Series leader Alex Foster heads a finely balanced field for the Yorkshire U23 Classic, where eight laps of the testing Upper Denby circuit offer several contenders the chance of a breakthrough National B victory.
The Yorkshire U23 Classic returns to Upper Denby on Sunday 2 August with the National Under-23 Road Series finely poised. With two-time winner Luca Nicholson absent, leader Alex Foster has an opportunity to take control — but a selective circuit, a small field and several proven contenders should make the race difficult to contain.
Featured image: Beard on a Bike
What is it?
Organised by British Cycling Yorkshire, this is the fifth edition of the race and the third to use the Holmfirth CC course at Upper Denby, 10 miles south of Huddersfield, after two years on the edge of the Peak District at Carlecotes.
The race has a record of producing winners who have used it as a platform. trainSharp’s Sam Clark took the inaugural edition ahead of Toby Barnes, with Jenson Young, Tom Williams, and Maxwell Hereward adding their names to the roll of honour since. September’s Chas Messenger Trophy in Buckinghamshire closes the series.
The series so far
Lowestoft’s Luca Nicholson took his maiden National B win in wet and windy conditions at the PB Performance Espoirs Road Race at Gilmorton in March, soloing clear after he and BCC Race Team’s George Stephen broke away with 20 kilometres to go. He repeated the trick at the Stourbridge CC round at Welland last month, though by very different means, bridging from the bunch through the groups on the road before coming round Jamie Whitcher in the sprint from a leading four.
With two wins from the two rounds he has ridden, Nicholson sits 2nd in the standings behind Cycling Sheffield’s Alex Foster, who leads after victory in April’s Danum Trophy, where he came out of a small group with a long-range sprint at the end of a furious afternoon in South Yorkshire.
Fewer than 20 points separate the top five, and 30 are available for a win.
Riders take on eight laps of the 13.5-kilometre circuit for a race distance of just 106 kilometres, a parcours that should produce the same hard, fast racing that has defined the series so far. It’s the same selective circuit used for the 2023 edition at which Jenson Young was the victor.
The organiser describes the course as a third flat, a third descending, and a third climbing, with almost 1,500 metres of elevation gain. That should favour the strongest, with the leg-sapping climb to the finish the natural place for the race to be decided: 2.5 kilometres long, ascending in a series of steps, and touching 9% for a short section.
Riders to watch
With just 47 riders starting and many of the protagonists from earlier rounds absent, Sunday offers some the chance to stake a claim on the overall and others a breakthrough National B win in good company.
With Luca Nicholson favouring the Sherpa Performance Stage Race in Essex, series leader Alex Foster (Cycling Sheffield) has the chance to extend his advantage with a strong team around him. An all-rounder with a fearsome kick at the end of a hard race, Foster took the Danum Trophy with a long-range sprint, first chasing down JAKROO Handsling Racing’s Oliver Dawson, then holding off Dawson’s teammate Harrison Dainty in the scramble to the line. The 21-year-old was 4th at the Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix and has been quieter since, though 6th at the Stourbridge CC round was a useful haul of points, and a hard week racing kermesses with his team last month may have brought him back to form.
Foster wins at Danum. Image: JoeHudsonPhoto.com
Dave Coulson’s squad bring five riders in total, including James Sawyers, 5th in the series after his 4th place at Welland in June, and climber Nathan Smith, who should relish the finish. The York rider’s best result to date is 3rd in the opening round at Gilmorton.
BCC Race Team also enter five, though their talisman Lewis Tinsley, 3rd in the series, is not among them. Instead The British Continental journal contributor George Stephen is their best chance of a result: the University of Nottingham student came close to a maiden National B win in March, making the winning move at Gilmorton before losing contact with eventual winner Nicholson. Bryan Steel’s squad also contains Ethan Squires, a reasonable outside bet after a commanding victory at the Regional A Great Limber Grand Prix on a testing Lincolnshire Wolds circuit last Sunday.
Harrison Dainty (JAKROO Handsling) has been one of the standout riders of 2026 in his first U23 season, impressing in the biggest races he has ridden. His 3rd place at the Tour of the Reservoir was a deserved headline result, and he is still searching for a win after going close at the Danum Trophy earlier in the season, while aggressive rides at the Rutland–Melton CiCLE Classic and 11th at Paris–Troyes, where he finished in the second group on the road, are further proof of his quality. There is a slight question mark over his form, though: he failed to finish either the Lancaster or South Molton Grand Prix in July.
