A road race, for a change. The North Yorkshire Grand Prix runs at Ampleforth Abbey — it was the Ryedale Grand Prix until this year — and it closed out both the Lloyds National Road Series and the Rapha Super-League. Around 100 kilometres, and 22nd for me. Anna Morris won it, with junior Melanie Rowe second and Lily Martin third.
I rode it as an independent, without trade team backing. That’s the reality of a gravel season with a handful of road days thrown in: you turn up, you race, you remember how fast a peloton is. Road racing is a different sport to a 200-mile gravel race — shorter, sharper, decided by positioning and handling rather than endurance — and I came to cycling late enough that I’m still learning it.
The Numbers
| Distance | ~101 km |
| Result | 22nd |
| Winner | Anna Morris |
| Series | Lloyds National Road Series / Rapha Super-League |
| Location | Ampleforth Abbey, North Yorkshire |
Why I Raced It
Twenty-second isn’t a headline. I raced it a week before the national gravel championships, and a hard, fast, technical road race is one of the few things that sharpens you for a 90-kilometre championship in a way that training alone doesn’t. That didn’t turn into a faster ride at Ae Forest, but it wasn’t wasted either.
The road isn’t where I earn a living any more, and I’m at peace with that. It is, though, where I learned to suffer in a group — and that still shows up when I’m alone at kilometre 400.
Supported by Merlin Cycles, Ventum Racing, OGT, Spatz, Coros, ABUS, and Kenetik.