At Dawlish on Friday 17 July, Megan Barker (Rapha Cycling Club) won a three-rider photo finish to take the women’s National Circuit Series lead and close on Morven Yeoman in the Rapha Super-League. Frank Longstaff (DAS Richardsons) won the open race with a long sprint, while runner-up Thomas Armstrong strengthened his Super-League advantage.
Megan Barker (Rapha Cycling Club) won a three-rider photo finish at Dawlish on Friday 17 July, taking the women’s National Circuit Series lead and moving to within 15 points of Rapha Super-League leader Morven Yeoman (DAS–Hutchinson).
Frank Longstaff (DAS Richardsons), beaten by a wheel on The Strand twelve months earlier, went long to win the open race. Behind him, Tom Armstrong (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli) finished second and extended his Rapha Super-League lead over Ollie Wood (Rapha Cycling Club) to 25 points ahead of the Sheffield finale.
Featured image: Mathew Wells/SWpix.com
More images to follow when available.
Report
Shoe Centre & Co Women’s Dawlish Grand Prix
Megan Barker (Rapha Cycling Club) won a three-rider sprint decided by inches on The Strand to claim her first Lloyds National Circuit Series victory of 2026 and move into the overall lead.
The national champion edged Amelia Cebak (Smurfit Westrock Cycling Team) in a photo finish after Esther Wong (Team Farto-BTC) opened the sprint. Wong held on for third, with Mari Porton (Handsling Alba Development Road Team) leading the rest home in fourth.
Barker arrived in Dawlish as the highest-placed series contender on the start line. Previous leader Madeline Cooper (Handsling Alba Development Road Team) was absent, while illness ruled Rapha Super-League leader Morven Yeoman (DAS–Hutchinson) out on the eve of the race. Lucy Lee and Ellie Parry were also non-starters, leaving Katie Scott as DAS–Hutchinson’s sole representative in a field of 40.
Powell at the front. Image: Mathew Wells/SWpix.com
The reduced field produced an aggressive but largely controlled race. Dawlish’s short, technical circuit made positioning important and gave attacks little room to establish themselves. Xan Crees (OGT p/b USE) was among the most persistent aggressors, while Scott and Amy Perryman (Rapha Cycling Club) were regularly visible near the front.
Isabel Mayes (O’Shea Red Chilli Bikes) strengthened her lead in the National Sprint Competition by winning both intermediate sprints. Kim Baptista (DRAFT) finished second on each occasion before taking sixth at the finish and moving into the Rapha Super-League’s top ten. Mayes’s maximum haul extended her sprint competition advantage to 30 points over Yeoman.
The race’s most sustained attack came from Jennifer Powell (Performance Development Team). Powell went clear around halfway and remained several seconds ahead for a number of laps. She was eventually brought back before attacking again with just over ten minutes remaining.
Mayes. Image: Mathew Wells/SWpix.com
Her second move began on the finishing straight and drew Crees across, but Perryman responded quickly and the pair were caught before they could establish a meaningful advantage.
By three laps to go, a bunch finish looked increasingly likely. Barker remained among the first three riders through the closing laps, placing herself on the right side of the road for the sprint.
Wong was the first to commit. The 20-year-old, back in Britain after a season racing in Spain, accelerated from the front and briefly appeared to have opened a winning gap. As she moved towards the centre of the road, Barker came through on her right, while Cebak accelerated quickly on the left.
The three reached the line almost together. Barker threw her bike forward to beat Cebak by the narrowest of margins, with Wong third. Porton finished fourth ahead of Mayes, Baptista and Scott.
Barker’s 50 points moved her to 184 in the National Circuit Series, 20 ahead of Mayes. Cooper dropped to third, while Cebak’s second place lifted her to fifth.
The result also moved Barker past Cooper into second in the Rapha Super-League. She now trails Yeoman by 15 points ahead of Sheffield, although the national champion revealed afterwards that she expects Dawlish to be her final National Circuit Series appearance before switching her focus to the Commonwealth Games on the track.
“I really wanted to win in the stripes,” Barker told Monument TV. “It’s been a really solid season and I’m really happy with it. I’d really love to win the series, but I’m not going to be able to race Sheffield. We’re focusing on the track Commonwealth Games and then I’ll be back for the rest of the Super-League after that.”
Handsling Alba, meanwhile, extended their commanding lead in the overall National Circuit Series team standings despite racing without Cooper.
Crealy Open Dawlish Grand Prix
Twelve months after finishing a wheel behind Matt Bostock (Rapha Cycling Club) on The Strand, Frank Longstaff (DAS Richardsons) returned to win the Crealy Open Dawlish Grand Prix with a long sprint from the decisive breakaway.
Longstaff opened his effort early on the finishing straight and held off Thomas Armstrong (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli), National Circuit Series leader Callum Laborde (Ornata Factory Racing) and Caleb Pain (Ride Revolution Coaching). It was his first series victory of the season from only his third appearance.
