2026 London Dynamo Summer Road Race: preview and startlists
There's more than National B honours at stake on Sunday 31 May, as the South East championships and a place at next month's Nationals go up for grabs on a testing Sussex circuit, with a Rootkin-Gray v Riwnyj rematch headlining the open race and London Academy's numbers set against Phoebe Roche in the women's
National B honours aren’t the only prize on offer in the rolling hills of Sussex on Sunday, with the London Dynamo Road Race also incorporating the South East regional championships into its running. As well as local bragging rights for the regional champion, a guaranteed place on the start line of next month’s National Road Race Championships is also up for grabs in both the open and women’s races.
Featured image: Mark James
What is it?
A double header on the hilly Staplefield circuit in West Sussex, the National B races for both the open and women’s field are promoted by London Dynamo, one of the biggest cycling clubs in the UK.
Last year the races incorporated both the South East and Central championships for the open race, while the women also contested the Eastern regional title on this course, with Josh Housley and Noémie Thomson running out the overall winners.
This year only the South East title is up for grabs, with the in-form Danylo Riwnyj hoping to go one better than second place overall twelve months ago as he returns to defend his regional crown, while a new queen of the South East will be crowned in Noémie Thomson’s absence following an injury sustained while racing in Spain. With the potential for the minor places to bear real significance, exciting and attacking racing is forecast throughout the day.
Entries on the line are available for the women’s race at 1.30pm, with the open race kicking off at 9.30am.
Route
A twisty 21km loop around the Sussex lanes taking in Cuckfield, Balcombe, and Handcross, the circuit is a typical National B test of a rider’s all-round ability.
Rolling hills punctuate each lap offering numerous opportunities for the race to split up, their duration and gradients not severe enough for an outright climber to make the difference, however. On top of the constantly changing elevation, a long, exposed section along London Road offers another opportunity for the race to fracture should conditions be windy enough, while positioning will be crucial throughout as the peloton pass through the five villages and their road furniture, while the narrow, twisting Brook Street will also be a potential flash point for those at the head of affairs to make their advantage count.
Holmstead Hill, the climb to the finish line, could not only shape the race, but decide it. Tackled six times in the open race (126km) and four times in the women’s (84km), the 600m climb to the finish line along the B2114 tops out at 8% and will increasingly sting the legs as the laps tick down, suiting the rider with the most left to give in the run to the finish line.
Riders to watch
Open
The race looks set to resume the battle between Jack Rootkin-Gray and Danylo Riwnyj, the pair both present in the four-man winning move at the Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix three weeks ago, only for the Foran CT rider to succumb to a puncture before the final lap, denying him a chance of victory.
Now racing as an independent, Rootkin-Gray, still only 23, spent two years with WorldTour outfit EF Education-EasyPost prior to this season and has eschewed the option to race for the West Midlands title in favour of taking part here. He enters the race in a similar vein of form to that which saw him sign for Jonathan Vaughters’ squad from Saint Piran at the end of 2023—a win by the smallest of margins at the Timmy James Memorial the precursor to the second spot on the podium in Lincoln, both races evidence that he hasn’t lost his nous for finding the winning move.
Riwnyj meanwhile has proven to be one of the most consistent riders in the domestic scene following a breakthrough 2025, his ride at Lincoln, and a 5th place at the Rás Tailteann last week a demonstration that he has now progressed to the next level after multiple National B wins. The defending South East champion, he is the red hot favourite to retain his title, but the 27-year-old will be eyeing the race win.
National B races, and championships especially, are rarely that simple however, and there are a host of riders in the 59-strong field who will have designs on the win, regional title, or both.
Jack Rootkin-Gray at Lincoln. Image: Milan Josy/The British Continental
Olly Curd (DAS Richardsons) is one such rider—19th place in the Rás a strong, if under the radar, performance that demonstrates his form—the fast finisher rolling with the punches to finish the two hilly stages strongly before sprinting to 7th place on the final stage into Dunboyne. A National B winner in the Jock Wadley Memorial already this season, he is one to watch, especially if a small group contests the finish.
Matthew Webber (TAAP Kalas) is another rider with a National B win under his belt this year, sprinting to the line to take a fast and furious edition of the Andrews Trophy last month, while 4th place in the Totnes–Vire stage race demonstrates both race craft and an ability to climb which is crucial to victory here.
