Lloyds National Road Championships – Road Race Preview
It’s not long to go until the Lloyds National Road Championships concludes in Ceredigion with a thrilling road race in Aberystwyth. Riders will compete in front of the Welsh crowd for glory and the national crown in the last of the three-stage championship.
The stage
With thanks to the Welsh Government and Ceredigion Council, Sunday 28 June will see some of the strongest names in the British road scene battle through the Welsh countryside in the 2026 Lloyds National Road Race Championship.
Riders who competed in 2025 will feel a sense of familiarity with a similar route around Aberystwyth and the surrounding area.
After a processional start on the seafront, the road races will head out of town towards Llanfarian as far as Trawsgoed on a picturesque yet testing 23.4km anticlockwise loop, before heading back towards Aberystwyth passing Y Gors. The peloton will be challenged across three laps for the women's race and five laps in the men’s race, before action moves onto the finishing circuit.
The finishing circuit of 12.4km - four full laps for the women’s and five full laps for the men’s race - use the start and finish point on the seafront as its central focus, running along almost the entirety of the promenade, past the old college and the castle grounds, before a technical section through the old harbour that loops out over Trefechan bridge.
Racing begins early doors, with the elite and under-23 women kicking things off at 08:45, before the elite and under-23 men close things out at 13:45.
The riders
The start line of both races will be full to the brim of British cycling talent.
Millie Couzens will aim to defend her Elite Women’s National Road Champion jersey, in a strong pool of female riders. Three-time National Road Champion Pfeiffer Georgi (Team Picnic PostNL) and Anna Henderson (Lidl – Trek) who completed the podium places in 2025 all also return in the hope to take the crown.
Current Lloyds National Road series leader Moven Yeoman (DAS-Hutchinson) will be one to look out for, while Cat Ferguson (Movistar Team) also returns to the British roads, after a solid racing season on the continent.
Speaking ahead of the championships, Couzens said:
"I’m really looking forward to nationals this week and trying to defend my jersey. Nationals always delivers a close and exciting race and hopefully the Welsh crowd are as amazing as they were last year.”
Sam Watson (NetCompany Ineos) returns to Wales to defend his National Champion jersey from 2025 but will be in a fierce battle to retain it. Matthew Brennan (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) returns to the peloton, in 2025 he finished second, claiming the under-23 road champion title before then claiming a stage win in the 2025 Tour of Britain Men.
A number of Welsh riders will line the start line, including Finlay Tarling (NSN Development Team), Zoe Backstedt (CANYON // SRAM Zondacrypto), Elynor Backstedt (UAE Team ADQ), Anna Morris (Private Member), Owain Doull MBE (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) and Megan Barker (Rapha Cycling Club).
The full rider list can be found here - National_Road_Race_Championships_-_Start_List.pdf
How to Watch
For fans not able to watch the races unfold from the roadside, you can watch along live on the British Cycling YouTube channel, and TNT Sport 4.Coverage kicks off from 08:30 with the elite and under-23 women, before the elite and under-23 men starts from 13:30.
You can also follow along on the British Cycling social media channels. A full report and imagery of the time trial can also be found on the British Cycling website shortly after the last event finishes.
Join the conversation!
Whether you’re in Aberystwyth or watching at home, send your messages of support to the riders and photos to us on Facebook and Instagram, where we’ll be sharing our exclusive content and behind the scenes footage throughout the event.
24/06/2026