Harrison Dainty (JAKROO Handsling Racing). Image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
Mark Lightfoot (AVC Aix Provence Dole) and Alex Beldon (Laval Cyclisme 53) are back in the UK temporarily after a season in France’s top amateur tier. Both are riders of real class, and both are likely to shape how the race plays out.
Breakaway specialist Beldon took a breakthrough win at the PB Performance Espoirs Road Race last season in Muc-Off–SRCT–Storck colours, a year on from a season with TRINITY Racing, and having learned how to compete in and win British races, the rouleur has shown his time trial ability repeatedly in France this year. At last week’s Sheffield Grand Prix the Leeds native was active in the closing stages, a sign the form is there; 23rd does his ride no justice, given he started towards the back of the grid on a technical city centre course.
Lightfoot, meanwhile, was 9th at the mountainous Vuelta a Asturias earlier this year and has been consistent both in France and across the UCI U23 calendar. Back for this race and the Beaumont Trophy, he could win either.
Like Beldon, Jamie Whitcher (Hubo–Scott CT) is strong against the clock and has used that to good effect in stage races; 2026 is the year the 22-year-old has come closest to a standalone National B win. Second at Welland was a breakthrough, and given the composition of the field he should find riders willing to work with him in a move.
Benji Tuchner (Tekkerz CC) is another worth watching, having shown his best form to date across the criterium season, finishing with three top-six results. His road race form is patchy: 3rd at the Crawley Wheelers Surrey League Road Race is his standout, though in a weak National B field, and 17th at the South Molton Grand Prix is a better indication that this is a race he can influence.
Finally, first-year U23 riders Magnus Denwood (Prologue Racing Team) and Ryan Oldfield (Team Tactic U23) arrive from opposite ends of the sport with plenty of potential. Denwood won the Junior Tour of South Wales last year, a race whose roll of honour runs from Johan Vansummeren to Noah Hobbs via Alex Dowsett and Tom Pidcock. Racing with the elites now, he showed his racecraft and climbing with 7th at the Capernwray Road Race in April on a similar parcours. Oldfield has been making waves on the track and comes here off the back of the European U23 Championships. He has yet to make a mark at this level on the road, but will be one to watch if he gets into a move.
The Yorkshire U23 Classic returns to Upper Denby on Sunday 2 August with the National Under-23 Road Series finely poised. With two-time winner Luca Nicholson absent, leader Alex Foster has an opportunity to take control — but a selective circuit, a small field and several proven contenders should make the race difficult to contain.
Featured image: Beard on a Bike
What is it?
Organised by British Cycling Yorkshire, this is the fifth edition of the race and the third to use the Holmfirth CC course at Upper Denby, 10 miles south of Huddersfield, after two years on the edge of the Peak District at Carlecotes.
The race has a record of producing winners who have used it as a platform. trainSharp’s Sam Clark took the inaugural edition ahead of Toby Barnes, with Jenson Young, Tom Williams, and Maxwell Hereward adding their names to the roll of honour since. September’s Chas Messenger Trophy in Buckinghamshire closes the series.
The series so far
Lowestoft’s Luca Nicholson took his maiden National B win in wet and windy conditions at the PB Performance Espoirs Road Race at Gilmorton in March, soloing clear after he and BCC Race Team’s George Stephen broke away with 20 kilometres to go. He repeated the trick at the Stourbridge CC round at Welland last month, though by very different means, bridging from the bunch through the groups on the road before coming round Jamie Whitcher in the sprint from a leading four.
With two wins from the two rounds he has ridden, Nicholson sits 2nd in the standings behind Cycling Sheffield’s Alex Foster, who leads after victory in April’s Danum Trophy, where he came out of a small group with a long-range sprint at the end of a furious afternoon in South Yorkshire.
Fewer than 20 points separate the top five, and 30 are available for a win.
Route
Riders take on eight laps of the 13.5-kilometre circuit for a race distance of just 106 kilometres, a parcours that should produce the same hard, fast racing that has defined the series so far. It’s the same selective circuit used for the 2023 edition at which Jenson Young was the victor.
The organiser describes the course as a third flat, a third descending, and a third climbing, with almost 1,500 metres of elevation gain. That should favour the strongest, with the leg-sapping climb to the finish the natural place for the race to be decided: 2.5 kilometres long, ascending in a series of steps, and touching 9% for a short section.