Elliott Colyer (Aero CLCTV) won that race overall with a solo victory on the final stage, beginning a brilliant April where he was third in the Andrews Trophy and 5th at the Chitterne Road Race, which was won by Matthew Gilmour. 20-year-old Gilmour joined Nopinz RT over the winter and hasn’t looked back, starting the season with a brilliant second place at the Portsdown Classic, the first of a string of point scoring results. Alongside Alex Pickering (RideRevolution Coaching), a strong time trialist who excels in stage races, the trio aren’t eligible for regional honours, meaning they are unlikely to get involved in any tactical battles for the minor places and race purely for the win.
Tom Heal is the sole JAKROO Handsling representative in the race with the majority of David Struele’s squad racing in France, and the 30-year-old is one of a number of outsiders with designs on upsetting the odds for both the race and regional podium. Also expected to challenge are Lance Childs (RideRevolution Coaching), who finished in the top-10 of the Andrews Trophy, while Oliver Mangham (DAS Richardsons) comes into the race off the back of the Rás Tailteann having finished 5th here last season.
Women
With just 18 entrants, the women’s race has the potential to become less of a tactical affair and a pure test of strength, with London Academy the best placed team to make their strength in numbers count, fielding five riders to take on four laps of the testing course.
They are led by Emilia Fletcher who won the team’s London Academy Easter Road Race, her debut National B, on a very different circuit parallel to the A1 in Cambridgeshire last month courtesy of a brilliant solo effort. Also amongst their number is former The British Continental journal contributor Iona Mitchell who finished 8th at the Capernwray Road Race earlier in the season, the multiple ascents of Sunny Bank in that race indicating that the 30-year-old has the engine, and experience, to attack the race on the hilly circuit.
The team can also count on Georgia Huddlestone, who with two National B top-10s so far this season will be looking to improve on her 4th place at the Academy’s Easter Road Race.
Phoebe Roche. Image: Milan Josy/The British Continental
One rider determined to not let Sarah King’s charges dictate proceedings is U23 rider Phoebe Roche (FTP–Fulfil The Potential Racing), who arrives in good form having finished 12th in the Lincoln Grand Prix. Winner of the Witham Hall Grand Prix last season and the sole first category licence holder in the race, she finished second to Fletcher from a reduced bunch sprint in Cambridgeshire last month. The only concern for Roche is that her standout results have come on much flatter terrain, so a win here would be a significant result for her moving forward.
Roche will be backed up by teammate Anna Boniface, the Central region entrant who secured a National A top-20 last season at the testing Witheridge Grand Prix as well as a brace of third places at National B level. A 5th place at the attritional Banbury Star Road Race two weeks ago a good indication of her form, where she finished just one place ahead of the South’s Emma Leslie (University of Bath CC).
National B honours aren’t the only prize on offer in the rolling hills of Sussex on Sunday, with the London Dynamo Road Race also incorporating the South East regional championships into its running. As well as local bragging rights for the regional champion, a guaranteed place on the start line of next month’s National Road Race Championships is also up for grabs in both the open and women’s races.
Featured image: Mark James
What is it?
A double header on the hilly Staplefield circuit in West Sussex, the National B races for both the open and women’s field are promoted by London Dynamo, one of the biggest cycling clubs in the UK.
Last year the races incorporated both the South East and Central championships for the open race, while the women also contested the Eastern regional title on this course, with Josh Housley and Noémie Thomson running out the overall winners.
This year only the South East title is up for grabs, with the in-form Danylo Riwnyj hoping to go one better than second place overall twelve months ago as he returns to defend his regional crown, while a new queen of the South East will be crowned in Noémie Thomson’s absence following an injury sustained while racing in Spain. With the potential for the minor places to bear real significance, exciting and attacking racing is forecast throughout the day.
Entries on the line are available for the women’s race at 1.30pm, with the open race kicking off at 9.30am.
Route
A twisty 21km loop around the Sussex lanes taking in Cuckfield, Balcombe, and Handcross, the circuit is a typical National B test of a rider’s all-round ability.
Rolling hills punctuate each lap offering numerous opportunities for the race to split up, their duration and gradients not severe enough for an outright climber to make the difference, however. On top of the constantly changing elevation, a long, exposed section along London Road offers another opportunity for the race to fracture should conditions be windy enough, while positioning will be crucial throughout as the peloton pass through the five villages and their road furniture, while the narrow, twisting Brook Street will also be a potential flash point for those at the head of affairs to make their advantage count.
Holmstead Hill, the climb to the finish line, could not only shape the race, but decide it. Tackled six times in the open race (126km) and four times in the women’s (84km), the 600m climb to the finish line along the B2114 tops out at 8% and will increasingly sting the legs as the laps tick down, suiting the rider with the most left to give in the run to the finish line.
