranger to racers in the region. It is regularly paired with the neighbouring Hatherleigh loop for regional events and hosted a stage of this year’s Totnes Stage Race, but as a standalone race it has not been used in some time. Roughly 12 kilometres long, the loop sits on the western edge of Dartmoor National Park, taking in the villages of Inwardleigh and Jacobstowe and the lanes east towards Exbourne.
Organisers describe it as a short, fast circuit that will suit a strong breakaway. The lap profile is rolling rather than dominated by one selective climb, on a mix of wide, well-surfaced A-roads (the A3072 and A386) connected by quieter lanes.
The circuit is lumpy, as you’d expect in this part of the world, and the finish is slightly uphill, the kind of false-flat finale that rewards positioning and timing as much as legs.
Riders to watch
Women’s race
The women’s field of 20 is thinner than in 2025, and concentrated in fewer institutions. Loughborough roll up with six riders, while several institutions are sending one rider each, which means a lot of the field will be racing on their own ticket.
By Stats Hub points, the strongest rider in the field is Lily Martin of Loughborough — seventh in the national rankings. The 20-year-old, signed for 2026 by Loughborough Lightning from London Academy, won the Banbury Star Women’s Road Race last weekend, attacking the final ascent of The Knowle to take a solo win around 15 seconds clear of Amy Henchoz. That was the latest of a steady string: fourth overall at the Peak 2 Day in March, eighth at the ANEXO/CAMS Women’s CiCLE Classic, and 15th at the Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix.
Another Loughborough card on serious form is Ella Tandy, in her first season with Simpson Nouvelles. Tandy is 13th in the national rankings — second only to Martin in the field — off the back of second at the National B Florrie Newbery Classic in April, 13th at the Lincoln Grand Prix, and 10th at the same Banbury Star race Martin won. The 19-year-old won the West Midlands regional road race title at Duffield last summer.
Loughborough’s third card is Elena Day, second at last year’s BUCS and now in her first season with UCI Continental outfit Smurfit Westrock Cycling Team after moving across from Loughborough Lightning. Day’s 2025 yielded a maiden National B win at the Duncan Murray Wines Road Race in August, plus fifth in a combined East and West Midlands regional championship at Duffield, 14th at the Lincoln Grand Prix, and fourth at the Kennel Hill Classic. Her winter was equally productive: U23 British cyclocross champion in January (fifth in the elite race), a National Trophy U23 round win, and fourth in the final National Trophy CX standings. Her 2026 spring has been quieter so far — 10th at the ANEXO/CAMS Women’s CiCLE Classic in March is the standout result.
Lightning also field Peggy Simpkins, signed from O’Shea Development for 2026, alongside Amelia Cebak and Jacqui Kinsey. With six riders, Loughborough are the only team capable of riding collectively in a 20-woman field.
The strongest CV on the list belongs to Connie Hayes of Reading. The 25-year-old re-signed for O’Shea Red Chilli Bikes for 2026 — the rebranded CJ O’Shea outfit — and brings UCI Continental experience that few in this field can match: a three-time RideLondon Classique starter and a 2021 Tour of Britain finisher as a 20-year-old. Her 2026 has been quiet, with 16th overall at the Peak 2 Day in March the only domestic result on the books, but on paper her pedigree marks her out.
Holly Ramsey of Bournemouth had a disrupted 2025. The 20-year-old started the year with Hess Cycling Team, took her first National Road Series podium with second at the East Cleveland Classic in April, sat fifth in the women’s National Road Series overall by midsummer, and made the day’s breakaway at the National Road Race Championships in June. She also rode the UCI 1.1 Volta Limburg Classic last spring, finishing 21st. When Hess collapsed in August, she moved across to Smurfit Westrock; she is with Handsling Alba Development Road Team for 2026, where here focus has been on UCI road racing.
Amelia Staunton of Swansea, who normally rides for Brother UK–On Form, is a first-year under-23 with a strong international CV, including rides at the junior women’s Gent–Wevelgem, Tour of Flanders and Grand Prix Plouay last summer. She was second at the Witham Hall Grand Prix in 2024 as a 16-year-old, fifth at the same race in 2025. She arrives at BUCS off third at the Florrie Newbery Classic in April. Hope Inglis of Birmingham, fourth at last year’s BUCS and fifth in 2024, has moved from Brother UK–On Form to London Academy for 2026. The 20-year-old had a strong cyclocross winter — eighth at the British Championships in January and seventh in the final National Trophy CX standings — though her road spring has been quieter, with 16th at the Florrie Newbery the best result.
Freya Taylor is the outside bet. The 22-year-old joined Jadan Vive le Velo p/b Glasdon for 2026 after a 2025 with Team Empella. She rides for Cambridge here off the back of fifth at the Florrie Newbery Classic and seventh at the London Academy Easter Road Race. She was 13th at the 2025 BUCS.
