What happens when you mix pork pies, gravel cycling and bikes? You get the CiCLE Classic, of course.
The East Midlands race had the honour of opening the UK domestic calendar last weekend with the 10th edition of its women’s race. Doubling up as the first round of the women’s Rapha Super-League, the 115km-long route tackles a demanding Classics course, following the bergs and gravel roads surrounding the Leicestershire town of Melton Mowbray.
On the road — or, rather, the gravel — Noémie Thomson of Das-Hutchinson sailed clear to claim a dominant race victory, taking her right to the top of the standings in the Super-League GC. Three minutes behind, CAMS-Majaco rider Melanie Rowe won the sprint for second ahead of Morven Yeoman, adding another Das-Hutchinson rider to the final podium.
Photographer Andy Smith headed up to the East Midlands to capture the action at Britain’s answer to the Flemish Classics. Here are 20 of his best photos.
That’s what parents are for.
I’ll take a guess and say the three dots symbolise a gravel sector.
17-year-old Ruby Isaac is the British Junior Champion…
…And the proud owner of this pooch.
No time for pre-race pints at Melton Mowbray’s Anne of Cleves pub.
Nothing like a bit of domestic racing.
Much of the CiCLE Classic’s route is on very British country lanes.
That’s until the gravel sets in.
20-year-old Matilda McKibben negotiates some of the more loose terrain.
The CiCLE Classic was inspired by the racing scene in Flanders. The only thing missing is rain.
Last year’s winner, Lucy Harris, finished in a respectable 12th place.
Some of the tracks appear more like farmers’ fields than sectors from Strade Bianche.
One unlucky rider is forced to walk down the gravel sector while the group rolls by.
Here she is. Mountain biker Amy Henchoz was forced to retire from the race. Looking at the size of those stones, it’s a miracle more riders didn’t suffer from punctures.
What riders gained from no rain was more than made up for by dust.
It was no problem for this rider. Noémie Thomson pulled out a three-minute lead, making this the largest winning margin ever seen in the Women’s CiCLE Classic.
Thomson is a dab hand at gravel racing. Last year, she won Graean Cymru, the UCI Gravel World Series event in Wales.
The race-winning bike had no right being this clean at the finish line.
Thomson takes the lead in both the Rapha Super-League and the National Road Series.
Since we’re in Melton Mowbray, the winner of the CiCLE Classic receives a pork pie (a big one at that) and some Belgian beer.