With time trials out in North Yorkshire complete, the National Road Championships now move to the coast, beginning with the National Circuit Race Championships on Friday evening in Redcar.

This preview reviews the route, the contenders, the timings, the coverage and more.

Featured image: Zac Williams/SWpix.com. National Road Championships 2022 – Elite Women’s Circuit Race – Kirkcudbright – Scotland.

What is it?

A contest to decide the best circuit – or crit – racers in Britain. The National Circuit Race Championships were first held back in 1979 for male professional cyclists before an open event was established in 1996. A women’s championships began two years later in 1998.

The circuit race championships used to be a standalone event, neatly positioned at the back end of July, a bookend to the National Circuit Series. In 2021, however, the circuit race championships were incorporated into the National Road Championships, sandwiched between the time trials and the road races. With pandemic-related restrictions preventing the National Road Championships from being held any earlier, this made sense. And it provided a brilliant spectacle too, the Friday night nocturnes serving as a thrilling appetiser before Sunday’s road races.

This format has continued since and the jury is still out on whether it works. On the one hand, there are logistical benefits for British Cycling, housing all the championships in just a few days of racing. From a roadside fan perspective, it makes a trip to the championships more appealing too – you can make a real weekend of it.

But the oddity here – especially in a year when there has been no Tour Series – is that the circuit race championships happen before any top-level circuit racing has happened in the UK this season. It seems odd to be crowning national champions before the (circuit racing) season has yet begun. Better to have the championships at the end of July, something to build toward over the course of the National Circuit Series?

Regardless of the arguments about the timing of the event, it always provides a fantastic spectacle, and the current format adds the extra spice of domestic riders going wheel-to-wheel with WorldTour opposition.

Previous winners

On the men’s side, previous winners of the open event include reigning champion Joey Walker, his Dad Chris Walker, Rob Hayles, Chris Newton, Dean and Russell Downing, Mark Cavendish, Ed Clancy, Adam Blythe, Ian Bibby, Tom Pidcock and Matt Gibson. Russell Downing holds the record for the most number of wins with three victories, stretching from his first in 2003 to his last in 2013. Matt Bostock won last year’s event in Kirkcudbright.

The women’s event counts Lizzie Deignan (then Lizzie Armitstead), Jo Rowsell, Dani King, Hannah Barnes, Lucy Garner, Nikki Juniper, Anna Henderson and Becky Durrell among its previous winners. Josie Nelson won the last edition in 2022.

Course

The circuit races take place on a tight, flat and technical 1.1km circuit around the picturesque seaside town of Redcar.

The start/finish line is on the esplanade, with two 90-degree lefthand turns then taking riders onto the High Street. The course then jinks onto Lord Street before starting on the seafront before another two sharp lefthanders take riders back to the seaside for a long, straight dash back to the start/finish line. 

Both the men’s and women’s races will be contested over 55 minutes plus five laps. 

Contenders

Final startlists here.

Women’s race

Current circuit race form is almost impossible to judge with no Tour Series this year, no National A-level racing to provide clues and markers as to who is hot and who is not.

That said, based on previous circuit race form, Emma Jeffers (DAS-Handsling) is one of the obvious contenders. The 18-year-old was winning circuit races for fun last season, victorious in two Tour Series rounds, the Barnsley Town Centre Races and the Newark Town Centre Races, on top of her road racing success. And, of course, oh-so-narrowly beaten by Josie Nelson in last year’s race. All on junior gears too. Now, another year older and wiser, her strong sprint finish – which she demonstrated again recently at the North East, North West & Yorkshire Regional Road Championship – marks her out as a favourite.

Jeffers also has the advantage of being part of the strongest team in the race. Teammates Monica Greenwood and Lucy Lee have both been in scintillating form this season, Greenwood regularly impressing at UCI level races, and Lee sitting second in our national road race rankings after three National B wins this year. The team also has two-time Tour Series round winner Sammie Stuart as another formidable option.

Junior sensation Cat Ferguson (Shibden Hope Tech Apex) is another obvious pick. We have run out of superlatives for the first-year junior, already a three-time UCI road race winner and a rider who has regularly outperformed her domestic rivals this year. Watching how she handles herself in an elbows-out national circuit race will be fascinating.

