Pfeiffer Georgi (Team DSM) reclaimed her national champions’ stripes in fine fashion as she attacked on the final climb up Saltburn bank to finish clear of Claire Steels (Israel Premier Tech Roland) in a hot and sunny national road race.

In the afternoon, Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) took an emotional victory, pointing to the sky as he crossed the line in honour of his late teammate, Gino Mäder, as he took his first victory as a professional.

Women’s race

If the thought of tackling a hilly course didn’t put the fear of God into the peloton, then the sunshine and rapidly rising temperatures were enough to make the women’s road race a prospect for only the boldest of riders.

It was a race from the back in the early laps as the pressure applied at the front of the bunch by riders including Frankie Hall (Loughborough Lightning) quickly began to stretch things out, riders jettisoned from the back.

It was Claire Steels’ (Israel Premier Tech Roland) accelerations that were particular transformational. Her pace up the long climb to Skelton on lap two blew apart creating an initial split of 30-40 riders with Alice and Hannah Barnes (Human Powered Health & Uno X respectively) among those caught out.

That split didn’t last long but it set the pattern of the race; accelerations on the climbs serving to slowly whittle the field down.

It was at 50km to go that the defining move of the race occurred, seven riders forging clear. Steels, Pfeiffer Georgi (Team DSM), Elinor Barker (Uno X), Anna Henderson (Team Jumbo Visma), Alex Morrice (Canyon-SRAM) and Anna Shackley (Team SD Worx) put minutes on what was left of an increasingly fractured chasing pack, Flora Perkins (Fenix-Deceuninck Development Team) chasing alone in vein.

Steels and Georgi frequently tested their fellow leaders with accelerations force but they couldn’t shake the rest of the group initially; even Morrice, who had to recover from a minor fall, was still on the wheel of the leaders.

It proved to be the final ascent of Saltburn Bank – with gradients of up to 25% and nasty hairpins to boot – that was decisive. Shackley and Barker were dropped off the back and none could catch Georgi as she smashed her way up the final climb to take her second title in three years by five seconds over Steels.

Henderson took third, with Barker fourth and Shackley claiming the under-23 title in fifth.

