The East Midlands International CiCLE Classic took place last weekend, with nearly 200 riders racing some 160km between Rutland and Melton in what is becoming the biggest and most interesting one day race in the UK.

It’s only been staged for a couple of years, but already has an impressive reputation and, with its UCI classification, attracts an international field. The list of riders is a who’s who of the UK’s most talented, plus a couple of top European candidates. Included in the line-up were 2007 winner Malcolm Elliott, the ever-effervescent Magnus Backstedt and poster-boy Chris Newton.

The course is what makes this race, though. Lots of narrow and rough roads, intense steep climbs, gravel-covered lanes, they all make for a fearsome battle and it’s a course that favours the strong and brave. There’s nothing else like it in the UK and it bears more resemblance to the likes of the Tour of Flanders and Paris Roubaix. It’s tough, but the riders like it that way.

Following our own small battle with the unique course conditions in the morning’s supporting Kermesse race, we picked a viewing spot in Owston. This cosy and remote village is a pivotal part of the race, as the roads around here make up several of the classified sectors – sections of near off-road with potholes and gravel – that make it so demanding for the riders and so different from a regular road race.

Standing on a hillside beside the feed zone, where team soigneurs were ready with drinks bottles, we were able to watch the riders criss-crossing the lumpy landscape several times. The course ingeniously uses many of the special sectors several times, but not always from the same direction. We would spot the huge cloud of dust caused by the large peloton and team vehicles even before the riders came into sight.

This is a race that luck plays its part in, as much as team tactics count. We chatted to Tom Southam of the Rapha-Condor team, who suffered two punctures after a strong effort early on to force a break. The narrow roads compounded the problem, making a wheel change slow, he commented.

The Rutland-Melton is a truly fantastic race. That’s something strangely enjoyable about racing on narrow and rutted off-road sections, which, interlaced with smooth Tarmac and steep climbs, made for a race that split apart massively. We were treated to some spectacular weather and the backdrop of the beautiful Leicestershire countryside and a huge field of the UK’s top riders make it a properly spectacular experience. I’ll be back next year.

The race was won by Ian Wilkinson (Halfords-Bikehut) ahead of Michael Berling (Glud & Marstrand Horsens) and Yanto Barker (Geoff Thomas-Colnago-Assos ).

More at www.cicleclassic.co.uk