The Motorpoint Grand Prix Series travels to Leicester for the final leg of the 2016 competition this Sunday.
Leicester, a city that is no stranger to sporting excellence in recent times, will welcome the top elite British teams to race the Castle Classic.
New British circuit race champion Chris Lawless tops the standings ahead of Sunday’s race but he will still need a solid performance in Leicester to secure the top spot.
Ones to watch
JLT Condor sit at the top of the team rankings with one race to go and look almost impossible to catch, with a 55 point advantage over their nearest rivals.
Riders Chris Lawless and Russell Downing hold the first and second spots in the individual standings and will hope to repeat their strong performances at the British Cycling National Circuit Race Championships last month, where they took the gold and silver medals respectively.
Team mate Jon Mould, third behind the pair at the national championships, won the Leicester race in 2014, so has good form over the course and will hope to figure on Sunday.
Madison Genesis will be looking to have a strong showing on this, the final race of the Motorpoint Grand Prix Series.
The 2015 race was won by Madison Genesis’ Matt Cronshaw who, although unable to contest the podium positions in the overall standings, will want to get maximum points for his team as they sit in second position in the team standings.
Fellow Madison Genesis riders Tom Stewart and Erick Rowsell finished first and second in the previous round of the Motorpoint Grand Prix Series in Abergavenny and will be looking to score top points for the team.
Only three riders could trouble Chris Lawless at the top of the table. With 30 points available for the winning rider, Downing, Adria Moreno Sala (Raleight GAC) and Ian Bibby (NFTO) could still take the title but with Lawless only needing to take six points from the final race, their chances are not looking good.
The course
The unique Leicester Castle Classic course will once again include the cobbles of Castle Square, the 'Old Town' & ' Mile Straight' of Leicester.
In recognition of Leicester City Football Club’s success in winning the 2015/16 Premier League title, this year the race will start and finish in the shadows of the King Power Stadium.
The course is a technical 4.5km circuit in Leicester city centre and, with the added test of negotiating cobbles, should prove a fittingly challenging end to the series.
How to follow the race
- Follow the action from the Leicester Castle Classic on our live blog from 2:45pm on Sunday for race updates, images and social media.
- Follow @BritishCycling on Twitter for updates.
- Video highlights, report, results, images and reaction will appear on the British Cycling website.
- Highlights of the Motorpoint Grand Prix Series will be shown on Eurosport 1 on Sunday 14 August at 5.15pm.