Results

Pos	BIB	Name	Team	Category	Time
1	103	Pfeiffer Georgi	Team DSM		3:56:45
2	52	Claire Steels	Israel Premier Tech Roland		+0.05
3	106	Anna Henderson	Team Jumbo-Visma		+0.13
4	118	Elinor Barker MBE	Uno-X Pro Cycling Team		+0.16
5	108	Anna Shackley	Team SD Worx	U23	+0.23
6	90	Natalie Grinczer	Stade Rochelais Charente-Maritime		+0.31
7	2	Alex Morrice	CANYON – SRAM RACING		+0.49
8	114	Elizabeth Holden	UAE Team ADQ		+7.19
9	35	Flora Perkins	Fenix-Deceuninck Development Team	U23	ST
10	113	Elynor Backstedt	TREK – SEGAFREDO	U23	+7.30
11	34	Sophie Wright	Fenix-Deceuninck Development Team		+7.31
12	15	Hayley Simmonds	AWOL- O’Shea		+7.51
13	21	Monica Greenwood	DAS – Handsling Bikes		+9.12
14	121	Lizi Brooke	Wahoo – Le Col		+9.34
15	11	Jessica Finney	AWOL- O’Shea		+10.17
16	32	Abi Smith	EF Education-TIBCO-SVB	U23	+11.13
17	124	Frances Owen	Wahoo – Le Col		+12.20
18	33	Millie Couzens	Fenix-Deceuninck Development Team		ST
19	47	Tamsin Miller	Hutchinson-Brother UK		ST
20	77	Corinne Side	Pro-Noctis – Heidi Kjeldsen – 200 Degrees Coffee		+12.23
21	104	Neah Evans	Team HUUB		+12.25
22	36	Maddie Heywood	FTP-Fulfil The Potential-Racing		+12.28
23	73	Bexy Dew	Pro-Noctis – Heidi Kjeldsen – 200 Degrees Coffee		+12.30
24	67	Francesca Hall	Loughborough Lightning		+12.37
25	75	Amy Gornall	Pro-Noctis – Heidi Kjeldsen – 200 Degrees Coffee		+12.40
26	9	Amelia Tyler	Alba Development Road Team		+12.42
27	79	Jo Tindley	Pro-Noctis – Heidi Kjeldsen – 200 Degrees Coffee		ST
28	62	Madelaine Leech	Lifeplus Wahoo		+12.48
29	48	Ruth Shier	Hutchinson-Brother UK		ST
30	55	Abi Plowman	Jadan Vive le Velo Glasdon		+12.51
31	64	April Tacey	Lifeplus Wahoo		ST
32	125	Katie Phipkin	Wahoo – Le Col		ST
33	101	Josie Nelson	Team Coop-Hitec Products	U23	+13.42
DNF	60	Emily Proud	Le Col Race Team
DNF	89	Lucy Gadd	Stade Rochelais Charente-Maritime	U23
DNF	93	Dame Sarah Storey	Storey Racing
DNF	91	Olivia French	StolenGoat Race Team
DNF	14	Francesca Morgans-Slader	AWOL- O’Shea
DNF	58	Caitlin Dimbleby	Le Col Race Team
DNF	70	Tess Lawson	Martigny VC Excelsior
DNF	43	Alice Barnes	Human Powered Health
DNF	5	Sophie Enever	Alba Development Road Team
DNF	1	Alice Towers	CANYON – SRAM RACING	U23
DNF	76	Zoe Langham	Pro-Noctis – Heidi Kjeldsen – 200 Degrees Coffee
DNF	99	Lauren Robinson	Team Boompods
DNF	12	Lucy Harris	AWOL- O’Shea
DNF	28	Danni Shrosbree	DAS – Handsling Bikes
DNF	105	Megan Barker	Team Inspired (UCI Track Team)
DNF	87	Freya Rawlins	Soltec Team
DNF	6	Arianne Holland	Alba Development Road Team
DNF	126	Ellie Parry	Watersley R&D Cycling Team	U23
DNF	96	Charlotte Hodgkins-Byrne	Team Boompods
DNF	115	Grace Castle	Unattached	U23
DNF	66	Philippa Draper	Loughborough Lightning	U23
DNF	110	Isabel Darvill	Team Spectra Cannondale
DNF	102	Jessica Roberts	Team Coop-Hitec Products
DNF	41	Rosie Wayland	FTP-Fulfil The Potential-Racing
DNF	23	Lucy Lee	DAS – Handsling Bikes
DNF	51	Sannah Zaman	Hutchinson-Brother UK
DNF	119	Hannah Barnes	Uno-X Pro Cycling Team
