08/04/2025
CTT report on Georgia Acton’s brilliant win at BUCS 25 below🏆
The Oxford men’s and women’s teams took home both Varsity shields, with the men also winning the BUCS team prize🤩
REPORT & INTERVIEWS: Acton and Lowden quickest at BUCS 25 Championship
THE BUCS 25-Mile Championship titles were won by Georgia Acton (Oxford) and Will Lowden (Cambridge) at an event organised by Cambridge University Cycling Club - CUCC and staged at Six Mile Bottom in the county.
Acton covered the E33/25 course in 57-54 to take the women’s title by 21 seconds from Loughborough rival Lucy Gadd, who led Loughborough to the team prize with colleague Olivia Kelly taking third in 58-49.
Lowden’s time of 49-57 was comfortably fastest, being 1-22 ahead of runner-up Max Bolton (Oxford), while Josh Knowles (Loughborough) was another five seconds back in third place.
The men’s team – with three counting riders – was Oxford with Bolton being joined by Matthew Coulson and Angus Phillips.
27-year-old Acton from Dorset said afterwards: “It was a really fun race, even if slightly windy. Honestly I didn’t expect to win, but I’m really happy with the result.
“The Cambridge group did a really great job with the organisation and also in handling the delay due to the crash,” she added, referring to an accident unrelated to the event which caused a two-hour delay to the start.
“Everyone did super well, and I’m proud of the whole Oxford team.”
And fastest in the open event, a delighted Lowden said: “It’s quite an undulating course of two 20km laps, almost sporting and definitely not super-fast, but with enough hills to suit me fairly well. It’s also on roads close to Cambridge which I know.
“I aimed to pace conservatively over the two laps. The first eight kilometres were downhill with a tailwind, so I wanted to save something for the headwind and hills in the second half of the lap, which definitely worked well!
“After last year’s BUCS 25 was cancelled due to wind, it was super to be able to race this course!”
In the road bike category, Loughborough’s Lilja Raine took the win in 1-10-17, while in the open category it was George Spooner (Cambridge) whose time of 55-14 gave him the victory.
* All reports are copyright of Cycling Time Trials/Snowdon Sports. Not to be used without permission.
* Archive image of Will Lowden is by Paul Murray.
Results:
Open:
1. Will Lowden (Cambridge) 49.57
2. Max Bolton (Oxford) 51.19
3. Joshua Knowles (Loughborough) 51.24
4. Matthew Coulson (Oxford) 51.29
5. Jasper Raistrick (East Anglia) 53.53
6. Angus Toms (Edinburgh) 54.12
Women:
1. Georgia Acton (Oxford) 57.54
2. Lucy Gadd (Loughborough) 58.15
3. Olivia Kelly (Loughborough) 58.49
4. Eva Callinan (Loughborough) 1:02.30
5. Matilda Gurney (Nottingham) 1:02.50
6. Isabel Ellis (Nottingham) 1:03.39