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Preview: National Road Race Championships

Event: 26th June 2011, Northumberland

All the news in the buildup to the 2011 RR Champs in Northumberland.

The 2011 National Road Race Championships are to be held in Northumberland on a tough circuit around Stamfordham, north west of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. The Championships are the highlight of a whole weekend of riding and racing, including the famous Leazes Criteriums on Friday 24th June and the Northern Rock Cyclone on 25th. For full details of the whole weekend, including spectator information and up to date start lists go to the event website here: www.northernrockcyclone.co.uk

Start List Men | Start List Women | Link: Course Maps |

Preview: Men

Geraint Thomas wins the 2010 title

A cracking field includes virtually all the Europen-based pros, with a very strong line up of Team Sky riders heading the list. The Sky team completely dominated the 2010 Championships, with Geraint Thomas and Pete Kennaugh contesting the final sprint, with Thomas coming out on top.

Once again, the Sky riders will be the ones to beat. bradley Wiggins, fresh from his Critérium du Dauphiné win earlier this month will probably start the race as the favourite of many armchair pundits. Not only does he have the current form, he also has the history, having won the 2009 Beaumont Trophy - a round of the Premier Calendar - over the same roads. In that race, just before his historic 4th place in the Tour de France, Wiggins rode the rest of the field off his wheel on the way to an impressive win. Speaking about the event last week, Bradley said: "It will be the first time I've ridden the nationals with so many guys from the same team as me. It's going to be a fun day and obviously the hope is that one of us can manage to win it.

The point is that the roads for this event are hilly enough for determined efforts of riders who can climb to have a major effect on the outcome of the race. The National Championships is notorious for the amount of marking and tactics which are employed in an effort to draw the sting of the top riders, but with Sky having a number of riders comfortable in this kind of rolling terrain, it looks likely that the race will be run off at a brisk pace, forcing a natural selection on the hills.

If this happens, the number of potential winners drops dramatically. It will be interesting to see how far Mark Cavendish makes it. He's shown he can make it to then end of hilly Tour stages in the front group and successfully contest the final sprint, but in this race he will effectively be without support and the odds are that he'll either be marked or ridden out of contention before he can deploy his sprint.

Gerant Thomas will be keen to retain his title and he his win in the 2010 race showed that he can handle the sort of terrain and tactics he's likely to encounter. Chris Frome is another likely contender - he and Wiggins climbed away from the field during the 2009 championships before being caught in the closing stages. Meanwhile, Peter Kennaugh will be looking to move up a step, having finished second in each of the last 3 years, and Alex Dowsett also looks in prime form after his Smithfield Nocturne win.

Looking beyond the Sky contenders, it's a fairly small number of riders who have the class to stay in contention, unless the race is run off at a funereal pace. Perhaps if we look at some of the younger riders in the field, there are some possible party-poopers who could upset Sky's day: Scott Thwaites of Endura, Ian Bibby and Jonny McEvoy of Motorpoint have all had excellent seasons in domestic races and have the all-round talent to stay in the mix. Likewise Rapha's talented duo Andy Tennant and Ben Greenwood.

It is one of the most eagerly awaited races of the year and once again it looks likely to serve up an exciting and intriguing day of action.

Previous Winners

2010: 1. Geraint Thomas, 2. Peter Kennaugh, 3. Ian Stannard
2009: 1. Kristian House, 2. Peter Kennaugh 3.
2008: 1. Rob Hayles, 2. Peter Kennaugh, 3. Dean Downing
2007: 1. David Millar, 2. Daniel Lloyd, 3. Hamish Haynes
2006: 1. Hamish Haynes; 2. Roger Hammond; 3. Geraint Thomas
2005: 1. Russell Downing; 2. Steve Cummings; 3. Yanto Barker
2004: 1. Roger Hammond; 2. Tom Southam; 3. Jeremy Hunt
2003: 1. Roger Hammond; 2. Jeremy Hunt; 3. Jamie Alberts
2002: 1. Julian Winn; 2. Tom Southam; 3. Jeremy Hunt
2001: 1. Jeremy Hunt; 2. Rob Hayles; 3. John Tanner
2000: 1. John Tanner; 2. Jon Clay; 3. David Millar
1999: 1. John Tanner; 2. Kevin Dawson; 3. Russell Downing
1998: 1. Matt Stephens; 2. Roger Hammond; 3. Darren Barclay
1997: 1. Jeremy Hunt; 2. Mark Walsham; 3. Matt Stephens
1996: 1. David Rand; 2. Andy Naylor; 3. David Cook

Preview: Women

Emma Pooley wins the 2010 race ahead of Armitstead and Cooke

The Women's race presents a similar scenario to the men's: the Garmin Cervelo Elite team may not be as numerous as the male Sky team, but in the way they bossed the 2010 championships and dethroned Nicole Cooke after a decade at the top, they showed that they have the firepower and ambition to control the race.

Whenever the road goes upwards, Emma Pooley becomes a contender and she should start the defence of her title as favourite. Team-mate Lizzie Armitstead is improving all the time and should Pooley fall by the wayside, the Yorkshire-woman will be more than capable of stepping onto the top step of the podium.

