HSBC National Road Series' comes to Eastbourne with South Coast Classic

With just the Ryedale Grand Prix to follow this in the women’s series, Rebecca Durrell (Brother UK – Tifosi p/b OnForm) holds an unassailable lead in the individual standings, while her team is in charge of the team standings.

She’s on the start list for Eastbourne, along with team-mates Anna Henderson and Gabriella Shaw, who followed Durrell over the line to complete a 1-2-3 at last weekend’s HSBC UK | National Circuit Championships.

Elizabeth Bennett (Campinense – Velo Performance) is Durrell’s closest challenger in the individual standings, and will take to the start line this weekend, as will the likes of Leah Dixon (Brother UK – Tifosi p/b OnForm) who is currently third; Jennifer Powell (Bianchi Dama); Jos Lowden (Drops); and Dame Sarah Storey (Storey Racing).

For the men, there are two races left after this – the three-day Isle of Man stage race, and Ryedale. Current leader Matt Holmes (Madison Genesis) will look to edge closer to the series title, and he’ll be joined in Eastbourne by team-mates including Joey Walker – the new national circuit race champion, Ian Bibby and Tom Moses.

Second in the standings at the moment is James Shaw (SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling), who will be aiming to close the gap on Holmes in Eastbourne.

Also in action are Matt Bostock (Canyon DHB p/b Bloor Homes) who was last night presented with the HSBC UK | National Circuit Series title, Alistair Slater and Scott Thwaites (Vitus Pro Cycling p/b Brother UK), and Ethan Hayter (VC Londres).

The 109-kilometre women’s race gets under way at 9am, while the men’s race – over 156km – starts at 1:30pm. Both races will start and finish at King Edward’s Parade, Eastbourne. As well as the elite rides, members of the public will be able to cycle on the closed roads as part of the HSBC UK Let’s Ride event.

There will be live updates of the race via the National Road Series twitter account, while a full report will be published on the British Cycling website after both races.