Colne gears up to host major British cycling event

Some of the top riders in the country will be heading to Colne on Tuesday 23rd July for the Fort Vale Colne Grand Prix.

The Fort Vale National Men’s Race will welcome the Saint Piran UCI Continental Cycling Team including Rhys Britton, Matthew Gibson, William Tidball and Dylan Westley. Saint Piran are highly regarded as one of the most dynamic cycling teams in Europe, for both setting races alight and entertaining their watching audiences.

The Saint Piran WRT Team will also compete in the Fort Vale National Women’s Race, which will include cyclists Hannah Bayes, Sophie Holmes and Ailsa McLagan.

It is the first time that Colne has hosted the Elite Women’s Race and 70 entries have already been confirmed for the race, which will also feature a number of UCI teams including Alba Development Road Team, DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK, Doltcini O’Shea and Pro-Noctis – 200 Degrees Coffee – Hargreaves Contracting.

The Elite Men’s Race has 69 confirmed starters and alongside Saint Piran will feature a fantastic range of other teams including some extremely promising Elite Development Teams including Wheelbase CabTech Castelli, who won the 2023 Fort Vale Colne Grand Prix.

Organised by Colne Town Council and CDPP (Cycling Development Pendle Partnership), the Colne Grand Prix is a closed-road 830m circuit around Colne’s one-way system, which always makes for a fast and exciting spectacle.

The event is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year and will get underway at 5:45pm with the Coalition Facilities Management Youth Race, before the Riggs Autopack Support Race at 6:25pm. The eagerly anticipated National Fort Vale Colne Grand Prix Women’s Elite Race will then get underway at 7:20pm, followed by the National Fort Vale Colne Grand Prix Men’s Elite Race at 8:20pm.

As well as the racing, there will be a number of opportunities for people to #ShopLocal on the night, with local businesses around the circuit opening late on the night.

Len Woffindin, event organiser, said: “We’ve got lots of riders coming to the event this year, we have done really well with entries in the National Women’s Race, so it’s looking really, really good for everyone involved.

“We would like to say a huge thank you to all the businesses involved in sponsoring this year’s event and we can’t wait to welcome everyone to what is an extremely entertaining night in Colne Town Centre.”

For more information on the Colne Grand Prix, please visit www.britishcycling.org.uk or https://www.colnegrandprix.org.uk/