2024 National Road Race Championships: report & results
Pfeiffer Georgi (Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL) successfully defended her National title. In the Open Race, Ethan Hayter kept his powder dry to the very end as he powered to his first Senior Road title.
Pfeiffer Georgi (Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL) took her third National Road Race title in fine style, as she mirrored the attacking move she made 12 months ago to ensure that her return to Saltburn was capped with another year in the national stripes.
In the men’s race, Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) played a tactical blinder as he kept enough energy in reserve to launch a decisive last lap attack on Saltburn Bank to add the elite national road title to his 2019 under-23 success.
Featured Image: Alex Whitehead/SWPix
Reports
Women’s race
Pre-race favourite Pfeiffer Georgi (Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL) blazed up Saltburn Bank to claim her third title – second-in-a-row in the seaside town – after an aggressive race on the North Yorkshire coast.
Amid sunny skies and warm temperatures, reminiscent of the weather which greeted the riders last year, Sian Botteley (DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK), Lizi Brooke (Pro-Noctis-200 Degrees Coffee-Hargreaves Contracting) and Miram Jessett (Loughborough Lightning) made an early break, pursued by Daisy Barnes (Alba Development Road Team) and Brooke’s teammate, National Road Series leader Lucy Harris.
2024 Lloyds Bank National Road Championships – Women’s Road Race – Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire, England – Pro-Noctis – 200º Coffee – Hargreaves Contracting Ltd. Image: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com
With Harris bridging across well to the trio upfront, dislodging Barnes from her wheel, the peloton took on their first ascent of the fearsome Saltburn Bank, only 300m in length but at a savage double digit gradient. The favourites grouped near the front, with Lizzie Deignan (Lidl-Trek) and Sophie Lewis, who showed great form during Friday’s circuit race leading the peloton through.
As the race progressed the trio put front continued to work well together, the gap extending out to 3.50 as Harris and Barnes were swallowed up into the peloton, unable to bridge the gap.
The large gap seemed to kick start the peloton into action, the favourites driving the pace and splitting the bunch with a lead group of 20 riders forming including Claire Steels (Movistar), Deignan and Elinor Barker (Uno-X Team).
2024 Lloyds Bank National Road Championships – Women’s Road Race – Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire, England – Claire Steels of Movistar Team, Lizzie Deignan of Lidl-TREK climb Saltburn Bank. Image: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com
With the pre race favourites working, the gap started to rapidly diminish; it was 1m50 when Monica Greenwood (Coop-Hitec Products) decided to attack from the peloton, but her move was quickly countered as they approached the crucial section through Brotton.
With the remains of the peloton travelling at an infernal tempo, Lizi Brooke, who impressed twelve months ago, was the last rider of the three out front to be swallowed up as the group approached Saltburn for the final lap; Brooke straight out the back to a second group with only 11 riders left in contention.
Last lap drama would follow, beginning with Steels dropping her chain, the resulting delay leaving her hanging on the back.
2024 Lloyds Bank National Road Championships – Women’s Road Race – Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire, England – Pfeiffer Georgi of Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL attacks on the Saltburn Climb to Win the Women’s National Road Race. Image: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com
With Steels sufficiently recovered she was able to chase down a big attack from former champion Alice Towers (Canyon-SRAM) through Lingdale. Sophie Wright (Fenix-Deceuninck) was the next one to try a move, attacking before Brotton and getting a good gap of more than 16 seconds before disaster struck in the form of a rear wheel puncture. The resulting slow wheel change and needing to re-seat the chain dropped her 10 seconds off the back of the front group.
With the rest of the group as one and rapidly approaching Saltburn, the championship seemed destined to be decided on the Bank. Georgi, who had kept her powder dry all race, unleashed a powerful sprint from the bottom – almost identical to 12 months ago – leaving the other favourites stranded as she sailed to her third National Road Race title at the age of only 23.
2024 Lloyds Bank National Road Championships – Women’s Road Race – Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire, England – Pfeiffer Georgi of Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL Wins the Women’s National Road Race and Retains the British Title. Image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
Anna Henderson (Team Visma – Lease a Bike) prevailed in a sprint with Deignan to add silver in the road race to her TT success on Wednesday.
Pfeiffer Georgi talks through her third National title with Alice McWilliam
Flora Perkins (Fenix-Deceuninck) took the U23 honours, with team-mate Millie Couzens second and Towers rounding out that podium.
Flora Perkins talks to Alice McWilliam after her Under 23 success
Men’s race
With temperatures rising and only a hint of a breeze when the riders got to the seafront the men’s race proved to be a physical and mental test for the 134 riders taking the start. With an unrelenting pace being driven right from the drop of the flag, it was clear the race was going to be one of attrition rather than who had the best tactical plan.
From the go, it was Ineos Grenadiers looking to shake things up with Time Trial champion Josh Tarling joining Connor Swift at the front of an early break which included Tom Martin (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli), Jake Stewart (Israel – Premier Tech), Ollie Wood (Saint Piran) and the Groupama-FDJ pairing of Sam Watson and national circuit race champion Lewis Askey.
