The 2017 HSBC UK | Spring Cup Series reaches a thrilling conclusion this weekend as part of a double-header at the Lincoln Grand Prix.
The women’s Lincoln Grand Prix, the third round of the 2017 HSBC UK | National Women’s Road Series, precedes the men’s race on an action-packed day of cycling in Lincolnshire.
About the Series
HSBC UK | Spring Cup Series
The Spring Cup Series is a four-round British road race series which runs throughout April and May and sees riders compete across a variety of courses.
The series opened on Sunday 2 April as Team Wiggins’ Chris Latham picked up the win at the East Cleveland Klondike Grand Prix.
JLT Condor’s Brenton Jones came out on top at the Tour of the Wolds before Ian Bibby won on home turf at the Chorley Grand Prix.
With just one race remaining, Raleigh GAC’s Enrique Sanz leads by eight points from BIKE Channel Canyon’s Rory Townsend.
As well as individual honours for riders, teams will aim to come out on top in the team standings, with JLT Condor leading on 161 points.
HSBC UK | National Women’s Road Series
The Lincoln Grand Prix is the third of nine races in this year’s National Women’s Road Series, which runs from April until August.
Elizabeth Banks 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.
Following Sunday’s Lincoln Grand Prix, the series sees three races in June, starting with the CiCLE Classic in Leicestershire, followed by the Curlew Cup in Northumberland and the Otley Grand Prix in West Yorkshire.
The first weekend of July sees the always popular two-day Alexander Tour of the Reservoir followed by the Newton Longville Festival of Cycling Grand Prix in Buckinghamshire later that month.
The series concludes on Sunday 6 August with the Ryedale Grand Prix in North Yorkshire.
Storey Racing’s Chanel Mason leads the individual standings on 52 points, 12 clear of nearest rival Banks.
Mason’s team also leads the team standings on 84 points, five ahead of Cycle Team OnForm.
The courses
Spring Cup Series
Starting at 12.30pm, riders face a gruelling 165 kilometre course, starting and finishing in the centre of Lincoln by the cathedral.
Riders will tackle 13 laps of the course that heads out towards Burton Village before coming back towards the cathedral via the cobbles of Michaelgate.
National Women’s Road Series
The women will face a similar course to the men, starting at 9am.
They’ll race for eight laps of the course over 101 kilometres.
What happened last year
Tom Stewart of Madison Genesis pipped JLT Condor’s Russell Downing and Ian Bibby, then of NFTO, to the victory at the Lincoln Grand Prix in a fiercely-contested race.
Adria Moreno Sala, riding for Raleigh GAC, finished seventh, a result good enough to seal the Spring Cup Series overall title.
Alice Barnes claimed the win at the Women’s Lincoln Grand Prix in 2016, breaking away from seven other riders to cross the line first, closely followed by Drops Cycling Team colleagues Rebecca Durrell and Laura Massey in second and third respectively.
Ones to watch
Spring Cup Series
Raleigh GAC’s Enrique Sanz is the current series leader, but he will face a nervous wait to see if he becomes the 2017 Spring Cup Series champion.
Sanz doesn’t compete in Lincoln - which opens the door to BIKE Channel Canyon’s Rory Townsend.
Townsend finished fifth at the Tour of the Wolds and followed that up with a sixth place finish at the Chorley Grand Prix and a top three finish in Lincoln would secure the 2017 title as well as the under-23 honours.
His main threat comes from Ian Bibby, fresh from his victory at the Chorley Grand Prix - the JLT Condor rider is currently five points behind Townsend after the first three races.
Chris Latham - buoyed by his scratch race bronze at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Hong Kong - will look for his second individual win of the 2017 Spring Cup Series in Lincoln, a result that could deliver him the overall title.
The Team Wiggins rider currently has 30 points, 12 behind Townsend, as does ONE Pro Cycling’s Hayden McCormick and Metaltek Kuota RT’s Liam Holohan.
National Women’s Road Series
The newly formed Storey Racing have got off to a brilliant start in the National Women’s Road Series, leading both the individual and team standings.
Chanel Mason is 12 points clear of her nearest rival after two races and is set for the start line in Lincoln, backed up by teammates including Neah Evans and Beth Crumpton.
Currently second in the standings, Elizabeth Banks (SunSport Velo) will look for win number two in the series but knows there will be a major challenge posed by the impressive field.
Winner of the Essex Giro, Grace Garner (Wiggle High5) will be confident of a strong performance as will Cycle Team OnForm’s Sian Botteley, who sits third in the standings after a consistent start to the series.
Great Britain Cycling Team’s Emily Kay returns to the road after track world championships duty, representing Team WNT, where she will go head-to-head with national teammates including Manon Lloyd, Emily Nelson and Ellie Dickinson who line up in the Team Breeze colours.
Team Ford Ecoboost’s Charmaine Porter is another rider in strong form in 2017 ahead of what could be a thrilling finish on the cobbles.
How to follow the racing
- Follow the action from the Spring Cup Series and National Women’s Road Series on our live blog from 8.45am on Sunday for race updates, images and social media.
- 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.
