Pfeiffer Georgi (Team DSM) took a powerful victory at the HSBC UK | National Road Championships in Lincoln to take both the elite and U23 national road race titles. In the men’s race, Ben Swift (Ineos Grenadiers) reclaimed his national road race title, while Fred Wright (Bahrain-Victorious) took the U23 honours.

Read more about the course in our race preview here.

Women’s race

21-year-old Pfeiffer Georgi (Team DSM) sealed both the elite and U23 national road race crowns with a coming-of-age performance, using her superiority on the climb at Michaelgate to power clear of her rivals on the final ascent.

Persistent rain made for miserable conditions, only adding to the challenge that faced the riders as they rolled out of Lincoln. The peloton arrived together as they reached the first ascent of the iconic, cobbled Michaelgate climb. On the front were recent hour record-breaker, Joss Lowden (Drops-Le Col s/b Tempur), side-by-side with Anna Henderson (Team Jumbo-Visma).

They set a tough pace up the climb and, if the aim was to create a select group early on, then they succeeded. By the top, the pace was hard enough for 12 riders to forge clear, never to be caught again. This exclusive group contained: Alice Barnes (CANYON – SRAM RACING), Pfeiffer Georgi (Team DSM), Joss Lowden, Apri Tacey, Dani Christmas, Anna Christian (all Drops-Le Col s/b Tempur), Anna Henderson (Team Jumbo-Visma), Josie Nelson (Team Coop-Hitec Products), Anna Shackley (Team SD Worx), Danielle Shrosbree (Team LDN – Brother UK), Jo Tindley (Pro-Noctis – Redchilli Bikes – Heidi Kjeldsen) and Sophie Wright (Alè BTC Ljubljana).

The group’s lead grew with every passing lap, and by the time they had reached the four-lap halfway point in the race, the daring dozen had over a minute on the peloton behind. In the bunch Leah Dixon (Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank) was particularly active, seemingly determined to catch the leaders, but her efforts to chivvy the bunch into a coordinated pursuit were constantly thwarted.

On the sixth ascent of Michaelgate, Pfeiffer Georgi produced the first attack out of the leading group, with only Henderson and Lowden the only riders who were able to cling on. Behind, Anna Shackley chased hard to pull back the leading three riders a few kilometres later, with Barnes, Nelson, and Wright alongside her making it a group of seven.

By now it was clear Georgi had the best legs on Michealgate. It would be up to the other riders to drop her. Reigning national champion Alice Barnes tried this by attacking almost as soon as the group had become seven but was quickly reeled back in.

The group swelled to 12 once again towards the end of the penultimate lap, with the remaining five riders re-joining the leaders, and with one lap to go they would cross the line and hear the final lap bell altogether.

The final lap saw attack after attack, firstly by Anna Christian at 10 kilometres to go, swiftly chased down by Jo Tindley and Pfieffer Georgi, the pair riding straight past her to launch their own attack.

Another Drops-Le Col attack saw a last-minute dig by April Tacey at three kilometres to go, and she would ride all the way to the lower slopes of the final ascent of the Michaelgate climb on her own.

However, Georgi flew past Tacey, attacking on the right-hand side of the climb – Josie Nelson fighting hard on the left aiming to match her speed.

Only two bike lengths separated them as they turned left onto Wordsworth Street, the final rise with just 100 metres to go to the finish line, and Anna Henderson was just three bike lengths behind Nelson with Joss Lowden chasing down the Team Jumbo-Visma rider.

Pfeiffer Georgi would ride out of sight to take the win in front of a rapturous Lincolnshire crowd, with Josie Nelson finishing second just three seconds behind. Lowden fought hard, pipping Henderson in the final 100 metres to take bronze, seven seconds behind Georgi.

Georgi and Nelson both being under-23 also took the top two steps of that podium, Anna Shackley took home bronze, with the Team SD Worx rider fifth overall ahead of the valiant April Tacey in sixth.

Georgi said:

“I honestly can’t believe it. I was just crossing the line shaking my head. Just realising that I get to wear the [national champions] jersey for year, that was pretty special.

“I’ve been feeling tired the past couple of weeks, so to feel good today and take the win, it was actually really surprising.

“I knew positioning would be key every lap, but I didn’t expect it to be only 12 [riders] by the first lap. I thought it would maybe be halved, but I didn’t think our breakaway would go all the way to finish.

“But that’s the nature of this race, with it being so narrow, cobbled – and yeah it’s always a fight for positions, so you have to be there every lap, and yeah – stay sharp.”

