North Yorkshire is set for a thrilling weekend of road racing as the Ryedale Grand Prix hosts both the HSBC UK | National Women’s Road Series and the HSBC UK | Grand Prix Series.
It is the final round of the HSBC UK | National Women’s Road Series as the HSBC UK | Grand Prix Series reaches round three of four.
About the series
HSBC UK | National Women’s Road Series
The Ryedale Grand Prix is the final round of the nine-round series of the 2017 HSBC UK | National Women’s Road Series, which has run from April until August.
Elizabeth Banks (then of SunSport Velo) got off to the perfect start at the series opener, the Tour of the Wolds, before Wiggle High5’s Grace Garner was victorious at the Essex Giro.
Alice Barnes (Drops) topped the podium at the Lincoln Grand Prix before Team WNT’s Katie Archibald picked up the win at the CiCLE Classic in Melton Mowbray.
The fifth round at the Curlew Cup was won by Julie Erskine of Cycle Team OnForm with the Otley Grand Prix producing a win for Storey Racing’s Elizabeth-Jane Harris.
The two-day Tour of the Reservoir saw individual stage wins for Mel Lowther (Team Breeze) and Laura Massey (Drops), with Lowther taking the overall round win.
The Breeze rider’s form continued in round eight as Lowther produced a stunning attack to win the Newton Longville Festival of Cycling Grand Prix.
The series is set for an exciting conclusion in North Yorkshire on Sunday 6 August.
HSBC UK | Grand Prix Series
The HSBC UK | Grand Prix Series is a four-round British road race series which runs throughout July and August.
Racing began with the Tour of the Reservoir in July with One Pro Cycling’s Karol Domagalski and JLT Condor’s Tom Moses getting the individual stage wins as Tom Stewart took the overall win.
But it was JLT Condor rider Ian Bibby’s fifth and second places over the two stages that saw him collect the most series standings points.
Another JLT Condor rider, Brenton Jones, took the win at the Stockton Grand Prix in a photo finish, pipping Team Wiggins’ Chris Latham on the line.
Following this Sunday’s Ryedale Grand Prix, the series concludes at the Leicester Castle Classic on 13 August.
The courses
HSBC UK | National Women’s Road Series
Starting and finishing at Ampleforth Abbey and College, the riders will set off for two laps of a long circuit, heading south and visiting Oulston and Yearsley before heading back towards Ampleforth.
The peloton will then take in three laps of the short circuit, which cuts out the Oulston loop - a total racing distance of 94.1km.
HSBC UK | Grand Prix Series
The men will race on the same course as the women, but will tackle three laps of the long circuit and five laps of the shorter loop - a total distance of 150.6km.
What happened last year
Familiar faces topped the podiums in North Yorkshire twelve months ago.
Ian Bibby (then NFTO) won the Ryedale Grand Prix for the second year in a row in 2016, catching Matt Holmes (Madison Genesis) on the line.
In the women’s race, Nikki Juniper (Ford Ecoboost) won for the third year running, staying clear of the bunch to take victory.
Ones to watch
HSBC UK | National Women’s Road Series
Elizabeth Banks is the series leader with one race remaining, currently on 146 points - and the Storey Racing rider seems set to be crowned champion at the Ryedale Grand Prix.
Banks is 11 points clear of her nearest rival Mel Lowther (Breeze) - but Lowther will not be in action in North Yorkshire as she is on international duty for the Great Britain Cycling Team at the UEC Road European Championships.
Laura Massey could take Lowther’s second place in the overall series - the Drops rider has 110 points with 30 available to the race winner.
Elsewhere, Chanel Mason (Storey Racing) has 104 points in fourth, with Hannah Payton (Drops) on 101 points in fifth and both riders will be hopeful of securing a series podium finish.
HSBC UK | Grand Prix Series
Jonathan McEvoy is the series leader at the halfway stage with 65 points and the Madison Genesis rider is set for the start line at the Ryedale Grand Prix.
McEvoy will be well aware of the threat posed by JLT Condor’s Ian Bibby, with the Lancashire rider looking to complete a hat-trick of wins in North Yorkshire after victory in Ryedale in 2015 and 2016.
Bibby is second in the standings with 51 points with just five points separating the second and sixth placed riders.
Thomas Stewart (One Pro Cycling) and Tom Moses (JLT Condor) both have 50 points while Dexter Gardias (BIKE Channel Canyon) has 48 and Karol Domgalski (One Pro Cycling) has 46 - with Stewart, Moses and Gardias set to pose a challenge this weekend.
How to follow the racing
- Follow the action from the HSBC UK | Women’s Road Series and HSBC UK | Grand Prix Series on our live blog from 9.15am on Sunday 6 August.
- Follow @BritishCycling on Twitter for updates from both events throughout the racing.
- Video highlights, reports, results, images and reaction will appear on the British Cycling website.
