Sixteen previously crowned elite national champions on the road are among the ones to watch at the start line for the 2026 Lloyds National Road Championships, which get underway from Thursday 25 June in Wales.
Welsh rider Zoe Backstedt (CANYON // SRAM Zondacrypto) will be the one to watch, after a fantastic 2025 championships, where she took home the striped jersey in the elite women’s time-trial, and an impressive sixth in the elite women’s road race.
Speaking ahead of the championships, Backstedt said:
“I’m super excited to come back to Wales to race National champs this year, I don’t get to race in the UK a lot, let alone in Wales, so that makes it even more exciting to be there. We’ve got such a strong roster of riders in the UK, so it’s never going to be easy, but I hope I’ll come into this in good shape and fighting for the win.”
Millie Couzens (Fenix-Premier Tech) also returns to Wales, set to defend her women’s road race crown. She will face stiff competition in a strong field, including three-time road national champion Pfeiffer Georgi (Team Picnic PostNL), current Lloyds National Women’s Road Series leader Morven Yeoman (DAS Hutchinson), Imogen Wolff (Team Visma | Lease a Bike), Cat Ferguson (Movistar Team), Anna Henderson (Lidl – Trek) and Flora Perkins (Fenix-Premier Tech).
Sam Watson (NetCompany Ineos) will look to defend his title in the men’s road race but will face a stacked field. Adam Howell (Bourg-en-Bresse Ain Cyclisme) comes in as the 2025 Lloyds National Road Open series champion, while former national champion Ben Swift (NetCompany Ineos), reigning under 23 national champion Matthew Brennan (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) and Ethan Hayter (Soudal Quick-Step) are among those who will challenge for the title.
Speaking ahead of the championships, Hayter said:
“Nationals always seem to bring out the best in me. I’ve managed to win a jersey in 2024 and 2025, so it would be nice to try to add another in the TT or RR. Each year the level gets higher, but it makes for aggressive, exciting racing.”
Cameron Mason (Alpecin-Premier Tech Development Team) will return to Aberystwyth to defend his open circuit championship crown. He will be challenged by the likes of 2025 Lloyds National Circuit Series champion Thomas Armstrong (Wheelbase Cabtech Castelli) and former national circuit champions Matt Bostock (Rapha Cycling Club) and Oliver Wood (Rapha Cycling Club).
Kate Richardson (Handsling Alba Development Road Team) will also return as defending women’s circuit race champion. Second last year, Isabel Sharp will also compete, now as a teammate of Richardson’s, while fans should also watch out for Carys Lloyd (Movistar Team), Xan Crees (OGT p/b USE), Jenny Holl (Loughborough Lightning) and Josie Knight (DAS-Hutchinson) who will all make it a thrilling contest.
A host of Welsh riders will compete across the event, including Finlay Tarling (NSN Development Team), Elynor Backstedt (UAE Team ADQ), Anna Morris (Private Member), Owain Doull MBE (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) and Megan Barker (Rapha Cycling Club).
After a fruitful track season heralded her first senior national titles, Erin Boothman (Liv AlUla Jayco) will be one to watch in the women’s road race and under-23 women’s time trial, making her Lloyds National Road Championships debut following a strong road racing season on the continent. Ben Wiggins (Hagens Berman Jayco) will return to Ceredigion, looking to do one better than his silver in the under-23 men time-trial last year, and compete in the road race
The 2026 Lloyds National Road Championships, which is returning to Wales thanks to support from the Welsh Government, provides a fantastic platform for British riders to enjoy the home roads and experience the support of friends, family and local fans.
A total of 10 coveted national champions’ jerseys are up for grabs across three days of racing, with the time-trial on Thursday 25 June 2026, the circuit race on Friday 26 June 2026, and the road race concluding the action on Sunday 28 June 2026.
The full rider list for the 2026 Lloyds National Road Championships can be found here: Time-Trial; Circuit; Road Race
To discover the routes of all three stages of this year’s Lloyds National Road Championships in more detail, and more information about the race, host venues, and participating teams, please click here.
The 2026 Lloyds National Road Championships start off with the time-trial in Lampeter on Thursday 25 June. Two laps of a picturesque circuit to give a race distance of 25.6km face the elite women, under-23 women and under-23 men while the elite men’s field will be tested over three laps for a total distance of 38.4km.
Aberystwyth plays host to both the circuit race on Friday 26 June and the road race on Sunday 28 June, allowing fans to come down and watch their favourite national riders battle for the title.
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