Curlew Cup 2025

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 Tea