The 2018 HSBC UK | National Road Championships conclude with the men’s and women’s road races in Northumberland on Sunday 1 July.
The riders will compete for the elite men’s, women’s and under-23 coveted national champions’ jersey.
The women’s race
The 2018 women’s road race will be contested by a number of household names and on-form elite riders, including Dani Rowe, Dame Sarah Storey and Elinor Barker to name a few.
Dani Rowe has been in fine form this season, finishing third in the Commonwealth Games road race and following up that performance with an overall third place in the OVO Energy Women’s Tour. Fellow Olympic gold medallist Elinor Barker will ride for Wiggle High5 in Northumberland this weekend.
Storey comes into the National Championships having recently tasted victory in the North East after winning stage one of the Tour of the Reservoir this past weekend. Storey will race both the TT and the road race for Storey Racing in a packed weekend of competition.
Also competing in both events will be 2016 national champion Hannah Barnes (CANYON // SRAM RACING), who will be one of the favourites for this year’s title. She edged out her sister Alice in 2016, also racing this year and looking to improve on two runner-up finishes.
Whatever the outcome of this year’s women’s road race, a new national champion will be crowned - with the 2017 champion Lizzie Deignan absent due to the upcoming birth of her first child. Another notable absentee is Olympic and world gold medallist Katie Archibald, who is injured and unable to race.
The men’s race
The finale of the National Road Championships sees two-time champion Steve Cummings attempt to defend his title in a star-studded men’s road race.
Cummings will have to fend off a host of challenges, not least from previous winners Peter Kennaugh, Ian Stannard and Adam Blythe – whom have all triumphed at National Road Championships in recent years.
Other high-profile contenders include Team Sky star Geraint Thomas and the previous national champion and sprint ace Mark Cavendish. Thomas will be riding high on the back of his victory in the 2018 Critérium du Dauphiné and the Welshman will lead a strong Sky cohort into the weekends action.
Cavendish was recently in action in the Tour de Yorkshire after a lengthy injury lay-off, but the Team Dimension Data rider is a perennial contender at the Nationals, with one victory and two second place finishes to his name already.
One of cycling’s most exciting prospects, Tom Pidcock, who secured a win in the second round of the Spring Cup Series, leads an exclusively under-23 line-up for Team Wiggins. Elsewhere in the under-23 category, Team Wiggins’ Gabriel Cullaigh and Charlie Tanfield of Canyon Eisberg are tipped to be ones to watch.
The course
The road races will both start and finish in the picturesque village of Stamfordham, situated around 20km west of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
The women’s race will be in the morning over 106km – consisting of three laps of the long route (see map above), with the hotly contested men’s race due to place over a total distance of 185km in the afternoon – consisting of two short loops and four long loops.
Spectators are invited to watch the action unfold in what promises to be a spectacular weekend of cycling and festival fun. Admission is free for spectators and there’s something for everyone to enjoy thanks to an eclectic mix of food and drink (cash only), music, amusement rides, HSBC UK Go-Ride and a bicycle stunt team.
Arriving by car? A £3 car parking fee will be payable on arrival (cash only) in both the main car park in Stamfordham and the Ryals climb. Cash machines are not available.
The schedule
Sunday 1 July
8:45am – Women’s road race starts
1:00pm – Men’s road race starts
How to follow
- Live streaming will be available on Facebook and from the British Cycling website from 11:00am on Thursday 28 June and Sunday 1 July.
- The road race action will be broadcast on ITV, with highlights of the women’s road race and live culmination of the men’s race being shown from 3:00pm on Sunday July 1. The programme will then be available on the ITV Hub for 27 days after the event.
- Follow @BritishCycling on Twitter for race updates and on Instagram for the behind the scenes story.
- A full report, results, images and reaction each day on the British Cycling website.
