‘It’s about building it for the future’: inside Max Sillifant’s expanding Riders Collective GP
A year ago, Max Sillifant was trying to save a race. Now he is trying to broaden the idea of what a National B can be. Ahead of the second Riders Collective GP on 19 September, he tells us about women's racing, village diplomacy and why the day should feel like a festival
That, he admits, was “an all-in chaos session”. The race survived, and thrived. But listen to him talk about the 2026 edition and it becomes clear that saving a race was only ever step one. What he is really attempting is to rethink what a British National B can look like.
“It’s not just about the riders now,” he says. “It’s about building it for the future.”
The bare facts of the second Riders Collective GP, which takes place on 19 September, are impressive enough for an event being organised alongside a full-time job. A women’s National B opens the programme at 10am, followed half an hour later by the 100km Ride Fire 100 sportive, before the 120km open National B closes the racing at 2.30pm. There is a new venue, a new circuit, a campsite, live music and a charity cake stall.
We’re going to try and make it a celebration of cycling
But it is the thinking behind the format that sets it apart. Most domestic races operate in isolation: riders arrive, sign on in a village hall, race, and disperse. Sillifant wants to bring racers, sportive riders, spectators and the village itself into the same event.
“Sometimes we organise these things and don’t think about the impact on others,” he says. “We’re not just sending these riders around, they turn up, do the three hours, and then leave. Hopefully it’s all connected together.”
Sillifant (right) with race winner Adam Lewis at last year’s race. Image: Chris McKnight
A day out, not just a race
So picture the day he is describing. Sportive riders gather outside the Dog and Gun pub in Walton, the new race HQ, and watch the women’s peloton roll out at 10am before setting off themselves into the lanes of Leicestershire and Northamptonshire. They return, via a village refreshment stop, in time for the closing stages of the open race, with food and drink included in their entry and the finishing circuit a two-minute walk away. The racing flashes past every six minutes or so. There is a pub garden, live music planned for the evening, families, cake. For anyone wanting to make a weekend of it, there is a campsite in the next village. When the racing is done, the pub does what pubs do.
“We’re going to try and make it a celebration of cycling,” he says. “If I close my eyes and think about how it should look, that’s it. Make it as busy as possible.”
It’s about trying to engage with those that are new to the sport or aren’t really connected with the racing scene we’ve got at the minute
The short lap is central to that. The new 4.6km kermesse-style circuit is flat and technical, with three semi-tight left-hand corners, around 25 metres of climbing per lap and regular prime laps to keep the attacks coming. The roads are quiet, the back half of the lap runs past a largely disused aerodrome, and the tarmac has been relaid within the last couple of years. That matters to Sillifant. “It doesn’t matter how good the circuit is if it’s on a really busy road. The majority of riders in the British scene are going to work on the Monday morning, so making sure riders are safe on a circuit like this was important.”
“People can watch it come through every six minutes,” Sillifant says. “It’s about trying to engage with those that are new to the sport or aren’t really connected with the racing scene we’ve got at the minute.”
The circuit also carries personal weight. “It was the first road race circuit I ever did, when I was 16 or 17, the first time I could race a road race as a junior. It’s a circuit that’s always stayed with me.”
Adding a women’s race, eyes open
The addition of a women’s National B is the most significant change, and Sillifant is under no illusions about the climate he is launching it into. Fields across the domestic calendar are fragile; when we speak, he mentions a recent National B that attracted fewer than 30 entries. “I can’t imagine what their financials are looking like. It’s people putting their money and time in.”
What made the difference was sponsorship. KLM Taxis, active supporters of the racing scene in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire, have backed the women’s race, and prize money will be equal across the open and women’s races.
Sillifant says he felt it was important to add a women’s race only once he was confident it could be properly supported.
“I’m in a very fortunate position where we’ve been able to obtain sponsors that are fully committed to it,” he says. “It removes some of the uncertainty around organising a women’s race, given current trends.”