Nicole Cooke may have had a quiet season by her standards, but the sport has never seen a more determined and tough rider. She has often ridden out of her skin when presented with the chance of a win and she will be motivated to both regain her title and to overcome the odds. Don't bet against her.

Again, it's to the younger riders that you have to look for other potential winners: Dani King has improved out of all recognition in the last 12 months and will start in confident mood. Similarly, Laura Trott has class and confidence beyond her years and a winning mentality. Thrown in HTC Highroad's Katie Colclough and you have three hungry young riders all capable of getting on the podium

Previous Winners

2010: 1. Emma Pooley; 2. Lizzie Armitstead; 3. Nicole Cooke
2009: 1. Nicole Cooke; 2. Lizzie Armitstead; 3. Emma Pooley
2008: 1. Nicole Cooke; 2. Emma Pooley; 3. Joanna Rowsell
2007: 1. Nicole Cooke; 2. Rachel Heal; 3. Helen Wyman
2006: 1. Nicole Cooke; 2. Lorna Webb; 3. Joanna Rowsell
2005: 1. Nicole Cooke; 2. Rachel Heal; 3. Emma Davies
2004: 1. Nicole Cooke; 2. Rachel Heal; 3. Vicki Pincombe
2003: 1. Nicole Cooke; 2. Rachel Heal; 3. Vicki Pincombe
2002: 1. Nicole Cooke; 2. Rachel Heal; 3. Melanie Sears
2001: 1. Nicole Cooke; 2. Ceris Gilfillan; 3. Sara Symington
2000: 1. Ceris Gilfillan; 2. Caroline Alexander; 3. Yvonne McGregor
1999: 1. Nicole Cooke; 2. Yvonne McGregor; 3. Ceris Gilfillian
1998: 1. Megan Huges; 2. Louise Jones; 3. Sally Boyden
1997: 1. Maria Lawrence; 2. Isla Rowntree; 3. Angela Hunter
1996: 1. Maria Lawrence; 2. Ann Plant; 3. Angela Hunter

Pre-Event Press Releases

Defending Champion Geraint Thomas heads stellar Team Sky lineup - Posted 8th June 2011

Geraint Thomas has confirmed he will be defending his title at the British National Road Race Championships in Northumberland on Sunday 26 June.

The Welshman is one of nine Team Sky riders who are currently planning to travel to Stamfordham to battle it out for the white champion's jersey, and they will be part of a strong field which includes many other WorldTour professionals.

Thomas took the title 12 months ago by edging out Team Sky teammates Peter Kennaugh and Ian Stannard in Lancashire, and that same trio will be in action again on the challenging countryside circuit, along with Russell Downing, Alex Dowsett, Chris Froome, Jeremy Hunt, Ben Swift and Bradley Wiggins.

Thomas said: "I'm obviously going to try my best to win it again but it's going to be hard as it looks a bit of an easier course than last year so a lot more guys can race it.

"But it has been great being the national champion over the last 12 months - it's like representing Great Britain in every race you are in.

"You obviously stand out a bit more and it's similar to wearing the leader's jersey in a stage race, you just get that lift every day you've got it on."

Thomas has had an outstanding year as national champion, with highlights including a spell in the young rider's jersey at the Tour de France as well as his first overall stage-race victory at Bayern-Rundfahrt last month.

He agreed: "It's definitely been a pretty memorable 12 months and wearing the national champion's jersey as well has made it even more special."

Of the day itself Thomas added: "It's always a bit different at the nationals - it obviously means a lot to so many people and everyone wants to win it. We'll just take it as it comes and see what happens but it should be a great day again."

Thomas' teammate Wiggins will be also hoping to add the road race title to his long list of achievements after winning the National Time Trial Championship for the last two years while sprinter Ben Swift has had a stellar season on the road with five victories already.

Cavendish Confirmed for Leazes Crits and National RR Champs - Posted 8th June 2011

Mark Cavendish is to ride in this month's National Elite Road Race Championships and Leazes Criteriums.

The Team Highroad - HTC rider will ride the Leazes Criteriums (Friday 24 June) in Newcastle and the National Elite Road Race Championships (Sunday 26 June) in Northumberland just a week before he lines up for this year's Tour de France.

If he were to win the National Elite Road Race Championships race he would wear the National Champions jersey in international races - a special accolade for any rider.

Twenty3C-Orbea Confirms National RR Champs Team: New-for-2011 pro cycling team Twenty3c-Orbea has confirmed its line-up for June’s National Elite Road Racing Championships (26 June). The nine-strong team features some of the most exciting young UK talent and includes Lewis Atkins, Mike Cuming, Kristian Downs, Andrew Griffiths, Andy Lyons, Joe Perrett, Dean Shannon, Rob Sharman and Marcel Six. For 2011, the National Elite Road Racing Championships take place in and around Newcastle alongside the Northern Rock Cyclone weekend – which also includes the Leazes Criteriums on the Friday night and the Northern Rock Cyclone Challenge on the Saturday. www.northernrockcyclone.co.uk  www.twenty3c-orbea.com.