Initially, they had a slender but not insurmountable advantage to a peloton behind that was being marshalled by Owain Doull (EF Education – EasyPost) but as the race left Saltburn for the second time, Swift started to add on watts and gradually boost the speed in the hopes of getting some distance to the pack behind and shake off some of the break itself.
2024 Lloyds Bank National Road Championships – Men’s Road Race – Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire, England . Image: Olly Hassell/SWpix.com
Indeed, such was his speed that the peloton had already started to fracture pretty seriously with a number of distinct groups starting to form on the road – especially coming up the second ascent of a Saltburn Bank climb absolutely packed with spectators.
Such was the nature of the race, that no one wanted to stay static for too long in case they slipped down the groups. For a time, Askey put in a small dig on the rolling roads around Kilton Thorpe with Team Arkea-Samsic’s Dan Mclay joining for a time.
While that amounted to not much, what it did do longer-term was sap the energy from legs of a number of riders who had already been working pretty hard to maintain what was a consistent(ish) 17-rider lead group around the roads of East Cleveland.
With some legs tiring, even that group started to fracture, and the race became one of dribs and drabs, there were no particularly large groups, just little ones trying their hardest to either bridge across to the next handful of riders, or avoid dropping too far back the other way.
2024 Lloyds Bank National Road Championships – Men’s Road Race – Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire, England – The Leading trio of Max Walker of Astana Qazaqstan Development Team, Ethan Hayter of Ineos Grenadiers and Lewis Askey of GROUPAMA – FDJ Climb up the Saltburn Bank for the penultimate time. Image: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com
On the fifth tour, what became a long-lasting lead group formed with Askey & Stewart joined by Bob Donaldson (Trinity Racing), Max Walker (Astana Qazaqstan Development Team) and Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) with the quintet opening up a 50-second lead to Swift and Joe Blackmore (Israel – Premier Tech) who were in a sort of no-mans-land between the lead five and what was left of the attempted chase behind.
Continuing to grind out an unrelenting pace, that lead bunch thinned down even further with just Walker, Askey and Hayter able to keep themselves up front and riding – Donaldson slipped back to join Swift and Blackmore, with the chasing trio looking at a deficit of 45 seconds.
With Swift playing team tactics and not looking to pace back onto Hayter, it was left to the front three to pick up the overall result. Come the final 5km, it looked as though it would just be two set to do battle as Walker dropped off. However, Askey and Hayter weren’t going to burn their matches too soon, and as the descent down into Saltburn started, Walker had got himself back on and the trio took to Saltburn Bank.
2024 Lloyds Bank National Road Championships – Men’s Road Race – Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire, England – Ethan Hayter of Ineos Grenadiers Wins the Men’s National Road Race. Image: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com
Initially, it was Askey who launched an attack – one that had done him so well on Friday in Darlington – but his legs had been spent and Hayter, who told The British Continental afterwards that his plan had been to let his fellow leaders do most of the work, launched an attack of his own which took him across the line with a six-second margin of victory.
Askey took second, while Walker had enough left in the tank to round out the elite podium.
Alice McWilliam interviews Ethan Hayter after his victory in the men’s race
Bob Donaldson’s sixth place netted him the top honours in the under-23 category, with Tarling and Blackmore joining him on the podium in the silver and bronze positions respectively.
Bob Donaldson gives his thoughts to Alice McWilliam after his U23 triumph
Pfeiffer Georgi (Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL) took her third National Road Race title in fine style, as she mirrored the attacking move she made 12 months ago to ensure that her return to Saltburn was capped with another year in the national stripes.
In the men’s race, Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) played a tactical blinder as he kept enough energy in reserve to launch a decisive last lap attack on Saltburn Bank to add the elite national road title to his 2019 under-23 success.
Featured Image: Alex Whitehead/SWPix
Reports
Women’s race
Pre-race favourite Pfeiffer Georgi (Team DSM-Firmenich PostNL) blazed up Saltburn Bank to claim her third title – second-in-a-row in the seaside town – after an aggressive race on the North Yorkshire coast.
Amid sunny skies and warm temperatures, reminiscent of the weather which greeted the riders last year, Sian Botteley (DAS-Hutchinson-Brother UK), Lizi Brooke (Pro-Noctis-200 Degrees Coffee-Hargreaves Contracting) and Miram Jessett (Loughborough Lightning) made an early break, pursued by Daisy Barnes (Alba Development Road Team) and Brooke’s teammate, National Road Series leader Lucy Harris.
With Harris bridging across well to the trio upfront, dislodging Barnes from her wheel, the peloton took on their first ascent of the fearsome Saltburn Bank, only 300m in length but at a savage double digit gradient. The favourites grouped near the front, with Lizzie Deignan (Lidl-Trek) and Sophie Lewis, who showed great form during Friday’s circuit race leading the peloton through.
As the race progressed the trio put front continued to work well together, the gap extending out to 3.50 as Harris and Barnes were swallowed up into the peloton, unable to bridge the gap.
