Reports - Curlew Cup & Beaumont Trophy
August 18, 2025 | 4d | GENERAL
LEE WINS FROM THREE-RIDER BREAK
Lucy Lee (DAS – Hutchinson) rode to an emphatic victory in the 2025 edition of the Curlew Cup, after getting the better of two breakaway companions, with whom she escaped with just over a lap of the race to go. Run off in near perfect conditions, with clear skies and light winds, 61 riders tackled three laps of a hilly 25-mile circuit, centred on the start village of Stamfordham.
After just over an hour’s racing, the entire field was pretty much together as they came through Stamfordham at the end of the first lap. However, the second lap saw a classy break of three riders pull clear. Lucy Lee (DAS Hutchinson), Mari Porton (Handsling) and Grace Reynolds (Smurfit West rock CT) had just over 10 seconds on the chasing bunch as they headed out onto the third and final lap.
With the trio representing three of the strongest teams in the race, the main field struggled to organise an effective chase and the leaders soon built a lead of over three minutes.
Lucy Lee was then able to distance her two breakaway companions on the hilly Ryals section of the lap and continued to pull away from them all the way to finish. At the line she had over a minute on Grace Reynolds, with Mari Porton coming in third just a few seconds later. Madeline Cooper (Spectra Racing) led the bunch over the line to claim fourth.
Speaking after the race, Lucy Lee explained how the decisive break formed and how she managed to get clear in the closing stages: “We went with 40k to go, just coming back into Stamfordham on the bell lap. We held about a minute for quite a while until it really started going out and then we got to the Ryals and it naturally splits up there.”
Turning to her team’s tactics, Lee said: “I know it [the Curlew Cup] has a reputation for being quite a negative race, often ending with a sprint. We were sort of determined to change that today!”
Results – 2025 Curlew Cup
1 Lucy Lee DAS - Hutchinson 3h 15m 30s
2 Grace Reynolds Smurfit Westrock Cycling Team @1m 10s
3 Mari Porton (U23) Handsling Alba Development RoadTeam @1m 22s
4 Madeline Cooper (U23) Spectra Racing @4m 18s
5 Kim Baptista Spectra Racing
Padon Contracts Queen of the Mountain Award
1 Lucy Lee DAS - Hutchinson 7points
2 Lauren Dickson Handsling Alba Development RoadTeam 6
3 Grace Reynolds Smurfit Westrock Cycling Team 2
Padon Contracts Team Award
Spectra Racing: Madeline Cooper, Kim Baptista, Anna Flynn
Padon Contracts U23 Award
Mari Porton Handsling Alba Development Road Team
Full results - pdf download
HICKS HANGS ON IN BEAUMONT THRILLER
Dylan Hicks (Raptor Factory Racing) won a fluctuating and dramatic Beaumont Trophy, which saw the race splintering and re-forming many times over the 113 mile, 5-lap event.
After some exploratory first-lap breaks were re-absorbed, the main field was pretty much intact for most of lap two. Lap three then saw a number of attempts to split the field, with the race lined-out in single file for extended periods. Several gaps opened up, particularly as the riders made their way along the ridge approaching Little Bavington, at the back of the circuit, but none could build a decisive gap.
With one lap to go, eight riders, including Thomas Mein, Dylan Hicks and William Truelove, had a gap of thirty seconds over a still relatively intact main bunch. But even this break couldn’t stay clear and the majority were re-absorbed into a hard-chasing main field as they approached the finish along the flat road from Matfen to Stamfordham.
A trio of riders clung on to a small gap for much of these final half-dozen kilometres, with the main field closing them down all the time. Just when it seemed that a bunch sprint was inevitable, Dylan Hicks (Raptor Factory Racing) found enough energy to hang on up the small rise into Stamfordham, to claim the win by a handful of bike lengths. Tim Shoreman (Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli) took second place from William Truelove (MUC-OFF-SRCT-STORCK), at the head of a frustrated main field.
After the race, Dylan Hicks described the closing moments: “I looked back and there was a train of green and that didn't fill me with much confidence but managed to have enough in the legs to hold them off.”
Asked how he’d coped with the heat and the length of the race, he said: “I think those things play in my favour, particularly as I've done quite a big race trip broad with stages this sort of length and in 30 degrees plus heat. So hot temperatures are better for me really.”
Results – 2025 Beaumont Trophy
1 Dylan Hicks (U23) Raptor Factory Racing 4h 11m 44s
2 Tim Shoreman Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli @ 1s
3 William Truelove MUC-OFF-SRCT-STORCK
4 William Perrett DAS Richardsons
5 Oliver Curd (U23) Primo RT
Fratelli Restaurant King of the Mountains Award
1 Maxwell Hereward 360cycling 7 points
2 Alex Franks Raptor Factory Racing 4
3 Judicael Clair Raptor Factory Racing 3
Affordable Waste Management Team Award
MUC-OFF-SRCT-STORCK - William Truelove, Adam Howell, Alex Beldon
Gosforth RC U23 Award
1 Dylan Hicks Raptor Factory Racing