Image: Chris McKnight
The rider-organiser
Part of what makes the Riders Collective GP distinctive is that its organiser is still in the bunch. Sillifant races most weekends, and that gives him a direct line to the riders he hopes will support the event.
“I find myself at racing most weekends, so I drop it into conversation and it gets people talking,” he says. “That’s the blessing I’ve got compared to a club that organises one race.”
It also shapes his priorities. “As harsh as it is, I’m not going professional any time soon, and I always joke at races and question why I’m doing them. But I love it. And there are riders in that position who realise it’s not all about performance anymore, it’s about enjoying it. It’s about keeping that rider-centred drive to create more, not just for now but for the future.”
Winning over Walton
The move to Walton, one village along from last year’s venue, brings its own diplomacy. Sillifant grew up in the neighbouring village and knows the terrain, social as well as tarmac. The village has hosted time trials and, some years ago, a third- and fourth-category road race, so racing is not entirely foreign. Still, he is treating residents as stakeholders rather than obstacles: two village halls booked and an open invitation for locals to join the day as what he calls a peace offering.
We basically rocked up, said we have no money, but would you be interested in being involved and building this together? They’ve really opened their arms
The pub has form with cyclists, too. Its previous owners ran an annual “pie ride” which, by Sillifant’s account, eventually became a victim of its own popularity and had to stop. The current owners have embraced the idea of picking up where it left off. “We basically rocked up, said we have no money, but would you be interested in being involved and building this together? They’ve really opened their arms.”
Then there is the cake stall. Last year, Sillifant’s family and their friends baked in bulk and discovered an unexpected truth about race promotion. “The biggest money maker isn’t the racing at all. It’s selling cakes.” This year the proceeds go to the MS Society, a charity close to home for Sillifant, whose mother has MS.
Ambition for a second-year event, then, is not in short supply. Nor is clear-sightedness about why it matters. British road racing does not lack riders who love it. What too many races lack is an obvious reason for anyone beyond the riders and their families to turn up. On 19 September, in a small corner of Leicestershire, Sillifant is having a proper go at changing that.
The Riders Collective GP takes place on Saturday 19 September in Walton, Leicestershire. Entries open soon via British Cycling, with discounted entry until 22 August. The women’s National B starts at 10am, the Ride Fire 100 sportive at 10.30am and the open National B at 2.30pm.
Just under a year ago, Max Sillifant was a 24-year-old rider five weeks out from promoting his first race, scrambling to keep elite road racing alive in south Leicestershire after Leicester Forest CC could no longer run it.
That, he admits, was “an all-in chaos session”. The race survived, and thrived. But listen to him talk about the 2026 edition and it becomes clear that saving a race was only ever step one. What he is really attempting is to rethink what a British National B can look like.
“It’s not just about the riders now,” he says. “It’s about building it for the future.”
The bare facts of the second Riders Collective GP, which takes place on 19 September, are impressive enough for an event being organised alongside a full-time job. A women’s National B opens the programme at 10am, followed half an hour later by the 100km Ride Fire 100 sportive, before the 120km open National B closes the racing at 2.30pm. There is a new venue, a new circuit, a campsite, live music and a charity cake stall.
But it is the thinking behind the format that sets it apart. Most domestic races operate in isolation: riders arrive, sign on in a village hall, race, and disperse. Sillifant wants to bring racers, sportive riders, spectators and the village itself into the same event.
“Sometimes we organise these things and don’t think about the impact on others,” he says. “We’re not just sending these riders around, they turn up, do the three hours, and then leave. Hopefully it’s all connected together.”
A day out, not just a race
So picture the day he is describing. Sportive riders gather outside the Dog and Gun pub in Walton, the new race HQ, and watch the women’s peloton roll out at 10am before setting off themselves into the lanes of Leicestershire and Northamptonshire. They return, via a village refreshment stop, in time for the closing stages of the open race, with food and drink included in their entry and the finishing circuit a two-minute walk away. The racing flashes past every six minutes or so. There is a pub garden, live music planned for the evening, families, cake. For anyone wanting to make a weekend of it, there is a campsite in the next village. When the racing is done, the pub does what pubs do.
