2026 Capernwray road races: report and results

Deetray Jarrett (Vigo–Rías Baixas) and Anna Morris (Private Member) took the 2026 Capernwray Road Races victories on a cold, wet morning in Lancashire. Jarrett claimed the open championship by 40 seconds on the final climb to Sunny Bank, while Morris led a fierce three-way sprint to take the women’s lead ahead of Amy Henchoz (Paralloy RT) and Ruby Oakes (FTP-Fulfil the Potential Racing).

Featured image: Joe Hudson

An open race

Cold and damp greeted the open field as they exited Borwick, slush water sitting on the wet roads and making the already unforgiving circuit even more treacherous. It didn’t take long before the race started. In the first round, a small group was clear, with Josh Housley (Ride Revolution Coaching), Henry Hunter (360cycling) and Matt Bostock (Rapha Cycling Club) among those going up the road – only to be sent back to the church in front of Sunny Bank, the peloton refused to go fast.

The second page presented the movement that would shape the race. Five riders broke free and started to make good progress: Deetray Jarrett (Vigo–Rías Baixas), Mike Chadwick (Doncaster Wheelers CC), Hunter, Ben Pease (Moonglu SpatzWear) and Deetray Jarrett (Vigo–Rías Baixas). Behind them, Tyler Hannay (Manx Viking Wheelers) chased alone and closed – 19 seconds on Arkholme – but the front five kept the pressure on. Meanwhile, in the body of the race, Capernwray’s usual form was beginning its work on the peloton.

In the third round the pace had changed. George Peden (PB Performance) and Matthew Lord (DAS Richardsons) had moved to the front, Bostock and Deetray Jarrett just behind – the four combined to form a leading group, working cohesively enough to hold the field at bay. The peloton sat six or seven seconds back, close to threatening but unable to catch.

The fourth quarter adapted to controlled aggression at the front and increasing frustration at the rear. Eight riders had broken away from the peloton to form the chase – among them Housley, Chadwick, Magnus Denwood (Inclusion Racing Team) and Dexter Leeming-Sykes (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli) – but the leading quartet was there, their advantage extending to 27 seconds over the chasers and starting at 47 paces ahead. The front division of the peloton brought six more riders – Alexander Foster (Cycling Sheffield), Nathan Smith (Cycling Sheffield), Hunter, Hannay, Tom Martin (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli) and Huw Owen (Clwb Beicio Egni Eryri) – to cross to join the eight, reducing the gap to 1 of one second. It was enough to scare, but not enough to scare. Then, before the chase could consolidate its position, Lord and Jarrett attacked the leading group – and the race changed again.

From the sixth lap, with two laps to go, the two leaders worked in concert and the race was exactly as it had been decided. The gap to the peloton had widened to one minute and thirty seconds, with a group of 14 riders sitting between them and the field, with two other riders 25 seconds from the pack. Lord and Jarrett, temporary partners, were about to become players.

The decisive moment came at the end of the first stage, on the Sunny Bank slope. Jarrett sped up and King couldn’t hold the wheel. Behind them, Peden was still chasing, and where the King disappeared, Peden got more equipment – he passed to take the second place on the podium. King held on to third place.

Jarrett said Continent of Britain after the race: “I was very cold, so I’m trying to stay active.” In the final round with Lord, he says: “We worked very well together for the next lap.” Then I saw Matt was struggling to walk, so I thought I should go alone, because I don’t want to get caught.” Once it was clear, there was no looking back: “Once I had a gap, I knew – if I put my head down, I won’t be caught again.”

A race of women

The women’s field was flooded, the pace measured and the field still in the starting stages. The wind had been building throughout the morning and it was going to be strong. The race broke at the end of the first stage, on the Sunny Bank climb: Grace Sargeant (London Academy) launched a strong attack up the final summit, Phoebe Taylor (Shibden Apex RT) followed, before the movement stopped at the top.

Anna Morris (Personal Member), Ruby Oakes (FTP-Fulfil the Potential Racing) and Amy Henchoz (Paralloy RT) kept the pressure on due to the change in wind and came together – three riders clear, the race is now broken. Behind them, a chase group was formed – Daisy Taylor (The Hera Project), Jihanna Bonilla-Allard (Paralloy RT), Kim Baptiste (Pafgio Cycling Club) and Ruby Blanc (360cycling) among the pushers – but the main three could not be caught.

In the third round the gap stood at one minute forty-five seconds at Arkholme. Lydia Louw (Solas Cycling) tried to revive the heart at the back, but the effort did not result in exiting the village and the leaders continued, increasing their advantage to more than two minutes. In laps four and five the three worked together smoothly, the gap to the chasers widening to two fifty minutes as they crossed the line to start the final climb to Sunny Bank.

What followed was perhaps the closest finish Capernwray had ever seen. Oakes led the three-way pack around the final lap, seemingly poised for the win. But Morris – the world’s individual pursuit champion, a rider of extraordinary skill – came through in the closing stages to take victory. Henchoz held on for second, Oakes third in a race that would take time to break away from the picture.

Morris said afterward that he was surprised by how quickly the race split. “I think with the change in airway at the top, we got separated – I was surprised at how quickly that happened,” he explains. The benefit of the three grew because all three of them were fully committed to the work. Well done to Amy and Ruby – we were all determined, and I think that’s why it stretched to a few minutes.

In the sprint, he adds, there was a moment of confusion: the 200-meter marker had blown up and was pointing to the food court instead of the line, leaving Morris and Henchoz to briefly estimate their time. I wasn’t sure – I’d never raced against Amy and Ruby before.

An open race

A race of women