The Pro-Noctis – Heidi Kjeldsen – 200 Degrees Coffee team regularly excels in circuit racing. Just look back at the superb team performance that enabled Jo Tindley‘s superb solo win at the 2021 national circuit race championships for proof of that of the team’s ability. Tindley has proven herself to be one of the most formidable circuit racing talents in the UK in recent years – could she bag another nationals win tonight? Her teammate Robyn Clay was another rider who impressed at Lincoln in 2021, where she finished 7th when just a junior; the 2023 Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix winner will be one to watch.

Katie Archibald (Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling Team) is always a thrilling performer and looked solid in the time trial on Wednesday, finishing 6th. This course should suit the track specialist, so expect fireworks from the Scot.

Newly-crowned U23 time trial champion Maddie Leech (Lifeplus-Wahoo) is another who demonstrated her form on Wednesday. Another track expert, her fast finish marks her out as a contender.

Others to keep an eye on include 2022 Otley Grand Prix winner Charlotte Broughton (AWOL O’Shea), Loughborough Lightning’s Frankie Hall, who also performs well in a crit and has been in great road racing form of late, and Megan Barker (Team Inspired), another rider with an excellent circuit race palmares.

Prediction. With the strength that DAS-Handsling has, as well as her fearsome sprint, we’re picking Emma Jeffers as our favourite to win.

Men’s race

At his best, Matt Bostock (Black Spoke Pro Cycling Academy) has been almost unbeatable in circuit races in recent years. Spearheading the Canyon dhb p/b Bloor Homes squad in 2019, he won an incredible five National Circuit Series races. Then last season, the first full circuit race season since 2019, he took two wins in the Tour Series before a sensational win at the national circuit race championships. He’s had a challenging time since then, however. A concussion at the Commonwealth Games was followed by another concussion at Nokere Koerse earlier this year. As such, his form is uncertain as he looks to defend his crown.

The men’s startlist is peppered with WorldTour riders. The Ineos Grenadiers pairing of Josh Tarling and Luke Rowe offers an enticing proposition, the rising star accompanied by the seasoned pro. Tarling was third last year, on junior gears, and showed on Wednesday that he is in scintillating form. He loves a crit race too. A definite contender.

Lewis Askey and Sam Watson (both Groupama-FDJ) are another WorldTour duo that could take the stripes. Watson was narrowly pipped by Bostock in this event last year, while Askey was on the podium in the 2021 edition. Both have the firepower to win this evening. Askey will have his brother Ben for company, alongside fellow Groupama-FDJ Continental rider Noah Hobbs, himself an accomplished crit rider, bagging top tens in the Tour Series last year when just a junior.

The Tanfield brothers are experienced hands in criterium races and both are motivated for this race in front of home crowds. Harry Tanfield (Tour de Tietema-Unibet) was second in 2021 and tells us that crit racing has been a big part of his racing diet over in the Netherlands. Charlie Tanfield (Saint Piran), meanwhile, tells us “I want to try and get out there and see if I can win”. Expect both riders to be in the thick of it.

Charlie’s Saint Piran team brings a number of other options too. Will Tidball is a strong track rider with a fast finish and won his first UCI road race at the Ronde de l’Oise earlier this month. Rhys Britton is another strong sprinter, while Will Roberts was a Tour Series round winner in 2021.

Finn Crockett (The Cycling Academy) is a rider that could thrive tonight. He has had a tumultuous year so far after the closure of the AT85 Pro Cycling team but a stage win at the Rás demonstrated he’s stayed in good shape. And we understand that a deal with a UCI team is not far from being announced for the Commonwealth Games road race medallist.

Ollie Wood (Unattached) was another victim of the AT85 Pro Cycling closure. The track specialist has wins in the Tour Series and the Sheffield Grand Prix to his name and announced he was in excellent road shape with a win at the North West and Yorkshire Regional Road Race Championships recently.

Prediction. Josh Tarling seems to be in unstoppable form right now. More stripes for him, we think.

Timings

Women’s race: 18.30

Men’s race: 20.00

How to follow

There will be live coverage through GCN+, Discovery+ and British Cycling’s YouTube channel (UK-only), plus a full highlights programme on ITV4 at 6pm on Wednesday 28 June.

Keep an eye out too for updates on British Cycling’s social media channels, and we’ll also be on the ground, so stay tuned to our Instagram channel.

Weather

The weather forecast suggests it will be dry and mild, with a light breeze. There is a small chance of shower toward the end of the men’s race, though…