Riders to watch
Open
The race looks set to resume the battle between Jack Rootkin-Gray and Danylo Riwnyj, the pair both present in the four-man winning move at the Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix three weeks ago, only for the Foran CT rider to succumb to a puncture before the final lap, denying him a chance of victory.
Now racing as an independent, Rootkin-Gray, still only 23, spent two years with WorldTour outfit EF Education-EasyPost prior to this season and has eschewed the option to race for the West Midlands title in favour of taking part here. He enters the race in a similar vein of form to that which saw him sign for Jonathan Vaughters’ squad from Saint Piran at the end of 2023—a win by the smallest of margins at the Timmy James Memorial the precursor to the second spot on the podium in Lincoln, both races evidence that he hasn’t lost his nous for finding the winning move.
Riwnyj meanwhile has proven to be one of the most consistent riders in the domestic scene following a breakthrough 2025, his ride at Lincoln, and a 5th place at the Rás Tailteann last week a demonstration that he has now progressed to the next level after multiple National B wins. The defending South East champion, he is the red hot favourite to retain his title, but the 27-year-old will be eyeing the race win.
National B races, and championships especially, are rarely that simple however, and there are a host of riders in the 59-strong field who will have designs on the win, regional title, or both.
Olly Curd (DAS Richardsons) is one such rider—19th place in the Rás a strong, if under the radar, performance that demonstrates his form—the fast finisher rolling with the punches to finish the two hilly stages strongly before sprinting to 7th place on the final stage into Dunboyne. A National B winner in the Jock Wadley Memorial already this season, he is one to watch, especially if a small group contests the finish.
Matthew Webber (TAAP Kalas) is another rider with a National B win under his belt this year, sprinting to the line to take a fast and furious edition of the Andrews Trophy last month, while 4th place in the Totnes–Vire stage race demonstrates both race craft and an ability to climb which is crucial to victory here.
Elliott Colyer (Aero CLCTV) won that race overall with a solo victory on the final stage, beginning a brilliant April where he was third in the Andrews Trophy and 5th at the Chitterne Road Race, which was won by Matthew Gilmour. 20-year-old Gilmour joined Nopinz RT over the winter and hasn’t looked back, starting the season with a brilliant second place at the Portsdown Classic, the first of a string of point scoring results. Alongside Alex Pickering (RideRevolution Coaching), a strong time trialist who excels in stage races, the trio aren’t eligible for regional honours, meaning they are unlikely to get involved in any tactical battles for the minor places and race purely for the win.
Tom Heal is the sole JAKROO Handsling representative in the race with the majority of David Struele’s squad racing in France, and the 30-year-old is one of a number of outsiders with designs on upsetting the odds for both the race and regional podium. Also expected to challenge are Lance Childs (RideRevolution Coaching), who finished in the top-10 of the Andrews Trophy, while Oliver Mangham (DAS Richardsons) comes into the race off the back of the Rás Tailteann having finished 5th here last season.
Women
With just 18 entrants, the women’s race has the potential to become less of a tactical affair and a pure test of strength, with London Academy the best placed team to make their strength in numbers count, fielding five riders to take on four laps of the testing course.
They are led by Emilia Fletcher who won the team’s London Academy Easter Road Race, her debut National B, on a very different circuit parallel to the A1 in Cambridgeshire last month courtesy of a brilliant solo effort. Also amongst their number is former The British Continental journal contributor Iona Mitchell who finished 8th at the Capernwray Road Race earlier in the season, the multiple ascents of Sunny Bank in that race indicating that the 30-year-old has the engine, and experience, to attack the race on the hilly circuit.
The team can also count on Georgia Huddlestone, who with two National B top-10s so far this season will be looking to improve on her 4th place at the Academy’s Easter Road Race.
One rider determined to not let Sarah King’s charges dictate proceedings is U23 rider Phoebe Roche (FTP–Fulfil The Potential Racing), who arrives in good form having finished 12th in the Lincoln Grand Prix. Winner of the Witham Hall Grand Prix last season and the sole first category licence holder in the race, she finished second to Fletcher from a reduced bunch sprint in Cambridgeshire last month. The only concern for Roche is that her standout results have come on much flatter terrain, so a win here would be a significant result for her moving forward.
Roche will be backed up by teammate Anna Boniface, the Central region entrant who secured a National A top-20 last season at the testing Witheridge Grand Prix as well as a brace of third places at National B level. A 5th place at the attritional Banbury Star Road Race two weeks ago a good indication of her form, where she finished just one place ahead of the South’s Emma Leslie (University of Bath CC).
Provisional startlists
Open
Women
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