Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix - Race Report

It’s already become a theme of this season and starting to sound like a cliche, the racing this year has stepped up to another level.
Lincoln has a reputation for being a brutal, attritional race and in yesterday’s unbroken sun, strengthening wind and constant, incessant pace setting, the 2024 Lincoln GP delivered another ultra-competetive battle around it’s iconic course.

Zoe climbs the famous Michaelgate cobbled hill with the peloton

With a late change to our team due to illness, Maddie completed a mad dash to Lincoln on Saturday to arrive in time for a recce of the course and to replace Corinne in what remained a strong line-up for a race favouring the climbers and those favouring the shorter punchy climbs.

With a weather forecast set for sun and rising temperatures throughought the entire eight lap race, hydration and fuelling were a crucial part of the race preparations as were strategies for covering breaks and monitoring the usual likely contenders.

Following a long neutralised start through Lincoln the race exploded along Burton Road with a furious pace set straight away, resulting in a crash at the bottom of the Burton descent and gaps immediately being created. Along narrow Fen Lane, the groups caught behind the crash fought to catch back on and the pattern for the race was set early.

The leading group climb the iconic Michaelgate climb

Despite Zoe suffering an early mechanical and requiring a bike change, we maintained a strong presence in the leading groups as, through the first couple of laps the race splintered on the climb and descent before re-grouping.

On the fourth lap a dangerous break took off and looked to be building a race winning move, with a couple of riders from the same team working together to build their advantage. With our numbers at the front and with other teams not willing to let the break go, the gap was closed by the time the race came through Lincoln for the fifth time.

The leading group continued to thin but with Amy, Bexy, Jo, Lucy and Maddie maintaining our presence at the front, we looked to be in a strong position entering the final third of the race. Behind, Zoe had failed to bridge the gap to the leading group following a second bike change, despite the best efforts of Amy and Annabel, offering assistance and ultimately forming a strong chase group.

News reached the expectant crowds in Castle Square of a two-rider break-away, and with Jo one of those attackers we crossed our fingers and hoped to see an advantage maintained for the penultimate climb of Michaelgate.
Unfortunately it wasn't to be and the leading group was back together at the bell.

The effort and the building heat was evident in the faces of the riders as they climbed through a growing crowd of spectators and it was clear this race would be contested not only by the strongest riders, but by the strongest teams making up the front group, with race favourites Shibden Apex RT having the majority of their team still present.

Well into the final lap an attack by Kate Richardson of Lifeplus Wahoo looked to upset the script and the now ‘traditional’ chase up the final ascent to the line saw her hang on for an unexpected victory, ahead of a trio of Shibden chasers.

hydration was an important part of the race

Bexy put in a monumental effort to follow the leaders up the final climb, and claimed a superb 18th place, just 37 seconds down on the winner, illustrating just how competitive that final effort to the line had been. Maddie held her place in the leading group to finish 27th at 1:02 underlining her strength as a talented climber.
Behind, Jo recovered from her break-away efforts to secure a 44th place just 1:23 down, and Lucy, having been present at the front of the race throughout came in 47th at 3:51.
Zoe 50th at 7:25 and Annabel 56th at 7:37 completed the team’s individual classification.

We caught up with Zoe at the finish line:

“I hit a pothole on the first descent and my handlebars slipped, it was unsafe to continue so I had to change the bike. The spare wasn't quite at my usual saddle height so I swapped back to my (repaired) bike but unfortunately I couldn't chase back the delay caused by the changes and missed the split by the leading group.”

Once she’d had chance to recover and change, Annabel gave us her view of the race:

“My first lap was good and I was at the front coming through the feed zone. The heat through the climb took it's toll though and I had to chase back on each of the next few laps.
We had a strong presence in the group though and felt in control, which was nice as I felt I could recover after the climbs.
Eventually though the conditions won out and it just went bang for me, the lights went out!
I stuck in though and was on my own for a bit, battling the climb, and eventually we formed a big group and worked together.
Overall I'm pretty happy, it was a lot, lot harder than last year, looking at my stats, my power output, it was so much harder so I can be happy.”

There has already been much discussion about the strength throughout the women’s peloton this season and combined with the tough conditions this weekend, it’s plain to see that the National Series is delivering the highest level of racing.

A quick look at the statistics for this race make interesting reading. Last year, Robyn won in 2:48:16, with 83 riders finishing within the strictly applied 5 minute cut-off (5:32 at the finish line).
This year’s race was won in 2:39:16, an incredible 9 minutes faster, at an average speed of 39.6km/hr! The cut-off was not as strictly applied this year, probably because only 48 riders finished within that time.

The team are working incredibly hard together, working to raise their level again, to learn from each and every race, and to maintain their hard earned position as one of the UK’s most successful teams.

post race de-brief

words and photos Adam Winfield - Through the Lens Media