2026 London Dynamo Summer Road Race: report and results
Jack Rootkin-Gray attacked clear on the final lap to win the London Dynamo Summer Road Race solo at Staplefield on Sunday 31 May, while Emma Leslie (FTP–Fulfil The Potential Racing) won solo in the women's race, 12 days after signing for the team.
Jack Rootkin-Gray attacked clear on the final lap to win the London Dynamo Summer Road Race solo at Staplefield on Sunday 31 May. The result extends the 23-year-old’s rebuild from a leg break last September that interrupted two WorldTour seasons. In the women’s race, former rower Emma Leslie (FTP–Fulfil The Potential Racing) won solo, 12 days after signing for the team.
Sunny spells and a warm 22°C across the Sussex lanes. The 126-kilometre race ran six laps of a rolling 21-kilometre loop through Cuckfield, Balcombe and Handcross – a typical National B test with no single decisive climb.
The opening was unhurried. A first move of around ten riders had gone clear in the early laps when Danylo Riwnyj (Foran CT) attacked the peloton on a climb. Jack Rootkin-Gray (LCRT) recognised the threat and went with him. “I knew he’d be one of the strongest riders in the race, someone to watch, so I just went with him,” he Rootkin-Gray told The British Continental after the race. “We got across fairly quickly.”
Once there, he set about reshaping the leading group. “The group was a bit big, so I broke it up again into about five.” The new front of the race was Rootkin-Gray, Riwnyj, his Foran CT teammate Nathan Levitt, Matthew Gilmour (Nopinz RT) and Oliver Mangham (DAS–Richardsons). “We were together for most of the race,” Rootkin-Gray said. “It was a strong group. We were working well together and riding the climbs hard to make sure we kept the gap.” By two laps to go, the advantage over the peloton was beyond three minutes.
Image: Mark James
The decisive move came on the back of the course on the final lap. “Just before the rolling down section to Handcross, Danylo went, and I went with him,” Rootkin-Gray said. The other three did not respond and the race was reduced to two. Onto the final drag to the line – the 600-metre, 8% climb of Holmstead Hill – Rootkin-Gray attacked from the foot of it. “Coming to the finish was quite a long drag up to the line, and I just hit him at the bottom and held on till the finish,” he said.
Behind, Riwnyj led home what remained of the move for second, ahead of Gilmour in third and Levitt in fourth. Mangham took fifth, with Tom Heal – the sole JAKROO Handsling rider in the field, most of David Struele’s squad over in France – breaking clear of a fragmented peloton for sixth. Riwnyj’s second place retained his South East regional road title.
The win extends a quiet rebuilding stretch for Rootkin-Gray, who broke his leg badly in September after two WorldTour seasons at EF Education-EasyPost.
Image: Mark James
“I’m mainly just trying to come back, to build my confidence again,” he said. “Obviously with that comes not only a lack of fitness, which is fairly easy to regain, but mostly it’s in your head. Regaining that confidence – both riding in a group and in your ability to win.” A guest ride with JAKROO Handsling at Paris-Troyes on Monday was the most recent step on a rebuild he framed as a ladder. “I’m aiming to get back to where I was at WorldTour. That’s just another step. From the National Bs, National As to UCI, all have different tests.” He is down for the Tour of the Reservoir next weekend. Crits, he added, are not his thing.
Women’s race
Emma Leslie (FTP–Fulfil The Potential Racing) won the women’s race solo on debut for her new team, 12 days after signing. The former Bath University rider had ridden into Sunday’s race with modest ambitions. “It’s kind of my first time racing with teammates, which was cool,” Leslie told The British Continental after the finish. “The aim was just to go in and see if I could get in a break away. Anything would have been a bonus.”
The race split inside the opening lap. A leading group of six riders went away with FTP well represented, and rode together through the wooded sections of the course. “Six of us were working together through the trees,” Leslie said. The group thinned again on the climb to the finish line. “Three of us got away at the top of the climb. We worked together for a little bit, and then I pulled away over one of the descents.”
Image: Mark James
Leslie crossed the line over two minutes clear. Phoebe Roche made it an FTP one-two, winning the sprint from what was left of the chase group behind, and took the South East regional women’s road title in the process; Lina Žydelyčtė (Dulwich Paragon CC) finished third, and second in the regional championships.