DNF	13	Connie Hayes	AWOL- O’Shea
DNF	94	Hannah Farran	Team Boompods
DNF	86	Dannielle Khan	Saint Piran WRT
DNF	24	Sophie Lewis	DAS – Handsling Bikes	U23
DNF	111	Josie Knight	Team Spectra Cannondale
DNF	68	Amber Harding	Loughborough Lightning
DNF	97	Sian Marsh	Team Boompods
Pos	BIB	Name	Team	Category	Time
DNF	123	Lauren Langham	Wahoo – Le Col
DNF	49	Dannielle Watkinson	Hutchinson-Brother UK
DNF	98	Gemma Mitchell	Team Boompods
DNF	10	Georgia Bullard	AWOL- O’Shea
DNF	44	Sian Botteley	Hutchinson-Brother UK
DNF	88	Rosie Simmons	Southampton University Road Club
DNF	45	Jessie Carridge	Hutchinson-Brother UK
DNF	95	Jayati Hine	Team Boompods
DNF	109	Xan Crees	Team Spectra Cannondale
DNF	7	Beth Maciver	Alba Development Road Team
DNF	4	Daisy Barnes	Alba Development Road Team
DNF	71	Cecilia Hime	Paradigm Cycles
DNF	57	Lucy Neatham	LDN-Academy	U23
DNF	82	Annabel Ramsay	RFDA
DNF	38	Elizabeth Sanders	FTP-Fulfil The Potential-Racing
DNF	69	Anya Tamplin	Loughborough Lightning
DNF	54	Miriam Jessett	Jadan Vive le Velo Glasdon
DNF	50	Lydia Watts	Hutchinson-Brother UK
DNF	53	Beth Harley-Jepson	Jadan Vive le Velo Glasdon
DNF	18	Harriet Graham	Brother UK-Orientation Marketing
DNF	81	Nicola Greenwood	RFDA
DNF	107	Joanne Rea	Team Kirkley Cycles
DNF	80	Megan Walker	Pro-Noctis – Heidi Kjeldsen – 200 Degrees Coffee
DNF	117	Georgina Oakley	Unattached
DNF	30	Sophie Thackray	DAS – Handsling Bikes
DNF	78	Millie Skinner	Pro-Noctis – Heidi Kjeldsen – 200 Degrees Coffee
DNF	84	Hannah Bayes	Saint Piran WRT
DNF	42	Alice McWilliam	HESS CYCLING TEAM
DNF	92	Erin Avill	Storey Racing
DNF	59	Suzetta Guerrini	Le Col Race Team
DNF	8	Victoria Smith	Alba Development Road Team
DNF	65	Eva Callinan	Loughborough Lightning
DNF	40	Vivienne Tomlin	FTP-Fulfil The Potential-Racing
DNF	22	Emma Jeffers	DAS – Handsling Bikes	U23
DNS	3	Anna Kay	Fenix-Deceuninck Development Team
DNS	16	Libby Smithson	AWOL- O’Shea
DNS	17	Harriet Evans	Brother UK-Orientation Marketing
DNS	19	Ellen Inglis	Brother UK-Orientation Marketing	U23
DNS	20	Katie Archibald	Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling Team
DNS	25	Grace Lister	DAS – Handsling Bikes	U23
DNS	26	Emma Matthews	DAS – Handsling Bikes
DNS	27	Katie Scott	DAS – Handsling Bikes	U23
DNS	29	Sammie Stuart	DAS – Handsling Bikes
DNS	31	Zoe Backstedt	EF Education-TIBCO-SVB	U23
DNS	37	Clare Parkin	FTP-Fulfil The Potential-Racing
DNS	39	Floren Scrafton	FTP-Fulfil The Potential-Racing
DNS	46	Harriet Dodd	Hutchinson-Brother UK
DNS	56	Eleanor Bolton	LDN-Academy	U23
DNS	61	Eluned King	Lifeplus Wahoo	U23
DNS	63	Kate Richardson	Lifeplus Wahoo	U23
DNS	72	Robyn Clay	Pro-Noctis – Heidi Kjeldsen – 200 Degrees Coffee
DNS	74	Lucy Ellmore	Pro-Noctis – Heidi Kjeldsen – 200 Degrees Coffee	U23
DNS	83	Ella Barnwell	Saint Piran WRT	U23
DNS	85	Sophie Holmes	Saint Piran WRT
DNS	100	Mary Wilkinson	Team Boompods
DNS	112	Morven Yeoman	Torelli	U23
DNS	116	Savannah Morgan	Unattached
DNS	120	Anastasia Bowler	Wahoo – Le Col
DNS	122	Laura Gray	Wahoo – Le Col

