LANCASTER GRAND PRIX – RACE PREVIEW

 

Sunday the 17^th of July is the day that Elite Road Racing comes to the city of Lancaster for Round 3 of the British Cycling National Road Series. Back for another year following a fantastic edition in 2021, the Lancaster Grand Prix sees an action-packed day of racing with both the elite men and the elite women competing on a tough & hilly circuit on the outskirts of Lancaster. With racers crossing the finishing line in the beautiful Williamson Park underneath the iconic Williamson Memorial the start and finishing area makes an excellent venue to spend the day watching the race live on the big screen while enjoying family entertainment throughout the day including a bouncy castle, face painting, live music, extreme mountain biking displays, barbecue, licensed bar and more.

The 2021 edition of the Lancaster GP saw Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli’s Finn Crocket join the winning move of the day.

 

Here at Wheelbase HQ we consider the Lancaster Grand Prix as our ‘local’ national elite race, with the action taking place 30 minutes down the M6 in a cycling-mad city that can boast a healthy racing and riding scene and which has brought many talented racers to Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli over the years. We’ll be fielding a team of seven of  racers at the Lancaster GP with our squad coming into the race having tasted a healthy amount of racing success over the past few weeks leading up to the most important race on Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli’s race-calendar.

Former Wheelbase team rider Finn Crocket took a brilliant podium spot for us last year at the Lancaster Grand Prix.

 

The previous round of the British Cycling National Road Series held just two weeks ago on the 3^rd of July saw a reduced Wheelbase squad take on the super-fast Stockton GP in the North East of England. With Covid affecting our original team line-up we eventually fielded just three riders who duly stepped up to the challenge, positioning our talented young lad Callum Thornley in the break of the day. With a much larger team ready to race at the Lancaster GP we’ve been able to put together a competitive mix of young racing talent and valuable road racing experience and we’re going into this grueling race with high hopes for Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli.

Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli Team Racing the Lancaster GP:

• Callum Thornley U23
• Matti Dobbins
• David Duggan
• Matthew Fox U23
• Logan Maclean U23
• Tom Merry
• David Lines

The Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli Team have tasted success recently and are ready to perform at their ‘local’ National Road Race.

 

As someone who lives in Lancaster and has trained on these roads for years I (Johnny – your feature writer) can confirm that the Lancaster Grand Prix race circuit is a particularly grueling loop consisting of short sharp climbs, long exposed high-speed roads that are susceptible to strong winds and fast, sweeping descents. It’s a fairly short loop which will see the women’s race taking on 6 laps with the men taking on 10 laps; due to repetitive the nature of the course there’s very little opportunity to feed or take on drink as riders will either be sprinting uphill or negotiating fast, unpredictable descents. The circuit will no-doubt grind the racers down with the strongest riders naturally coming to the front of the race as the course begins to do the damage. With one last explosive climb back into Lancaster before a technical run-in to Williamson Park, the winner who crosses the line first under the shadow of Williamson Monument will prove themselves to be a truly complete rider capable of climbing brilliantly, sprinting strongly and descending confidently.

 

If you’re in the area make sure you join us for a great day of racing and entertainment and please, give our Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli lads a cheer!

 

Race Schedule – Women:

9.00am Ceremonial race start in Williamson’s Park

9.05am Flag drops after neutralised zone

9.05am 6 laps of race circuit (see map below)

11.45am Race finishes in Williamson Park (estimated time)

12.00pm Podium presentation (15 minutes after race finish)

 

Race Schedule – Men:

14.00pm Ceremonial race start in Williamson’s Park

14.05pm Flag drops after neutralised zone

14.05pm 10 laps of race circuit (see map below)

17.45pm Race finishes in Williamson Park (estimated time)

18.00pm Podium presentation (15 minutes after race finish)

 

Map of the Lancaster GP race circuit including finishing approach into Williamson’s Park on the last lap.

 

Written by Johnny Dodgin

Photos by Ellen Esherwood & Simon Wilkinson

Team Portraits by James Vincent

 

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