Double delight for Hayters and maiden title for Lowden open British National Road Championships

Double delight for Hayters and maiden title for Lowden open British National Road Championships

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Golden brothers Ethan and Leo Hayter retained their national time-trial titles on the first day of the British National Road Championships, while Pfeiffer Georgi and Joss Lowden took the under-23 and elite women’s crowns in the glorious Dumfries sunshine.

The Elite Men’s category saw a complete repeat of last year’s podium in Lincolnshire, with Hayter putting on a masterclass to take the national champion’s jersey in a time of 50:38.525 over two laps of the 22.1km course.

Time-trial specialist Dan Bigham finished just behind Hayter to claim the second spot on the podium, clocking a time of 51:52.629, while James Shaw took bronze in 52:09.869. John Archibald and Charlie Quarterman finished just off the podium in fourth and fifth.

Afterwards, Hayter said:

“It’s really nice to defend my national title and I’m looking forward to wearing these stripes in Europe. We’ve been pretty lucky with the weather today – perfect weather for a time-trial. Hopefully I’ll win the road race on Sunday, but I’ve got both Bens with me [Tulett and Turner] and they’re both really strong, so we’ll see.”

Joss Lowden, British National Road Championships, 2022

Former UCI Hour Record holder Lowden was the only rider to break 29 minutes in the elite women’s category, clocking a blistering time of 28:44.912 to get into the hot seat.

Welsh rider Leah Dixon moved up from third on the 2021 podium to second in Dumfries to gain the silver medal with a time of 29:07.340, while Lizzie Holden came in third, crossing the line in 29:13.523. Emily Meakin and Anna Shackley both performed strongly to take fourth and fifth.

Lowden said:

“I’m very, very pleased. Obviously I was eyeing it up last year so this year to come out and do a ride I’m really pleased with – there was nothing left on the road today. I really enjoyed it, it was a beautiful course.”

Pfeiffer Georgi, British National Road Championships, 2022

Georgi was the last rider away in the Under-23 Women’s category but clocked the fastest time of 29:42.618 over one lap of the course. Elynor Backstedt claimed second – the only other rider to clock under 30 minutes with 29:54.085.

Under-23 National Road Series leader Lucy Gadd took third in 31:02.642 to make her first under-23 national championships podium, followed by Kate Richardson and Abi Smith.

Georgi said:

“Pretty special to be back on the podium – I definitely didn’t expect it coming in and I had Covid last month so I’m just getting back into fitness. I had no one in my ear so it was just me and my thoughts, so I went really hard on the way out. I thought I’d maybe gone a bit too deep but, in the end, it worked out to go hard and try and hold on.”

Leo Hayter, British National Road Championships, 2022

In the Under-23 Men’s category, Hayter matched his brother with a dominant ride in a time of 26:00.649 – just over 16 seconds quicker than his nearest competitor – this despite a mechanical with 6km to go which meant he had to change bikes for the final section of the course.

Second place went to 18-year-old Callum Thornley in a time of 26:17.366 – a very impressive ride for the young Scotsman – while the third spot went to Charlie Bailey, who clocked 26:28.373. He was followed by Oliver Rees and Josh Giddings.

The championships continue tomorrow with the circuit races in Kirkcudbright, starting at 17:00 on GCN+, discovery+ and the British Cycling YouTube channel. Find out more in our event preview here.

Full results:

Elite Women

Elite Men

Under-23 Women

Under-23 Men