The two Nottingham options are Hannah Clough and Florence Lissaman, both under-23s. Clough was fifth at last year’s BUCS and finished 12th overall at the Peak 2 Day in March; Lissaman was 11th at last year’s BUCS. Watch also for Emma Leslie of Bath, who came home sixth at the Banbury Star Women’s Road Race last weekend.
Open race
The open race attracts 68 starters and a handful of deep squads: Cambridge bring eight riders, Loughborough six, Stirling and Swansea five apiece, and Exeter, Nottingham and Lancaster four. On 10 laps of a short, breakaway-friendly circuit, the universities with depth have the tools to shape the race; the strongest individuals will have to make whatever they get count.
By Stats Hub points, the strongest rider in the field is Matthew Lord of Loughborough — 103 ranking points and 28th in the national rankings. The 22-year-old has returned to DAS Richardsons for 2026 after a season in France with Team Bricquebec Cotentin. His domestic spring has read across multiple tiers of the calendar: third at the Capernwray Road Race in April, fifth overall at the Peak 2 Day in March with eighth on the second stage, ninth at the Timmy James Memorial Grand Prix earlier this month. This is a rider in form against National B fields. Eighth at the 2024 BUCS as a 20-year-old, he’s built for the kind of attritional race the Jacobstowe circuit promises.
Another rider arriving with serious recent form is Daniel Barnes of Loughborough. The 23-year-old, who moved to Wold Top Pactimo for 2026 after three seasons with Spectra Racing, was 13th at the Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix only two weeks ago and tenth at the Timmy James Memorial Grand Prix. He’s also one of the most consistent British cyclocross riders on the start line, fourth at the British Championships in January after finishing third in the elite race in 2025.
George Stephen of Nottingham, in his second consecutive season with BCC Race Team, was fifth at the 2024 BUCS and seventh in 2025 in the winning move. His 2026 spring has been solid: second at the U23 National B PB Performance Espoirs Road Race in March, 17th at the East Cleveland Classic, 25th overall at the Peak 2 Day. Cai Davies of Leicester is a rider with one of the longest senior CVs in the field. At 27 he is in his third season with DAS Richardsons after switching from Kalas Motip Race Team in 2024, and was 12th at the Beaumont Trophy and ninth at the National Circuit Series Guildford Grand Prix last summer. His 2026 spring has yielded tenth on GC at the Totnes-Vire (with fifth on stage two), 11th at the Andrews Trophy and 18th at the Jock Wadley. He was 20th at the 2025 BUCS.
Ben Marsh of Derby has had a winding development path: a 2023 Junior CiCLE Classic winner with BCC Race Team, a 2024 season abroad with Project 1 in Italy — including a ride at the UCI 1.2U Gran Premio della Liberazione — followed by a year in France in 2025, and a return to BCC for 2026 to study at the University of Derby alongside the team’s race programme. The 21-year-old was 11th at the PB Performance Espoirs Road Race in March and 45th at Rutland-Melton; a steady form curve in his return to UK racing.
Sam Chaplin of Loughborough joined MyPadRacing p/b ONDO Sports for 2026 from Cycling Sheffield. The 21-year-old has probably had the most active April–May form line of the under-23s here: 11th at the East Cleveland Classic, 12th at the U23 National B PB Performance Espoirs Road Race in March, 19th at the Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix earlier this month. He was also 5th overall at the UCI Tour of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Louis Herring of York, 19 and in his second season with Prologue Racing Team. He arrives at BUCS off a major spring result: fourth at the Danum Trophy in April, his best UK road result to date.
Elijah Kwon of Bristol continues to ride for Edinburgh Bike Fitting RT — the team he founded last year to keep Scottish riders racing together after the closure of The Cycling Academy. The 21-year-old’s 2026 has been quiet by necessity (university commitments), but the form line is interesting: 18th on GC at the Totnes-Vire in early April with eighth on the third stage, fifth at the Evesham Vale Road Race in March. His Edinburgh Bike Fitting RT teammate Craig Paterson of Glasgow arrives won the Hugh Dornan Memorial Road Race earlier this month; a genuine outside bet.
Swansea’s sharpest hand is Hamish Johnstone. The 20-year-old, who rides for Team Tor 2000 Kala, won Stage 1 of the Totnes-Vire on the same Devon roads in early April, finished fifth overall on GC, and was 16th at the Portsdown Classic in February. Swansea’s five-rider squad — Aaron Field, Finlay Mowat, Frank Schefer and Mathys Venter all alongside Johnstone — gives the Welsh side the numbers to control or animate.
Two riders deserve a mention for their 2025 BUCS results. James Satoor of Nottingham Trent was third last year on the Bridestowe drag — following up with second at the U23 Halesowen national road race and sixth at the Witheridge Grand Prix later in the summer — and George Cottrell of Nottingham was fourth. Both were in the winning eight-man break.
The wildcard is the way the open race develops. The combination of a short circuit, ten laps and the cut-off rule means the bunch will likely fragment well before the finish. A breakaway sticks here if it gets clear with the right balance; a select group going up the A386 finishing drag is the other obvious script.
Provisional startlists
Women’s race
Open race
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