Ben Granger and Frankie Hall blazed to stunning solo victories in the sun at the Lancaster Grand Prix, as the battle for the overall Lloyds Bank National Road Series victories hots up.
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Ben Granger (Mg.K VIS Colors for Peace VPM) secured his first Lloyds Bank National Road Series victory with an emphatic display at the Lancaster Grand Prix, bridging to the early breakaway late in the race before going solo over the final climb to take the victory.
With near perfect conditions greeting the peloton as they rolled out of Williamson Park, the riders wasted little time getting stuck into the racing as a strong group of five riders forged clear on the opening lap of 10. James McKay (Saint Piran) was joined by George Peden (PB Performance), Callum Laborde (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli), under-23 rider Finn McHenry (The Cycling Academy) and Louis Moore (Project1).
Their advantage extended to more than two minutes at the halfway point as the peloton struggled to organise the chase. Wheelbase CabTech Castelli were a constant presence towards the front of the bunch as they looked to retain Tim Shoreman’s series lead, although they never committed to the pace setting with Laborde up the road.
A number of riders attempted to bridge across the gap in the first half of the race to no avail. First Ollie Hucks (TAAP-Kalas), Luke Brennan (Spirit TBW Stuart Hall Cycling) and James Jobber (Global 6 United) got themselves in a move which gained some traction, before Will Smith (Trinity Racing) tried his luck alone.
Eventually, the gap posed too much of a threat for the peloton, and Oliver Rees (Sabgal Anicolor) piled on the pressure up the steepest slopes as the gap reduced to 1:30.
A lap later it was Smith who again raised the tempo on the steep gradients, with the under-23 rider causing a split in the peloton. Shoreman was the last of the 30 riders on the right side of it as chaos ensued behind and riders scrambled to close the gap to his wheel.
With riders starting to show signs of fatigue and the gap to the breakaway diminishing, a trio of riders made a decisive move to bridge across. George Kimber (Spirit TBW Stuart Hall Cycling), Granger and Tom Martin (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli) put in a big effort to bridge across the gap inside a lap, making it seven riders out front as Louis found the pace too much and was distanced from the leaders.
Adam Lewis (Team Skyline) sensed the race for podiums could be up the road with the break working well together, so he made an effort to get across, although he was brought back to the Smith-led peloton. Another 30 rider split occurred on the circuit's final testing climb, although this time Shoreman found himself on the wrong side of it.
With the pace not letting up and the gap to the breakaway sitting at around a minute, a strong group of seven riders used the same climb a lap later to force themselves clear with a little over 25km remaining. Lee Rosie and Tom Armstrong put Wheelbase CabTech Castelli in an enviable position with two riders in each of the first two groups, as they were joined by initial aggressor James Hartley (Cycling Sheffield), Matt Holmes (Private Member), Lewis, Ben Pease (Moonglu RT) and Matt Lord (Richardsons Trek-DAS).
The seven brought the gap to the breakaway down to 30 seconds with just over a lap remaining. However, on a final lap which saw the race blown to pieces, Granger emerged the strongest, whittling down the leading group to a select four riders with McHenry, who had been climbing beyond his years all race, Kimber and McKay the only riders able to live with the pace.
Over the top of the final climb, Granger made his bid for victory, pressing hard on the pedals and going clear with a 10 second advantage as he entered the technical finish inside Williamson Park. Holding his lead to the line, Granger lifted his arms in celebration as, behind, McKay unleashed a devastating sprint to overhaul Kimber for second. McHenry came home for a brave fourth place.
Kimber now takes the series lead, two points ahead of Adam Lewis, who came home in seventh. Saint Piran hang onto the team classification lead by two points from Wheelbase CabTech Castelli.
Women
Frankie Hall rounded off a dominant DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK performance as she soloed to victory at the Lancaster Grand Prix, with Lauren Dickson (Edinburgh RC) stunning the field to take second and Hall’s teammate Tammy Miller rounding out the podium.
The DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK team started the race as they meant to go on, with Morven Yeoman and Sannah Zaman the first two riders to attack part way through the opening lap. The duo created a small gap, although Zaman dropped back to the peloton to be replaced by Spectra Racing's Katie Scott.
Scott's tenure at the front wouldn’t last a lap, however Yeoman was a constant presence out front as Caitlin Dimbleby (Unattached) joined her as her third breakaway partner, with Anna Flynn (Spectra Racing) soon attempting to bridge across.
Dimbleby has enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2024 and used her power to help build Yeoman her best advantage yet, with the gap going out to over 20 seconds and the chase left in the hands of the junior Tofuati Everyone Active and Shibden-Apex squads.
Pro-Noctis-200 Degrees Coffee-Hargreaves Contracting took up the chase shortly after as they looked to defend Lucy Harris’ series lead, quickly neutralising the break with Harris setting the pace on the front of the bunch.
With the status quo holding, it was down to DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK to break the deadlock, with Tammy Miller going on the attack and joined by the surprise package of Dickson.
Fully committed, the pair saw their advantage extend until a chasing group of five, featuring two more DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK riders in the shape of Hall and Lucy Lee, as well as the determined Dimbleby, started to make inroads with a little more than a lap to go.
With the fatigue and summer heat beginning to have an effect on the field on the final lap, Hall bridged across to the leading pair as the race started to break up behind. Though outnumbered, Dickson fought valiantly as she absorbed continual punches from Miller and Hall, who were waiting for the elastic to snap under the pressure of their constant attacks.
Having gone over the final testing climb, Dickson’s resolve gave way as Hall rode clear with the young Scot powerless to answer yet another attack. With Hall riding clear and entering the park to take a memorable victory, Miller attacked Dickson, but could not drop her as they entered the park in tandem.
With Hall clapping her hands and raising her arms in celebration as she freewheeled down the finishing straight, Miller and Dickson were still locked together behind, with Dickson prevailing in a frantic sprint for second.
Lucy Lee came home in fourth to ensure that DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK lead the team standings with a 20-point cushion over nearest challengers Shibden-Apex RT, while Lucy Harris held onto the Series lead after coming home in 14th. She now holds a single point advantage over National Circuit Series winner Eilidh Shaw (Alba Development Road Team).
Podiums
Men
- Ben Granger (Mg.K VIS Colors for Peace VPM)
- James McKay (Saint Piran)
- George Kimber (Spirit TBW Stuart Hall Cycling)
Women
- Frankie Hall (DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK)
- Lauren Dickson (Edinburgh Road Club)
- Tamsin Miller (DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK)