Results

Pos	#	Rider	Team	Cat	Time
1	97	Pfeiffer Georgi	Team DSM	U23	2:38:43
2	96	Josie Nelson	Team Coop-Hitec Products	U23	+3
3	37	Joscelin Lowden	DROPS-LE COL SUPPORTED BY TEMPUR		+7
4	98	Anna Henderson	Team Jumbo-Visma		+9
5	107	Anna Shackley	Team SD Worx	U23	+12
6	39	April Tacey	DROPS-LE COL SUPPORTED BY TEMPUR	U23	+22
7	5	Sophie Wright	Alè BTC Ljubljana	U23	+27
8	106	Danielle Shrosbree	Team LDN – Brother UK		+41
9	73	Jo Tindley	Pro-Noctis – Redchilli Bikes -Heidi Kjeldsen		+44
10	1	Alice Barnes	CANYON – SRAM RACING		+52
11	36	Dani Christmas	DROPS-LE COL SUPPORTED BY TEMPUR		+1:04
12	35	Anna Christian	DROPS-LE COL SUPPORTED BY TEMPUR		+1:08
13	108	Leah Dixon	Team TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank		+2:58
14	29	Becky Storrie	CAMS-Basso		+3:01
15	17	Daisy Barnes	Brother U.K – Cycle Team OnForm	U23	+3:15
16	48	Beth Harley-Jepson	Jadan – Vive le Velo		+5:53
17	34	Elizabeth Bennett	DROPS-LE COL SUPPORTED BY TEMPUR	U23	+5:57
18	26	Natalie Grinczer	CAMS-Basso		st
19	66	Isabel Darvill	Pro-Noctis – Redchilli Bikes -Heidi Kjeldsen	U23	st
20	25	Illi Gardner	CAMS-Basso	U23	+6:00
21	14	Holly MacMahon	Bianchi Dama		+6:02
22	6	Elizabeth Sanders	Avid Sport		+6:03
23	51	Francesca Hall	Loughborough Lightning – TRG		st
24	43	Alice McWilliam	Grinta Coaching		+6:05
25	80	Megan Dickerson	SKODA DSI Cycling Academy		st
26	3	Victoria Smith	AeroCoach		+6:08
27	65	Charlotte Berry	Pro-Noctis – Redchilli Bikes -Heidi Kjeldsen		+6:10
28	4	Anna Morris	AeroLab Ward WheelZ		+6:15
29	13	Jasmine Jones	Bianchi Dama		+6:16
30	118	Kate Richardson	Unattached	U23	+6:18
31	33	Gwenno Hughes	Crimson Orientation Marketing RT	U23	+6:49
32	67	Samantha Fawcett	Pro-Noctis – Redchilli Bikes -Heidi Kjeldsen		+8:44
33	23	Louise Hart	Campinense – Velo Performance		st
34	46	Dannielle Khan	Isorex NoAqua Ladies Cycling Team		st
35	32	Melissa Greaves	Crimson Orientation Marketing RT		+8:52
36	72	Poppy Thompson	Pro-Noctis – Redchilli Bikes -Heidi Kjeldsen		st
37	110	Suzetta Guerrini	Team Watto-LDN		+8:56
38	57	Megan Panton	MULTUM ACCOUNTANTS – LSK LADIESCYCLING TEAM	U23	+9:09

Men’s race

Ben Swift (Ineos Grenadiers) won his first road race since his last national road race win in June 2019 to sustain his ownership of the national road race jersey.

A total of 129 riders started the men’s race in Lincoln, amongst them three previous winners in Mark Cavendish MBE (Deceuninck-QuickStep), Connor Swift (Team Arkéa-Samsic) and Ben Swift.

The earliest attack came on the first ascent of the Michaelgate climb, a solo effort from the frequently aggressive 20-year-old Lewis Askey (Groupama-FDJ Continental). The attack came to nothing, but a counterattack by Dan Bigham (Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling) and Sam Watson (Team Inspired) sparked the first big move of the day.

A lap later a further four riders joined them: Harry Tanfield (Team Qhubeka Nexthash), Jake Stewart (Groupama-FDJ), Dan McLay (Team Arkéa-Samsic) and Ben Swift. They had a lead of around 30 seconds as they hit Michaelgate for the sixth of thirteen ascents.

Behind, pre-race favourite Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) used the climb as a springboard to bridge across to the leading group in what seemed like no time at all. Fred Wright (Bahrain-Victorious), Lewis Askey and Connor Swift also fought to join the leaders, making it ten in front.

James Shaw (Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling) and Sean Flynn (SEG Racing Academy) then put in a strong effort to close a 35-second gap to join the leaders to make it dozen. At the same time, Harry Tanfield attacked out the front but was swiftly brought back by Ethan Hayter, looking mightily strong.

At the start of lap nine Dan McLay then made a decisive attack, with Fred Wright, Ben Swift and Harry Tanfield hurriedly following his wheel. With the other eight riders looking at each other to close the gap, the new leaders began to etch out a solid lead. With two laps to go their lead was a minute ahead of the chasers.

Behind, the composition of the chasers was changing. A second chase group caught Hayter’s group of eight, only for Hayter, Askey, Swift, Watson and Alpecin-Fenix’s Alex Richardson to slip away and form a new chase group of 5.