Men’s race

With heat and wind increasing as the forecast storms started to make their presence known on the horizon, a peloton of 142 riders set off onto the East Cleveland course ready for a grueling 189km of racing.

From the end of the neutralised start, riders were flying off the front, with EF Education – EasyPost’s Simon Carr and Owain Doull part of a group deciding that attack was the best form of defence, putting the hammer down to shatter the peloton’s will early on.

Such was the intensity of the early phases that the peloton was quickly reduced to just 40 riders, small groups scattered all over the road behind.

Mark Donovan (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) attacked not long after, taking Sean Flynn (Team DSM) with him. They built a steady gap. All the while, riders were losing touch with what remained of the peloton, elite time trial champion Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) one of many casualties.

The Donovan and Flynn show didn’t last, however, swallowed up by the high-quality but slender bunch. Donovan was nothing if not persistent though. He worked his way into the next major move, a six-man break that also featured Max Walker and Oliver Rees (both Trinity Racing), Conor McGoldrick (Richardsons Trek DAS), Harrison Wood (Cofidis), and Joshua Golliker (Groupama-FDJ Conti).

Working well together, they extended their advantage to over a minute from a pack of a dozen behind whose chase was led by a determined Connor Swift (Ineos Grenadiers).

Swift’s efforts pulled the break back, but Donovan wasn’t done yet. He broke clear just before his companions were caught, building a lead of well over a minute.  Behind, James Knox (Soudal Quick-step), Sam Watson (GROUPAMA – FDJ), Owain Doull (EF Education – EasyPost), Fred Wright (Bahrain-Victorious), Stevie Williams (Bahrain-Victorious) and Swift were the group of ten chasers.

Donovan’s luck eventually ran out, caught with 45km to go. Now it was the turn of Wright, Doull, Watson, Swift, Williams and Knox to take the initiative, dropping their lead group companions. An acceleration from Knox saw Swift go backward and now there were five.

Swift somehow clawed his way back and then, remarkably attacked on what by now were rain-soaked roads. As the riders hit Saltburn Bank with one lap to go, however, Knox attacked, leaving only Williams and Wright with him.

The trio took turns attacking each other on their final tour of the circuit but no move would stick until Wright tried another attack as they travelled through Brotton.

