Lizzie Deignan, Luke Rowe, Pfeiffer Georgi and Josh Tarling are amongst the names today confirmed to compete for the coveted national champions’ jerseys at this year’s Lloyds Bank National Road Championships, which will take place in Tees Valley from Wednesday 19 – Sunday 23 June.
Returning 2023 national champions Georgi, Tarling, Josh Charlton, Maddie Leech, Ollie Wood, Megan Barker, Sam Watson and Fred Wright currently all feature on the start list as the time-trial, circuit and road championships are brought together once again into an unmissable week of racing. In total, there will be 19 WorldTour and Women’s WorldTour riders competing across the three events.
Off the back of taking the Queen of the Mountains jersey at the Tour of Britain Women, Deignan said:
“I am delighted to be back racing at another national championships, especially at home on Yorkshire roads! The cycling fans here are the best in the world and it will be great to have people cheering from the roadside. Both the men's and women's fields are really strong line ups so it will be a great week of racing.”
INEOS Grenadiers rider Tarling, who was the youngest ever winner of the elite time-trial last year, said:
“I’m really excited to race at nationals this year. The national championships are always really special and it's been amazing to wear the national stripes in the time-trials this year. It will be great to be back racing on British roads and I'm looking forward to some top-level racing.”
Georgi, who will be looking to make it her third elite national title in the road race, added:
“Winning my second national title last year on Saltburn Bank was just amazing, and wearing the national jersey on the world stage is so special. Women’s racing at the minute is so exciting and we had such a good battle last year. I can’t wait to race in front of home crowds again and try and retain my jersey once again!”
Time-trial
The championships begin with the time-trials on Wednesday 19 June in Catterick at the Bourlon Barracks in North Yorkshire, where last year’s winners Josh Tarling and Lizzie Holden spearhead two stacked fields, with all riders completing two laps of the course to total 30km with 512m of climbing.
Since winning the national title in style last year, Tarling has also claimed the European elite time-trial title and a world championship bronze, but he will face stiff competition from his INEOS Grenadiers teammates, including 2022 national champion Ethan Hayter and 2023 bronze medallist Connor Swift.
In the women’s event, 2023 national champion Holden will be hoping to retain her title, but will have to battle against 2022 winner Joss Lowden on her return from maternity leave, last year’s podium finishers Anna Morris and Elinor Barker, European under-23 champion Zoe Backstedt and European silver medallist Anna Henderson.
Both the men’s and women’s under-23s will also tackle the same distance, with Josh Charlton and Maddie Leech looking to claim back-to-back titles.
Circuit
Ollie Wood will hope to retain his national circuit race title after a solo victory last year, and he will be joined by Saint Piram teammates Will Tidball, Will Roberts and Rhys Britton. They will be challenged by the likes of last year’s podium finishers Matt Bostock and Tim Shoreman, and crit specialists Ben Chilton, Alec Briggs and Jim Brown. Lewis Askey is also one to watch, having ridden the Giro d’Italia and spring classics this year.
Pocket rocket Meg Barker will also be on the start line with her eye on another national title, but the likes of 2023 bronze medallist Leech, track national champion Jenny Holl, 2022 silver medallist Emma Jeffers, Dudley circuit winner Lucy Glover and national cyclo-cross champion Anna Kay will provide fierce competition as the riders tackle the technical 1km circuit in Darlington.
Road
Lizzie Deignan leads the favourites for this year’s women’s road race in Saltburn, fresh off a strong performance at the Tour of Britain Women, where she secured the Queen of the Mountain jersey and the final stage’s Combativity award. The 2015 road world champion will go up against Great Britain Cycling Team teammate Anna Henderson, who finished second on the GC at the Tour of Britain Women. Henderson will be hungry for a win, having won two bronze and a silver medal in previous editions of the national championships.
Defending champion Pfeiffer Georgi will also be in action, aiming for a third national title in the event. Georgi will be joined by Team dsm-Firmenich PostNL teammates including 2021 silver medallist Josie Nelson, Abi Smith and Becky Storrie. Elinor Barker is another hopeful for the national title, alongside her Uno-X Mobility teammate Joss Lowden, while Alice Wood will be eyeing a second national title. Canyon-SRAM's Alice Towers will also be lining up in Saltburn keen for another national title after her solo victory in 2022, and Movistar’s Claire Steels will be looking to go one better, having won the silver medal at last year’s event.
Luke Rowe will be competing in his final national road race of a storied career in Saltburn, and will be joined by two-time national champion Ben Swift, 2018 national champion Connor Swift, 2019 under-23 champion Ethan Hayter, Leo Hayter, Ben Turner and Josh Tarling.
There will still be a stacked line-up to go for the title, including last year’s podium winners James Knox and Stephen Williams, and 2023 national champion Fred Wright also currently features on the start list. Williams has had a sensational year, having been crowned the first male British winner of La Fleche Wallonne in April, and also won the Santos Tour Down Under in January, and will certainly be one of the main contenders at this year’s national championships.
Back-to-back winner of the under-23 race, Sam Watson, will be joined by Groupama-FDJ teammates Lewis Askey and Matt Walls, EF Education – EasyPost riders Owain Doull, James Shaw and Lukas Nerurkar, and Team VISMA LEASE A BIKE’s Ben Tullet and Thomas Gloag. There will be a total of 13 riders on the start list from British UCI Continental team Saint Piran, including Will Roberts, Ollie Wood, Rhys Britton, James McKay and Alex Richardson, who was third behind Mark Cavendish and Watson in 2022.
You can find the route information here, with broadcast information to follow later this week.