Leslie’s signing on 19 May was one of the late additions to a leaner 2026 FTP squad rebuilt around a strong U23 intake. After a debut win, she is taking a break: a trip to Mallorca followed by Belgium, “not primarily to cycle” but hoping to race a little while she is there.
Jack Rootkin-Gray attacked clear on the final lap to win the London Dynamo Summer Road Race solo at Staplefield on Sunday 31 May. The result extends the 23-year-old’s rebuild from a leg break last September that interrupted two WorldTour seasons. In the women’s race, former rower Emma Leslie (FTP–Fulfil The Potential Racing) won solo, 12 days after signing for the team.
Featured image: Mark James
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Report
Open race
Sunny spells and a warm 22°C across the Sussex lanes. The 126-kilometre race ran six laps of a rolling 21-kilometre loop through Cuckfield, Balcombe and Handcross – a typical National B test with no single decisive climb.
The opening was unhurried. A first move of around ten riders had gone clear in the early laps when Danylo Riwnyj (Foran CT) attacked the peloton on a climb. Jack Rootkin-Gray (LCRT) recognised the threat and went with him. “I knew he’d be one of the strongest riders in the race, someone to watch, so I just went with him,” he Rootkin-Gray told The British Continental after the race. “We got across fairly quickly.”
Once there, he set about reshaping the leading group. “The group was a bit big, so I broke it up again into about five.” The new front of the race was Rootkin-Gray, Riwnyj, his Foran CT teammate Nathan Levitt, Matthew Gilmour (Nopinz RT) and Oliver Mangham (DAS–Richardsons). “We were together for most of the race,” Rootkin-Gray said. “It was a strong group. We were working well together and riding the climbs hard to make sure we kept the gap.” By two laps to go, the advantage over the peloton was beyond three minutes.
The decisive move came on the back of the course on the final lap. “Just before the rolling down section to Handcross, Danylo went, and I went with him,” Rootkin-Gray said. The other three did not respond and the race was reduced to two. Onto the final drag to the line – the 600-metre, 8% climb of Holmstead Hill – Rootkin-Gray attacked from the foot of it. “Coming to the finish was quite a long drag up to the line, and I just hit him at the bottom and held on till the finish,” he said.
Behind, Riwnyj led home what remained of the move for second, ahead of Gilmour in third and Levitt in fourth. Mangham took fifth, with Tom Heal – the sole JAKROO Handsling rider in the field, most of David Struele’s squad over in France – breaking clear of a fragmented peloton for sixth. Riwnyj’s second place retained his South East regional road title.
The win extends a quiet rebuilding stretch for Rootkin-Gray, who broke his leg badly in September after two WorldTour seasons at EF Education-EasyPost.
“I’m mainly just trying to come back, to build my confidence again,” he said. “Obviously with that comes not only a lack of fitness, which is fairly easy to regain, but mostly it’s in your head. Regaining that confidence – both riding in a group and in your ability to win.” A guest ride with JAKROO Handsling at Paris-Troyes on Monday was the most recent step on a rebuild he framed as a ladder. “I’m aiming to get back to where I was at WorldTour. That’s just another step. From the National Bs, National As to UCI, all have different tests.” He is down for the Tour of the Reservoir next weekend. Crits, he added, are not his thing.
Women’s race
Emma Leslie (FTP–Fulfil The Potential Racing) won the women’s race solo on debut for her new team, 12 days after signing. The former Bath University rider had ridden into Sunday’s race with modest ambitions. “It’s kind of my first time racing with teammates, which was cool,” Leslie told The British Continental after the finish. “The aim was just to go in and see if I could get in a break away. Anything would have been a bonus.”
The race split inside the opening lap. A leading group of six riders went away with FTP well represented, and rode together through the wooded sections of the course. “Six of us were working together through the trees,” Leslie said. The group thinned again on the climb to the finish line. “Three of us got away at the top of the climb. We worked together for a little bit, and then I pulled away over one of the descents.”
Leslie crossed the line over two minutes clear. Phoebe Roche made it an FTP one-two, winning the sprint from what was left of the chase group behind, and took the South East regional women’s road title in the process; Lina Žydelyčtė (Dulwich Paragon CC) finished third, and second in the regional championships.
Leslie’s signing on 19 May was one of the late additions to a leaner 2026 FTP squad rebuilt around a strong U23 intake. After a debut win, she is taking a break: a trip to Mallorca followed by Belgium, “not primarily to cycle” but hoping to race a little while she is there.
Results
Open race
Women’s race
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