British Cycling has today announced the world-class field – including Lizzie Armitstead, Mark Cavendish, Alex Dowsett, Emma Pooley, Dame Sarah Storey and Dani King – that will contest the British Cycling National Road Championships in Stockton-on-Tees later this month.
The men’s and women’s time trials take place on Thursday 23 June, ahead of the road races on Sunday 26 June.
Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) heads a strong line-up in the men’s road race. The 2013 British champion and 2011 world champion will go up against Team Sky contenders Ian Stannard, Luke Rowe and Ben Swift as well as former under-23 champion Scott Thwaites of Bora–Argon 18. Peter Kennaugh will be unable to defend his title after sustaining a broken collarbone at the Tour of California in May.
Leading the challenge from the British-based domestic teams will be in-form rider Ian Bibby (NFTO), winner of the recent Manx International Grand Prix and Cycle Wiltshire Grand Prix and riders from Team Wiggins, Raleigh GAC, Madison Genesis Pedal Heaven, JLT Condor and Britain’s only UCI Professional Continental team, One Pro Cycling.
In the women’s road race, defending champion and world road champion Lizzie Armitstead (Boels-Dolmans) will be favourite to win her fourth national road title. Her challengers will include former junior world road champion Lucy Garner, who finished second at the recent Women’s Tour de Yorkshire, Olympic track champion Dani King (both Wiggle High5), 2015 under-23 champion and recent winner of the Women’s Lincoln Grand Prix, Alice Barnes (Drops Cycling Team) and current British Cycling Women’s Road Series leader Nicola Juniper (Team Ford Ecoboost).
In the men’s time trial Alex Dowsett (Movistar) will attempt to win a record fifth British time trial title whilst Team Wiggins’ Scott Davies will attempt to make it three successive national titles in the under-23 men’s competition.
In the women’s time trial, Emma Pooley continues her comeback from retirement in the run up to the Rio Olympic Games. The Beijing time trial silver medallist will have to overcome competition from 2015 champion Hayley Simmonds (Unitedhealthcare Professional Cycling Team), 2015 silver medallist Molly Weaver (Liv-Plantur) and multiple Paralympic champion and 2015 bronze medallist Dame Sarah Storey if she is to claim her fourth national title.
Entry lists
The time trials will take place on Thursday 23 June on a 11.6-kilometre circuit starting and finishing in Stockton town centre, which will be completed four times by the men and three times by the women and under-23 men, giving total race distances of 46.4 kilometres and 34.8 kilometres respectively.
The road races will take place on Sunday 26 June and start in the centre of Stockton before heading out of town where the riders will complete six laps (women) and 12 laps (men) of a 13.4-kilometre circuit that takes in the neighbouring villages of Carlton, Thorpe Thewles and Redmarshall.
The riders will then return to Stockton town centre and enter the 6.7-kilometre finishing circuit to complete three laps in the women’s race and six in the men’s, before racing for the line on the High Street.