The decisive move formed early. Longstaff, Armstrong, Laborde, Pain and Archie Peet (O’Neills Spirit Racing Team) escaped and quickly established a gap of around 20 seconds.
Laborde used the break to strengthen his position in the National Sprint Competition, winning both intermediate sprints ahead of Longstaff and adding another 20 points to his total. Peet took third in the first sprint but punctured with around half an hour remaining, his team later told The British Continental. Unable to regain the break, he later abandoned, leaving four riders at the head of the race.
Behind, JAKROO Handsling Racing and Oliver Wood (Rapha Cycling Club) led much of the pursuit. Their work reduced the gap to around 15 seconds with 25 minutes remaining, bringing the break within reach and prompting Wood to attack from the bunch five minutes later.
Aaron King (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli), Sam Chaplin (JAKROO Handsling Racing) and Olivier Mangham (DAS Richardsons) followed. The quartet opened a gap of roughly five seconds but remained around 17 seconds behind the leaders, and its composition made cooperation difficult.
King had Armstrong in the front group, while Mangham had Longstaff. That left Wood and Chaplin with most of the responsibility for the chase, and the counter-attack soon lost momentum.
The four were reabsorbed as JAKROO Handsling resumed the pursuit, but the gap began to rise again. With ten minutes remaining, the leaders held around 25 seconds and looked increasingly certain to contest the podium.
Longstaff began the final sprint from distance, but the move had been planned rather than improvised. After the break continued to work until the final lap, he treated the closing circuit like a match sprint.
“I was constantly looking over my shoulder, watching if either Tom or Callum was going to jump, and they didn’t,” Longstaff told Monument TV. “I knew I wanted to take that last corner first and then go full gas to the line. Thankfully, it was enough.”
Armstrong took second, with Laborde third and Pain fourth. Wood led the bunch home 11 seconds later in fifth.
Laborde’s podium extended his National Circuit Series lead before the final round in Sheffield. He now has 196 points, 12 more than Armstrong, while Longstaff’s victory lifted him to fifth overall despite missing two rounds.
Laborde’s two intermediate-sprint wins also moved him to 54 points in the National Sprint Competition, 12 ahead of Daniel Barnes (Wold Top Pactimo).
Armstrong strengthened his Rapha Super-League lead. His second place increased his total to 125 points, 25 ahead of Wood, while Laborde rose to third and Longstaff climbed seven places to fifth.
Wheelbase CabTech Castelli also strengthened their position at the head of the overall National Circuit Series team standings, pushing their total towards 500 points
Megan Barker (Rapha Cycling Club) won a three-rider photo finish at Dawlish on Friday 17 July, taking the women’s National Circuit Series lead and moving to within 15 points of Rapha Super-League leader Morven Yeoman (DAS–Hutchinson).
Frank Longstaff (DAS Richardsons), beaten by a wheel on The Strand twelve months earlier, went long to win the open race. Behind him, Tom Armstrong (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli) finished second and extended his Rapha Super-League lead over Ollie Wood (Rapha Cycling Club) to 25 points ahead of the Sheffield finale.
Featured image: Mathew Wells/SWpix.com
More images to follow when available.
Report
Shoe Centre & Co Women’s Dawlish Grand Prix
Megan Barker (Rapha Cycling Club) won a three-rider sprint decided by inches on The Strand to claim her first Lloyds National Circuit Series victory of 2026 and move into the overall lead.
The national champion edged Amelia Cebak (Smurfit Westrock Cycling Team) in a photo finish after Esther Wong (Team Farto-BTC) opened the sprint. Wong held on for third, with Mari Porton (Handsling Alba Development Road Team) leading the rest home in fourth.
Barker arrived in Dawlish as the highest-placed series contender on the start line. Previous leader Madeline Cooper (Handsling Alba Development Road Team) was absent, while illness ruled Rapha Super-League leader Morven Yeoman (DAS–Hutchinson) out on the eve of the race. Lucy Lee and Ellie Parry were also non-starters, leaving Katie Scott as DAS–Hutchinson’s sole representative in a field of 40.
The reduced field produced an aggressive but largely controlled race. Dawlish’s short, technical circuit made positioning important and gave attacks little room to establish themselves. Xan Crees (OGT p/b USE) was among the most persistent aggressors, while Scott and Amy Perryman (Rapha Cycling Club) were regularly visible near the front.
Isabel Mayes (O’Shea Red Chilli Bikes) strengthened her lead in the National Sprint Competition by winning both intermediate sprints. Kim Baptista (DRAFT) finished second on each occasion before taking sixth at the finish and moving into the Rapha Super-League’s top ten. Mayes’s maximum haul extended her sprint competition advantage to 30 points over Yeoman.