“We’re going to try and make it a celebration of cycling,” he says. “If I close my eyes and think about how it should look, that’s it. Make it as busy as possible.”
The short lap is central to that. The new 4.6km kermesse-style circuit is flat and technical, with three semi-tight left-hand corners, around 25 metres of climbing per lap and regular prime laps to keep the attacks coming. The roads are quiet, the back half of the lap runs past a largely disused aerodrome, and the tarmac has been relaid within the last couple of years. That matters to Sillifant. “It doesn’t matter how good the circuit is if it’s on a really busy road. The majority of riders in the British scene are going to work on the Monday morning, so making sure riders are safe on a circuit like this was important.”
“People can watch it come through every six minutes,” Sillifant says. “It’s about trying to engage with those that are new to the sport or aren’t really connected with the racing scene we’ve got at the minute.”
The circuit also carries personal weight. “It was the first road race circuit I ever did, when I was 16 or 17, the first time I could race a road race as a junior. It’s a circuit that’s always stayed with me.”
Adding a women’s race, eyes open
The addition of a women’s National B is the most significant change, and Sillifant is under no illusions about the climate he is launching it into. Fields across the domestic calendar are fragile; when we speak, he mentions a recent National B that attracted fewer than 30 entries. “I can’t imagine what their financials are looking like. It’s people putting their money and time in.”
What made the difference was sponsorship. KLM Taxis, active supporters of the racing scene in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire, have backed the women’s race, and prize money will be equal across the open and women’s races.
Sillifant says he felt it was important to add a women’s race only once he was confident it could be properly supported.
“I’m in a very fortunate position where we’ve been able to obtain sponsors that are fully committed to it,” he says. “It removes some of the uncertainty around organising a women’s race, given current trends.”
The rider-organiser
Part of what makes the Riders Collective GP distinctive is that its organiser is still in the bunch. Sillifant races most weekends, and that gives him a direct line to the riders he hopes will support the event.
“I find myself at racing most weekends, so I drop it into conversation and it gets people talking,” he says. “That’s the blessing I’ve got compared to a club that organises one race.”
It also shapes his priorities. “As harsh as it is, I’m not going professional any time soon, and I always joke at races and question why I’m doing them. But I love it. And there are riders in that position who realise it’s not all about performance anymore, it’s about enjoying it. It’s about keeping that rider-centred drive to create more, not just for now but for the future.”
Winning over Walton
The move to Walton, one village along from last year’s venue, brings its own diplomacy. Sillifant grew up in the neighbouring village and knows the terrain, social as well as tarmac. The village has hosted time trials and, some years ago, a third- and fourth-category road race, so racing is not entirely foreign. Still, he is treating residents as stakeholders rather than obstacles: two village halls booked and an open invitation for locals to join the day as what he calls a peace offering.
The pub has form with cyclists, too. Its previous owners ran an annual “pie ride” which, by Sillifant’s account, eventually became a victim of its own popularity and had to stop. The current owners have embraced the idea of picking up where it left off. “We basically rocked up, said we have no money, but would you be interested in being involved and building this together? They’ve really opened their arms.”
Then there is the cake stall. Last year, Sillifant’s family and their friends baked in bulk and discovered an unexpected truth about race promotion. “The biggest money maker isn’t the racing at all. It’s selling cakes.” This year the proceeds go to the MS Society, a charity close to home for Sillifant, whose mother has MS.
Ambition for a second-year event, then, is not in short supply. Nor is clear-sightedness about why it matters. British road racing does not lack riders who love it. What too many races lack is an obvious reason for anyone beyond the riders and their families to turn up. On 19 September, in a small corner of Leicestershire, Sillifant is having a proper go at changing that.
The Riders Collective GP takes place on Saturday 19 September in Walton, Leicestershire. Entries open soon via British Cycling, with discounted entry until 22 August. The women’s National B starts at 10am, the Ride Fire 100 sportive at 10.30am and the open National B at 2.30pm.
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