Star-studded start list revealed for British National Road Championships
WorldTour riders including Matthew Brennan, Zoe Bäckstedt, Cat Ferguson and Ethan Hayter down to race in Wales
A stacked field of WorldTour stars, British domestic riders and amateurs are all set to compete at the British National Road Championships next week in Wales.
The event will crown 10 national champions across the elite and under-23 categories, starting with the time trials next Thursday 25 June. The circuit races will follow on 26 June, before the road races on 28 June.
All of last year’s elite winners are on the start list to defend their titles: Millie Couzens (Fenix-Premier Tech) and Sam Watson (Netcompany-Ineos) in the road races, Zoe Bäckstedt (Canyon-SRAM) and Ethan Hayter (Soudal-Quick Step) in the time trials, and Kate Richardson (Handsling Alba Development) and Cameron Mason (Alpecin-Premier Tech) in the circuit races.
Also down to compete across the four days is a raft of men’s WorldTour riders, such as: Ben Turner, Ben Swift, Connor Swift (Netcompany-Ineos), Owain Doull (Visma-Lease a Bike), Ethan Vernon, Lewis Askey, Joe Blackmore (NSN Cycling), Fred Wright (Pinarello Q36.5), Bob Donaldson (Jayco AlUla) and Callum Thornley (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe).
Josh Tarling (Netcompany-Ineos) is named on the start list to race the time trial; however, he is unlikely to compete after breaking his collarbone at last week’s Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
The women’s events will count an equally stacked field, including: Cat Ferguson, Carys Lloyd (Movistar), Anna Henderson (Lidl-Trek), Imogen Wolff (Visma-Lease a Bike), Pfeiffer Georgi (Picnic PostNL), Flora Perkins (Fenix-Premier Tech), Lauren Dickson (FDJ United-SUEZ), Alice Towers (EF Education-Oatly) and Erin Boothman (Liv AlUla Jayco Continental).
National Series leader Morven Yeoman will compete as part of a DAS-Hutchinson team that includes Noémie Thomson, both of whom have starred in British domestic races this season.
Likewise, Rapha CC duo Matthew Bostock and Ollie Wood, the respective City of London Nocturne and Lincoln GP winners, are also on the start lists.
The full start lists can be found on British Cycling's website: time trials, circuit races, road races.
Zoe Bäckstedt won her first elite national time trial title last year.
Speaking ahead of the championships, Bäckstedt hailed the “strong roster” of riders in the UK.
“It’s never going to be easy, but I hope I’ll come into this in good shape and fighting for the win,” the Welshwoman said.
Hayter, a former national road champion and defending time trial champion, will be looking to win a title for the third year in a row.
“Nationals always seem to bring out the best in me,” he said. “Each year the level gets higher, but it makes for aggressive, exciting racing.”
The time trials will take place in Lampeter on 25 June. Both the circuit races and the road races will be held in Aberystwyth, as they were in 2025.
This year’s championships mark the second year in a three-year agreement with the Welsh government to hold the event in the country. Wales will also host the third stage of the UK Tour de France Grand Départ in 2027, which will run from Welshpool to Cardiff on 4 July.
