National Champs return to Northumberland in 2018
British Cycling has announced that the 2018 British Road National Championships will be held in Northumberland between June 28 and July 1, forming part of the Cyclone Festival of Cycling.
The Championships will take place in Northumberland for the first time since 2011, when Bradley Wiggins and Lizzie Armitstead took the road race titles, and will once again incorporate the Beaumont Trophy and the Curlew Cup from the domestic calendar.
The courses for the road races (which will both take place on July 1) are yet to be officially announced, but will almost certainly involve multiple laps of the 35km circuit near Stamfordham which includes the infamous Ryals climb, a series of steep ramps on a dead-straight road, topping out at a maximum gradient of 22 per cent.
The time trial events (which will take place on June 28) were not held at the same time as the national championship road races in 2011, so it is not clear what sort of course the organisers will offer up to the riders.
The professional races will form part of the wider Cyclone Festival of Cycling, which includes rides for families through the centres of Newcastle and Gateshead on June 29, and a sportive event on June 30 which offers routes of between 34 and 104 miles for keen amateur riders.
Jonny Clay, British Cycling’s director of cycling, said that he was looking forward to seeing the National Championships return to the north-east of England having been held in the Isle of Man in 2017.
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“We are thrilled to be heading to the north east for the biggest date in the British road racing calendar,” Clay said.
“There is a great passion for cycling with thousands of people turning out to watch whenever there are cycling races in the area and it should be a fantastic weekend and showcase of everything that is great about the region.
“Hosted in partnership with the Cyclone Festival of Cycling, there is something for all fans of cycling, whether you want to watch the racing or take part in a sportive.”
As has been the case in previous years, although the under-23 national champions will be crowned as part of the senior events, the Junior Road National Championships will be held separately, taking place over a rolling course in Stamford, Lincolnshire on July 15.