Fully committed, Wright was a man possessed, he flew up the final ascent of Saltburn Bank, belying the exertion he had already put in to get to this point. Knox and Williams had no reply.

Wright pointed to the sky as he crossed the line, a beautifully poignant gesture in honour of his late teammate Gino Mäder. It was a remarkable way to take his first win as a professional, the emotion unsurprisingly flooding out of the 24-year-old south Londoner.

Making his own attack on the climb, Knox secured the silver medal with Williams rounding out the podium. 

Watson took the under-23 title for the second year in a row, with Groupama-FDJ Conti teammate Joshua Golliker second and Walker third.

Results

Pos	BIB	Name	Team	Category	Time
1	6	Fred Wright	Bahrain-Victorious		4:43:52
2	101	James Knox	Soudal Quick-step		+0.08
3	56	Stephen Williams	Israel – Premier Tech		+0.16
4	25	Owain Doull MBE	EF Education – EasyPost		+1.30
5	41	Samuel Watson	GROUPAMA – FDJ	U23	+1.33
6	49	Connor Swift	Ineos Grenadiers		+2.58
7	76	Mark Donovan	Q36.5 Pro Cycling		+5.11
8	26	James Shaw	EF Education – EasyPost		+5.14
9	43	Joshua Golliker	Groupama-FDJ La Conti	U23	+5.20
10	14	Harrison Wood	Cofidis		+6.34
11	128	Max Walker	Trinity Racing	U23	+12.08
12	125	Oliver Rees	Trinity Racing	U23	+12.16
13	92	Zeb Kyffin	Saint Piran		+12.19
14	105	Sean Flynn	Team DSM		+12.27
15	143	Thomas Armstrong	Wheelbase CabTech Castelli		+12.44
16	161	Huw Buck Jones	Wales Racing Academy	U23	+16.01
17	116	Finn Crockett	The Cycling Academy		ST
18	29	Dan Gardner	Embark Spirit BSS		ST
19	111	Jacques Coates	Team PB Performance	U23	+16.17
20	17	George Wood	Cycling Sheffield	U23	+16.22
DNF	34	William Perrett	Embark Spirit BSS
DNF	136	Alfred George	Vendee U – Pays de la Loire	U23
DNF	126	William Smith	Trinity Racing	U23
DNF	85	William Truelove	ROKiT-SRCT	U23
DNF	106	Joseph Blackmore	Team Inspired	U23
DNF	57	Cai Davies	Kalas Motip Race Team
DNF	10	Charles Paige	Bourg Ain Cyclisme	U23
DNF	16	James McKay	Cycling Sheffield
DNF	159	Michael Chadwick	Embark Spirit BSS
DNF	88	Harry Birchill	Saint Piran	U23
DNF	82	Conor McGoldrick	Richardsons Trek DAS
DNF	73	Jordan Giles	Primera-TeamJobs
DNF	45	Paul Double	Human Powered Health
DNF	131	Joseph Smith	Unattached	U23
DNF	141	Edward Morgan	Wales Racing Academy
DNF	48	Luke Rowe	Ineos Grenadiers
DNF	53	Ben Tulett	Ineos Grenadiers	U23
DNF	21	Dylan Hicks	Development Team DSM	U23
DNF	9	Mark Stewart	Bolton Equities Black Spoke
DNF	102	Oliver Hurdle	StolenGoat Race Team
DNF	11	Bjoern Koerdt	CC Etupes	U23
DNF	44	Noah Hobbs	Groupama-FDJ La Conti	U23
DNF	81	Matthew Lord	Richardsons Trek DAS	U23
DNF	83	Alex Peters	Richardsons Trek DAS
DNF	93	Adam Lewis	Saint Piran
DNF	31	Matthew Houlberg	Embark Spirit BSS	U23
DNF	84	David Hird	ROKiT-SRCT	U23
DNF	70	Ben Pease	Moonglu Race Team
DNF	5	Louis Sutton	AVC Aix en Provence	U23
DNF	147	Jacob Smith	Wheelbase CabTech Castelli	U23
DNF	24	Simon Carr	EF Education – EasyPost
DNF	64	Joshua Giddings	Lotto Dstny Development Team	U23
DNF	8	Jacob Scott	Bolton Equities Black Spoke
DNF	68	Ben Granger	Mg.K VIS Colors for Peace VPM
DNF	91	Lucas Jowett	Saint Piran	U23
DNF	134	Oliver Wood	Unattached
DNF	59	Cameron McLaren	Kalas Motip Race Team
DNF	55	Mason Hollyman	Israel – Premier Tech
DNF	120	Samuel Clark	trainSharp Elite	U23
DNF	115	Adam Mitchell	Team U Charente-Maritime	U23
DNF	108	Andrew Nichols	Team Lifting Gear Products
DNF	4	Oliver Knight	AVC Aix en Provence	U23
DNF	3	Jack Brough	AVC Aix en Provence	U23
DNF	38	Dom Jackson	Foran CCC
DNF	39	Lewis Askey	GROUPAMA – FDJ	U23
DNF	51	Joshua Tarling	Ineos Grenadiers	U23
DNF	20	Josh Housley	Derby CC Webuycycle Huub RT
DNF	80	Jack Crook	Richardsons Trek DAS
DNF	145	Lee Rosie	Wheelbase CabTech Castelli	U23
DNF	87	Jenson Young	ROKiT-SRCT	U23
DNF	69	Daniel McDermott	Moonglu Race Team
DNF	62	George Spooner	Le Col Race Team
DNF	114	Daniel Barnes	Team Spectra Cannondale	U23
DNF	63	Rowan Baker	London Dynamo	U23
DNF	152	Alexander Pritchard	HUUB WattShop
DNF	58	Sebastian Garry	Kalas Motip Race Team
DNF	60	Joseph Rees	Kalas Motip Race Team
DNF	32	George Kimber	Embark Spirit BSS
DNF	18	Morris Bacon	DAP Cycling Club
DNF	28	Damien Clayton	Embark Spirit BSS
DNF	98	Jack Rootkin-Gray	Saint Piran	U23
DNF	67	Max Rushby	Materiel-Velo.Com	U23
DNF	97	William Roberts	Saint Piran
DNF	146	Tim Shoreman	Wheelbase CabTech Castelli
DNF	144	Tom Martin	Wheelbase CabTech Castelli
DNF	118	Mattie Dodd	Tirol KTM Cycling Team	U23
DNF	123	Lukas Nerurkar	Trinity Racing	U23
DNF	112	Tom Palfrey	Team PB Performance	U23
DNF	132	Maximilian Stedman	Unattached
DNF	160	Ciaran McSherry	The Cycling Academy	U23
DNF	71	Nicholas Cooper	Nordic Sports Academy S. C.
DNF	74	Ben Millar	Primera-TeamJobs
DNF	150	Matthew Kingston	Zappi Racing Team	U23
DNF	104	Harry Macfarlane	TAAP Endura
DNF	23	Sam Culverwell	Dolan Ellesse Race Team
DNF	127	Callum Thornley	Trinity Racing	U23
DNF	2	Henry Lawton	AG2R Citroen U23 Team	U23
DNF	121	Oliver Peckover	trainSharp Elite
DNF	148	Dexter Leeming-Sykes	Wold Top The Edge Pactimo	U23
DNF	7	Matthew Bostock	Bolton Equities Black Spoke
DNF	122	Timothy Torrie	trainSharp Elite
DNF	133	Josh Whitehead	Unattached
DNF	156	Peter Cocker	Richardsons Trek DAS
DNF	135	Eugene Cross	Velo Schils – Interbike RT
DNF	151	Sam Kettlewell	Embark Spirit BSS	U23
DNF	96	Alexandar Richardson	Saint Piran
DNF	40	Jake Stewart	GROUPAMA – FDJ
DNF	27	Toby Perry	EF Education NIPPO Development
DNF	110	Nathan Smith	Team Novo Nordisk Development
DNF	103	Joshua Knowles	TAAP Endura	U23
DNF	113	Harry Paveley	Team PB Performance	U23
DNF	157	Kieran Riley	Team PB Performance	U23
DNF	79	Alexander MacRae	Ribble rechrg Race Team
DNF	72	Luke Barfoot	Primera-TeamJobs
DNF	13	Toby Tanfield	Club Ciclista Padronés-Equipo – Alumínios Cortizo
DNF	119	James Bevan	trainSharp Elite
DNF	139	Griff Lewis	Wales Racing Academy	U23
DNF	12	Lucas Towers	Caja Rural – Alea	U23
DNF	75	Nicholas Tyrie	Primera-TeamJobs
DNF	149	Joshua Ravn	Wold Top The Edge Pactimo
DNF	15	Robert Scott	Cross Team Legendre
DNF	90	Josh Charlton	Saint Piran	U23
DNF	35	Dean Watson	Embark Spirit BSS
DNF	33	Samuel Painter	Embark Spirit BSS	U23
DNF	154	Oliver Winwood Bratchell	Primera-TeamJobs
DNF	94	Leon Mazzone	Saint Piran