After two extremely successful rounds of the HSBC UK | National Road Series, this year’s Leicester Castle Classic Weekend will no longer include an elite-level kermesse road event.

We would like to make some changes to this event to refresh the elite racing aspect of what has become a successful weekend-long celebration of cycling in Leicester.

Unfortunately, we were unable to make the required changes in the time available for 2019. We will be working with Leicester City Council in the coming months to consider available options for 2020 onwards.

Instead, a full weekend of competitive and recreational cycling activities will take place across August 25 and 26 as part of the Ride Leicester Festival 2019. The council has great, long-term ambitions to develop cycling at all levels, and British Cycling fully supports this desire.

British Cycling continues to invest heavily into the HSBC UK Let’s Ride event which will form part of the festival, and residents of Leicester can look forward to a traffic-free day of cycling.

The Leicester Castle Classic kermesse will not now feature in the HSBC UK | National Road Series, meaning that the men’s and women’s series will both finish side-by-side at the Grasscrete Ryedale Grand Prix. The HSBC UK | National Road Series has got off to a fantastic start across the opening two rounds, and we’re looking forward to seeing both series develop across a programme of great events – many of them new to the series - over the coming months.