Riders to watch
With just 47 riders starting and many of the protagonists from earlier rounds absent, Sunday offers some the chance to stake a claim on the overall and others a breakthrough National B win in good company.
With Luca Nicholson favouring the Sherpa Performance Stage Race in Essex, series leader Alex Foster (Cycling Sheffield) has the chance to extend his advantage with a strong team around him. An all-rounder with a fearsome kick at the end of a hard race, Foster took the Danum Trophy with a long-range sprint, first chasing down JAKROO Handsling Racing’s Oliver Dawson, then holding off Dawson’s teammate Harrison Dainty in the scramble to the line. The 21-year-old was 4th at the Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix and has been quieter since, though 6th at the Stourbridge CC round was a useful haul of points, and a hard week racing kermesses with his team last month may have brought him back to form.
Dave Coulson’s squad bring five riders in total, including James Sawyers, 5th in the series after his 4th place at Welland in June, and climber Nathan Smith, who should relish the finish. The York rider’s best result to date is 3rd in the opening round at Gilmorton.
BCC Race Team also enter five, though their talisman Lewis Tinsley, 3rd in the series, is not among them. Instead The British Continental journal contributor George Stephen is their best chance of a result: the University of Nottingham student came close to a maiden National B win in March, making the winning move at Gilmorton before losing contact with eventual winner Nicholson. Bryan Steel’s squad also contains Ethan Squires, a reasonable outside bet after a commanding victory at the Regional A Great Limber Grand Prix on a testing Lincolnshire Wolds circuit last Sunday.
Harrison Dainty (JAKROO Handsling) has been one of the standout riders of 2026 in his first U23 season, impressing in the biggest races he has ridden. His 3rd place at the Tour of the Reservoir was a deserved headline result, and he is still searching for a win after going close at the Danum Trophy earlier in the season, while aggressive rides at the Rutland–Melton CiCLE Classic and 11th at Paris–Troyes, where he finished in the second group on the road, are further proof of his quality. There is a slight question mark over his form, though: he failed to finish either the Lancaster or South Molton Grand Prix in July.
Mark Lightfoot (AVC Aix Provence Dole) and Alex Beldon (Laval Cyclisme 53) are back in the UK temporarily after a season in France’s top amateur tier. Both are riders of real class, and both are likely to shape how the race plays out.
Breakaway specialist Beldon took a breakthrough win at the PB Performance Espoirs Road Race last season in Muc-Off–SRCT–Storck colours, a year on from a season with TRINITY Racing, and having learned how to compete in and win British races, the rouleur has shown his time trial ability repeatedly in France this year. At last week’s Sheffield Grand Prix the Leeds native was active in the closing stages, a sign the form is there; 23rd does his ride no justice, given he started towards the back of the grid on a technical city centre course.
Lightfoot, meanwhile, was 9th at the mountainous Vuelta a Asturias earlier this year and has been consistent both in France and across the UCI U23 calendar. Back for this race and the Beaumont Trophy, he could win either.
Like Beldon, Jamie Whitcher (Hubo–Scott CT) is strong against the clock and has used that to good effect in stage races; 2026 is the year the 22-year-old has come closest to a standalone National B win. Second at Welland was a breakthrough, and given the composition of the field he should find riders willing to work with him in a move.
Benji Tuchner (Tekkerz CC) is another worth watching, having shown his best form to date across the criterium season, finishing with three top-six results. His road race form is patchy: 3rd at the Crawley Wheelers Surrey League Road Race is his standout, though in a weak National B field, and 17th at the South Molton Grand Prix is a better indication that this is a race he can influence.
Finally, first-year U23 riders Magnus Denwood (Prologue Racing Team) and Ryan Oldfield (Team Tactic U23) arrive from opposite ends of the sport with plenty of potential. Denwood won the Junior Tour of South Wales last year, a race whose roll of honour runs from Johan Vansummeren to Noah Hobbs via Alex Dowsett and Tom Pidcock. Racing with the elites now, he showed his racecraft and climbing with 7th at the Capernwray Road Race in April on a similar parcours. Oldfield has been making waves on the track and comes here off the back of the European U23 Championships. He has yet to make a mark at this level on the road, but will be one to watch if he gets into a move.
Provisional startlist
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