2026 Solihull CC Women’s Road Race: report and results
Lowri Richards won the Solihull CC Women’s Road Race on Sunday 5 July, timing her sprint on the new Ridgeway finish to beat Amelia Staunton and Ella Tandy after a race that stayed largely together despite repeated attacks.
Lowri Richards (Solas Cycling) won the Solihull CC Women’s Road Race on Sunday 5 July, beating Amelia Staunton (Brother UK–On Form) and Ella Tandy (Simpson Nouvelles) on the new Ridgeway finish.
The National B race, also Round 3 of the British Women’s Team Cup, stayed largely together despite repeated attacks, leaving the result to be decided on the drag towards Cookhill and the false-flat sprint beyond it.
The new finish had promised to change the character of the Solihull CC Women’s Road Race. After years of flat sprints near Gooms Hill, the race moved this year to the Ridgeway near Cookhill: a longer, harder finale, rising for much of the approach before easing into a deceptive false-flat run to the line.
In the end, it did not produce the race of attrition some might have expected. There were attacks, and plenty of them, but no decisive breakaway. On a rolling circuit and in a race shaped by wind as much as gradient, every move seemed to invite a response. The bunch bent but did not break.
Richards was among those who tried to get away before eventually committing to the finish.
“It was a good race,” she told The British Continental afterwards. “Lots of people tried to get away, including myself, but with the wind and the terrain being rolling, nothing was really sticking.”
That left the final half-lap to decide it. Solas Cycling still had a card to play, with one of Richards’ teammates attacking late in an attempt to soften the bunch and draw out a response. Richards, rather than chasing, sat in and began to think about the sprint.
“In the last half a lap my teammate tried to go solo, and so I sat in for the sprint and made sure I wasn’t in a position to get boxed in on the final climb,” she said.
That positioning proved decisive. The Ridgeway finish was difficult to judge: not simply a climb, not simply a sprint, but something in between. The road rose first, then opened into the final section, where speed had to be carried rather than forced.
“It was a difficult finish to read because it almost had two parts, the climb and then the false-flat downhill sprint itself,” Richards said. “I saw Ella open her sprint at the top and followed, then launched mine a bit early. I was worried I was going to get rolled but managed to hang on.”
Tandy, one of the pre-race favourites for exactly this kind of uphill sprint, had opened the door. Richards took it. She came off the Simpson Nouvelles rider’s move, launched early, and held the line as Amelia Staunton (Brother UK–On Form) came through for second and Tandy took third.
Behind them, Georgia Huddleston (London Academy) finished fourth, with Anastasia Bowler (FTP–Fulfil The Potential–Racing) fifth. Olivia Gardner (Team V-Sprint Racing), Lucy Havard (Jadan Vive le Velo p/b Glasdon), Rebecca Babbage (FTP–Fulfil The Potential–Racing), Peggy Simpkins (Loughborough Lightning) and Amber Junker-Brameld (Brother UK–On Form) completed the top 10.
For Solas, the win brought a different kind of relief. The team had arrived at Inkberrow after a hard week at the Otley and Ilkley criteriums, two fast, unforgiving town-centre races that left Richards unsure of what she had left.
“It actually means a lot to the team,” she said. “This week we’ve had quite a tough time at Otley and Ilkley crits, and I felt pretty cracked yesterday and this morning, so I actually can’t believe I managed to pull that off today.
“The team’s also so supportive and just such a great environment to be in, so to reward everyone in our circle with a win today feels really nice.”
Lowri Richards (Solas Cycling) won the Solihull CC Women’s Road Race on Sunday 5 July, beating Amelia Staunton (Brother UK–On Form) and Ella Tandy (Simpson Nouvelles) on the new Ridgeway finish.
The National B race, also Round 3 of the British Women’s Team Cup, stayed largely together despite repeated attacks, leaving the result to be decided on the drag towards Cookhill and the false-flat sprint beyond it.
Featured image: Matt de-B Photography
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Report
The new finish had promised to change the character of the Solihull CC Women’s Road Race. After years of flat sprints near Gooms Hill, the race moved this year to the Ridgeway near Cookhill: a longer, harder finale, rising for much of the approach before easing into a deceptive false-flat run to the line.
In the end, it did not produce the race of attrition some might have expected. There were attacks, and plenty of them, but no decisive breakaway. On a rolling circuit and in a race shaped by wind as much as gradient, every move seemed to invite a response. The bunch bent but did not break.
Richards was among those who tried to get away before eventually committing to the finish.
“It was a good race,” she told The British Continental afterwards. “Lots of people tried to get away, including myself, but with the wind and the terrain being rolling, nothing was really sticking.”
That left the final half-lap to decide it. Solas Cycling still had a card to play, with one of Richards’ teammates attacking late in an attempt to soften the bunch and draw out a response. Richards, rather than chasing, sat in and began to think about the sprint.
“In the last half a lap my teammate tried to go solo, and so I sat in for the sprint and made sure I wasn’t in a position to get boxed in on the final climb,” she said.
That positioning proved decisive. The Ridgeway finish was difficult to judge: not simply a climb, not simply a sprint, but something in between. The road rose first, then opened into the final section, where speed had to be carried rather than forced.
“It was a difficult finish to read because it almost had two parts, the climb and then the false-flat downhill sprint itself,” Richards said. “I saw Ella open her sprint at the top and followed, then launched mine a bit early. I was worried I was going to get rolled but managed to hang on.”
Tandy, one of the pre-race favourites for exactly this kind of uphill sprint, had opened the door. Richards took it. She came off the Simpson Nouvelles rider’s move, launched early, and held the line as Amelia Staunton (Brother UK–On Form) came through for second and Tandy took third.
Behind them, Georgia Huddleston (London Academy) finished fourth, with Anastasia Bowler (FTP–Fulfil The Potential–Racing) fifth. Olivia Gardner (Team V-Sprint Racing), Lucy Havard (Jadan Vive le Velo p/b Glasdon), Rebecca Babbage (FTP–Fulfil The Potential–Racing), Peggy Simpkins (Loughborough Lightning) and Amber Junker-Brameld (Brother UK–On Form) completed the top 10.
For Solas, the win brought a different kind of relief. The team had arrived at Inkberrow after a hard week at the Otley and Ilkley criteriums, two fast, unforgiving town-centre races that left Richards unsure of what she had left.
“It actually means a lot to the team,” she said. “This week we’ve had quite a tough time at Otley and Ilkley crits, and I felt pretty cracked yesterday and this morning, so I actually can’t believe I managed to pull that off today.
“The team’s also so supportive and just such a great environment to be in, so to reward everyone in our circle with a win today feels really nice.”
It was also, by Richards’ reckoning, a personal milestone.
“I think it’s also my first Nat B win and my first proper win in a long time,” she said. “So that’s cool.”
Results
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