The penultimate time up the Michaelgate climb saw fireworks when Fred Wright decided to show his hand, powering over the cobbles as his competitors fought for the smooth gutter section at the side of the road. Only Swift and Tanfield could follow, Dan McLay slipping out of contention. In the group behind Ethan Hayter barely looked out of breath as he took Lewis Askey over the top of the climb with him, the duo in pursuit of the three riders ahead.

On the final lap, Tanfield put in several digs in an effort to lose his companions, but each time he was reeled back in. The three reached Michaelgate together, hotly pursued by Hayter and Askey, who had done an impressive job of closing the gap to just a few seconds.

Ben Swift went first, Fred Wright chasing his wheel as Tanfield dropped away behind them. The duo pressed on ahead in a thrilling final sprint up the climb, shoulder to shoulder into the penultimate corner and left-hand turn to the 100 metres to go sign.

Wright was holding his wheel all the way around the final corner and onto the tarmac before his head slumped, absolutely spent, allowing Swift to ride away to victory.

Behind, Hayter had flown past Tanfield on the climb in the final metres to steal third, seven seconds behind his teammate.

Swift said:

“I was really looking forward to the race, I’ve enjoyed my time for sure in this jersey. It gives you that extra motivation for sure, it was something that I really wanted to keep and luckily, I’ve got for another eight months in it or something.

“It’s been a bit of a difficult year. I knew coming into this race my form was good, but I’ve had to do it the hard way – I spent most of the day off the front just going from group to group, but yeah I’m made up really!

“It was incredible – it’s been so long since we’ve had really big crowds in British racing, so it was so good to see. Michaelgate’s hard, but those crowds it made it a little bit easier.”

Results

Pos	#	Rider	Team	Cat	Time
1	1	Ben Swift	Team Ineos Grenadiers		3:45:19
2	10	Fred Wright	Bahrain-Victorious	U23	+2
3	2	Ethan Hayter	Team Ineos Grenadiers		+7
4	126	Harry Tanfield	Team Qhubeka Nexthash		+12
5	45	Lewis Askey	Equipe Cycliste Continentale Groupama-FDJ	U23	+24
6	6	Alexandar Richardson	Alpecin-Fenix		+1:12
7	110	Daniel Mclay	Team Arkea-Samsic		+1:30
8	39	Leo Hayter	Development Team DSM	U23	st
9	71	James Shaw	Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling		+1:33
10	115	Samuel Watson	Team Inspired	U23	+1:38
11	111	Connor Swift	Team Arkea-Samsic		+1:52
12	96	Sean Flynn	SEG Racing Academy	U23	+2:25
13	75	Gruffudd Lewis	Ribble Weldtite Pro Cycling		+2:29
14	18	Jacob Scott	Canyon DHB Sungod		+2:32
15	108	Josh Whitehead	SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling	U23	st
16	17	Jim Brown	Canyon DHB Sungod	U23	+2:39
17	150	Ben Granger	Zappi Racing Team	U23	+2:42
18	105	Ross Lamb	SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling		+2:47
19	102	Alex Peters	SwiftCarbon Pro Cycling		+2:53
20	25	Charlie Tanfield	Canyon DHB Sungod		+3:24
21	40	Oscar Onley	Development Team DSM	U23	+3:59
22	29	Alistair Slater	Clancy Briggs Cycling Academy		+6:21
23	120	Cameron Orr	Team Inspired	U23	+6:23
24	133	Ben Turner	TRINITY Road Racing	U23	+6:27
25	135	Oliver Rees	TRINITY Road Racing	U23	+6:28
26	144	Owain Roberts	Wales Racing Academy	U23	+6:30
27	161	Matthew Kingston	Zappi Racing Team	U23	+6:38
28	132	Thomas Gloag	TRINITY Road Racing	U23	+6:41
29	134	Cameron Mason	TRINITY Road Racing	U23	+6:48
30	130	Charlie Quarterman	TREK – SEGAFREDO		+6:54
31	5	Henry Lawton	AG2R Citroen U23 Team	U23	+6:55
32	81	Isaac Mundy	Richardsons Trek DAS		+8:11
33	42	Thomas Armstrong	ELECTRO HIPER EUROPA		+8:13
34	4	Zak Coleman	Acrog-Tormans	U23	+8:14
35	117	Alfred George	Team Inspired	U23	+8:20
36	8	Joseph Laverick	Axeon Hagens Berman CT	U23	+8:26
37	52	David Hird	Halesowen A & CC Academy	U23	+8:32
38	23	Callum Macleod	Canyon DHB Sungod	U23	+8:38
39	16	Matthew Bostock	Canyon DHB Sungod		+8:55
40	19	Maximilian Stedman	Canyon DHB Sungod		st
41	90	Steve Lampier	Saint Piran		+9:04