The large gap seemed to kick start the peloton into action, the favourites driving the pace and splitting the bunch with a lead group of 20 riders forming including Claire Steels (Movistar), Deignan and Elinor Barker (Uno-X Team).
With the pre race favourites working, the gap started to rapidly diminish; it was 1m50 when Monica Greenwood (Coop-Hitec Products) decided to attack from the peloton, but her move was quickly countered as they approached the crucial section through Brotton.
With the remains of the peloton travelling at an infernal tempo, Lizi Brooke, who impressed twelve months ago, was the last rider of the three out front to be swallowed up as the group approached Saltburn for the final lap; Brooke straight out the back to a second group with only 11 riders left in contention.
Last lap drama would follow, beginning with Steels dropping her chain, the resulting delay leaving her hanging on the back.
With Steels sufficiently recovered she was able to chase down a big attack from former champion Alice Towers (Canyon-SRAM) through Lingdale. Sophie Wright (Fenix-Deceuninck) was the next one to try a move, attacking before Brotton and getting a good gap of more than 16 seconds before disaster struck in the form of a rear wheel puncture. The resulting slow wheel change and needing to re-seat the chain dropped her 10 seconds off the back of the front group.
With the rest of the group as one and rapidly approaching Saltburn, the championship seemed destined to be decided on the Bank. Georgi, who had kept her powder dry all race, unleashed a powerful sprint from the bottom – almost identical to 12 months ago – leaving the other favourites stranded as she sailed to her third National Road Race title at the age of only 23.
Anna Henderson (Team Visma – Lease a Bike) prevailed in a sprint with Deignan to add silver in the road race to her TT success on Wednesday.
Flora Perkins (Fenix-Deceuninck) took the U23 honours, with team-mate Millie Couzens second and Towers rounding out that podium.
Men’s race
With temperatures rising and only a hint of a breeze when the riders got to the seafront the men’s race proved to be a physical and mental test for the 134 riders taking the start. With an unrelenting pace being driven right from the drop of the flag, it was clear the race was going to be one of attrition rather than who had the best tactical plan.
From the go, it was Ineos Grenadiers looking to shake things up with Time Trial champion Josh Tarling joining Connor Swift at the front of an early break which included Tom Martin (Wheelbase CabTech Castelli), Jake Stewart (Israel – Premier Tech), Ollie Wood (Saint Piran) and the Groupama-FDJ pairing of Sam Watson and national circuit race champion Lewis Askey.
Initially, they had a slender but not insurmountable advantage to a peloton behind that was being marshalled by Owain Doull (EF Education – EasyPost) but as the race left Saltburn for the second time, Swift started to add on watts and gradually boost the speed in the hopes of getting some distance to the pack behind and shake off some of the break itself.
Indeed, such was his speed that the peloton had already started to fracture pretty seriously with a number of distinct groups starting to form on the road – especially coming up the second ascent of a Saltburn Bank climb absolutely packed with spectators.
Such was the nature of the race, that no one wanted to stay static for too long in case they slipped down the groups. For a time, Askey put in a small dig on the rolling roads around Kilton Thorpe with Team Arkea-Samsic’s Dan Mclay joining for a time.
While that amounted to not much, what it did do longer-term was sap the energy from legs of a number of riders who had already been working pretty hard to maintain what was a consistent(ish) 17-rider lead group around the roads of East Cleveland.
With some legs tiring, even that group started to fracture, and the race became one of dribs and drabs, there were no particularly large groups, just little ones trying their hardest to either bridge across to the next handful of riders, or avoid dropping too far back the other way.
On the fifth tour, what became a long-lasting lead group formed with Askey & Stewart joined by Bob Donaldson (Trinity Racing), Max Walker (Astana Qazaqstan Development Team) and Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) with the quintet opening up a 50-second lead to Swift and Joe Blackmore (Israel – Premier Tech) who were in a sort of no-mans-land between the lead five and what was left of the attempted chase behind.
Continuing to grind out an unrelenting pace, that lead bunch thinned down even further with just Walker, Askey and Hayter able to keep themselves up front and riding – Donaldson slipped back to join Swift and Blackmore, with the chasing trio looking at a deficit of 45 seconds.
With Swift playing team tactics and not looking to pace back onto Hayter, it was left to the front three to pick up the overall result. Come the final 5km, it looked as though it would just be two set to do battle as Walker dropped off. However, Askey and Hayter weren’t going to burn their matches too soon, and as the descent down into Saltburn started, Walker had got himself back on and the trio took to Saltburn Bank.
Initially, it was Askey who launched an attack – one that had done him so well on Friday in Darlington – but his legs had been spent and Hayter, who told The British Continental afterwards that his plan had been to let his fellow leaders do most of the work, launched an attack of his own which took him across the line with a six-second margin of victory.
Askey took second, while Walker had enough left in the tank to round out the elite podium.
Bob Donaldson’s sixth place netted him the top honours in the under-23 category, with Tarling and Blackmore joining him on the podium in the silver and bronze positions respectively.
Results
Women’s Race
Men’s Race
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