The race’s most sustained attack came from Jennifer Powell (Performance Development Team). Powell went clear around halfway and remained several seconds ahead for a number of laps. She was eventually brought back before attacking again with just over ten minutes remaining.
Her second move began on the finishing straight and drew Crees across, but Perryman responded quickly and the pair were caught before they could establish a meaningful advantage.
By three laps to go, a bunch finish looked increasingly likely. Barker remained among the first three riders through the closing laps, placing herself on the right side of the road for the sprint.
Wong was the first to commit. The 20-year-old, back in Britain after a season racing in Spain, accelerated from the front and briefly appeared to have opened a winning gap. As she moved towards the centre of the road, Barker came through on her right, while Cebak accelerated quickly on the left.
The three reached the line almost together. Barker threw her bike forward to beat Cebak by the narrowest of margins, with Wong third. Porton finished fourth ahead of Mayes, Baptista and Scott.
Barker’s 50 points moved her to 184 in the National Circuit Series, 20 ahead of Mayes. Cooper dropped to third, while Cebak’s second place lifted her to fifth.
The result also moved Barker past Cooper into second in the Rapha Super-League. She now trails Yeoman by 15 points ahead of Sheffield, although the national champion revealed afterwards that she expects Dawlish to be her final National Circuit Series appearance before switching her focus to the Commonwealth Games on the track.
“I really wanted to win in the stripes,” Barker told Monument TV. “It’s been a really solid season and I’m really happy with it. I’d really love to win the series, but I’m not going to be able to race Sheffield. We’re focusing on the track Commonwealth Games and then I’ll be back for the rest of the Super-League after that.”
Handsling Alba, meanwhile, extended their commanding lead in the overall National Circuit Series team standings despite racing without Cooper.
Crealy Open Dawlish Grand Prix
Twelve months after finishing a wheel behind Matt Bostock (Rapha Cycling Club) on The Strand, Frank Longstaff (DAS Richardsons) returned to win the Crealy Open Dawlish Grand Prix with a long sprint from the decisive breakaway.
Longstaff opened his effort early on the finishing straight and held off Thomas Armstrong (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli), National Circuit Series leader Callum Laborde (Ornata Factory Racing) and Caleb Pain (Ride Revolution Coaching). It was his first series victory of the season from only his third appearance.
The decisive move formed early. Longstaff, Armstrong, Laborde, Pain and Archie Peet (O’Neills Spirit Racing Team) escaped and quickly established a gap of around 20 seconds.
Laborde used the break to strengthen his position in the National Sprint Competition, winning both intermediate sprints ahead of Longstaff and adding another 20 points to his total. Peet took third in the first sprint but punctured with around half an hour remaining, his team later told The British Continental. Unable to regain the break, he later abandoned, leaving four riders at the head of the race.
Behind, JAKROO Handsling Racing and Oliver Wood (Rapha Cycling Club) led much of the pursuit. Their work reduced the gap to around 15 seconds with 25 minutes remaining, bringing the break within reach and prompting Wood to attack from the bunch five minutes later.
Aaron King (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli), Sam Chaplin (JAKROO Handsling Racing) and Olivier Mangham (DAS Richardsons) followed. The quartet opened a gap of roughly five seconds but remained around 17 seconds behind the leaders, and its composition made cooperation difficult.
King had Armstrong in the front group, while Mangham had Longstaff. That left Wood and Chaplin with most of the responsibility for the chase, and the counter-attack soon lost momentum.
The four were reabsorbed as JAKROO Handsling resumed the pursuit, but the gap began to rise again. With ten minutes remaining, the leaders held around 25 seconds and looked increasingly certain to contest the podium.
Longstaff began the final sprint from distance, but the move had been planned rather than improvised. After the break continued to work until the final lap, he treated the closing circuit like a match sprint.
“I was constantly looking over my shoulder, watching if either Tom or Callum was going to jump, and they didn’t,” Longstaff told Monument TV. “I knew I wanted to take that last corner first and then go full gas to the line. Thankfully, it was enough.”
Armstrong took second, with Laborde third and Pain fourth. Wood led the bunch home 11 seconds later in fifth.
Laborde’s podium extended his National Circuit Series lead before the final round in Sheffield. He now has 196 points, 12 more than Armstrong, while Longstaff’s victory lifted him to fifth overall despite missing two rounds.
Laborde’s two intermediate-sprint wins also moved him to 54 points in the National Sprint Competition, 12 ahead of Daniel Barnes (Wold Top Pactimo).
Armstrong strengthened his Rapha Super-League lead. His second place increased his total to 125 points, 25 ahead of Wood, while Laborde rose to third and Longstaff climbed seven places to fifth.
Wheelbase CabTech Castelli also strengthened their position at the head of the overall National Circuit Series team standings, pushing their total towards 500 points
Results
Share this:
Discover more from The British Continental
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.