Duncan Murray Wines Road Race- A Well-Rounded Event

Ian Parker was our “mole” reporter on Sunday, getting the race organisers view of the Duncan Murray Road Race. Thank you for all your input Ian as well as this report.

Turning onto the parking field, at Naseby Village Hall, you would not initially realise the effort that had gone into staging such an event and how marginal it was that it even happened. Due to a reducing pool of accredited volunteers, I understand that it has become increasingly difficult to muster the required officials to hold these events and often the ability to hold the race is often to the wire. The dedication of Stuart Dawkins, the race organizer, highlights his passion for road racing and how important these races are in underpinning grass roots competitive cycling.

On a glorious summer day, walking to the hall entrance, there was a buzz in the air with volunteers, support vehicles assembling in the car park, teams setting up gazebos, riders preparing amongst racks of bikes and cars. The car park continued to fill with a steady flow of riders walking into the hall to sign on. Signing on was a calm and jovial affair thanks to John Welsford’s manner, helped by  Roland Summerlin. There was a tangible sense of relief from Stuart that his work bringing the race together had paid off and the event was now in the hands of British Cycling’s commissaires to officiate.

My roles for the morning were to help with signing on and then to assist one of the commissaires, Ian Wild, in the second lead car. After signing on, events progressed precisely, like a well-oiled machine. We pulled up behind the lead car and National Escort Group (NEG) motorcycle riders as the cyclists assembled at the start point.  I would be privileged to be holding and then pulling in the neutralise flag to start the race once Ian was satisfied and gave the nod.

At 10 o’clock, on the dot, everyone was in position and the neutralised roll off begun. We rolled off toward Haselbech and after the NEG riders had ridden ahead to flank junctions, the riders were settled.. We were off. Flag in and away we go. It is quite a view to look in the wing mirror to see a charge of cyclists which seemed to be hunting us down. The road surface from Naseby, through Haselbech, to the A508 is not pleasant as an opening stint. We could hear communication between the riders during the neutralised section, so they were clearly looking out for each other, and they rode onto the A508 without incident.

The traffic control, with the accredited marshals, was flawless and progression was seamless. Being in the car you get to see the mechanics of how a race is carefully run and managed on open roads, minimising disruption to other road users. There were several spectators supporting at various points around the route, including WVCC members. Toward the end of the first lap, we upped the pace as the race increased speed down the Harborough Road from Little Oxenden and pushed on through Clipston, increasing our gap in case we needed to slow or stop for parked cars and oncoming traffic. We could see the riders in the mirror as they hurtled through and out of Clipston towards Naseby. There was a hairy moment on the way out of Clipston where a spaniel was off the lead bouncing about before its owner scooped him up. The group rode up the hill to Naseby to complete the first lap. A line of supporters, some offering feed in the designated area, were by the side road on the run up to the finish line which would be the start of the second lap. The second lap was very much like lap one, as anticipated, and we couldn’t see much movement at the front of the group. Monitoring the group in the front car wasn’t as easy as it would have been from the rear car.

There was a bit more movement on the third lap but no clear breakaway that stuck. Rider 39, Flo Wiggins, broke free just before the fourth lap started and quickly stretched out a lead without a viable challenge. We were communicating with the rear commissaire to monitor the time gap between the leader and group.  The group tried to respond after riding through Naseby, but we had comms saying they had sat up. We continued to time the gap, and the last clear radio communication was 1 minute 20 seconds. By the time we arrived at Great Oxenden we had lost clear radio communication due to the distance between our car and the main group, but we reckon it was 2 minutes at this point. We let Rider 39 through on the hill in Great Oxenden and communicated our last clear time gap to her. She was still pushing on for the remainder of the race, and we followed her up to the finish. The group came up the hill to the finish around 3 minutes behind with some good efforts for the line. There had been reports of a rider down at the bottom of the hill but that she dusted herself down and jumped back on her bike to finish.

 

I caught up with WVCC 2^nd claim member, Lydia Baxter, after the race, who was racing the course for the second year. She was very pleased with her effort this year and that she had comfortably managed to ride with the group throughout the race, unlike last year. I’m sure you will agree that it was a great effort and achievement.  Lydia extended her thanks to everybody involved in making the race happen.

Speaking to the race sponsor, Duncan Murray of ‘Duncan Murray Wines’, at the end of the race, he explained how he had become sponsor the event and some of the history of the race since he has been involved. It is clearly an important race to the cycling community. This is backed up by his unwavering support of around 20 years.

It was a very special race day, and I’m sure I wouldn’t be out of place, on behalf of Stuart Dawkins, in thanking all volunteers involved for their time and efforts which made the race possible.

For a full list of results and official race report, please see the link https://thebritishcontinental.co.uk/2026/08/03/duncan-murray-wines-road-race-report-and-results/