Quality field lines up for tough British cycling championship

by kferaday | June 28, 2008 at 12:57 am | 228 views | 1 comment

British cycling has been somewhat resurgent in the past few years -- maybe a peripheral effect of the Lance Armstrong era. I don't know much about the British scene other than the fact that Malcom Elliott is still racing at a high level. As an old guy struggling through some injuries having athletes like Elliott still racing gives me some hope.

As far as favourites, I'm hoping Rapha Condor has a good showing -- mostly because they're wearing the coolest kit in cycling right now.

The British national championships return to North Yorkshire on the weekend 28th / 29th June. Last year's men's road race championships were a complete wash out due to severe flooding in the area and the event had to be incorporated into the later Grand Prix of Wales. Duncombe Park hosts the start and finishes of four championships this year with the Women's 106km Senior and U23 races being run concurrently on Saturday 28th and the Men's 203km Senior and U23 races follow Sunday.

Russell Downing won the men's race when it last held at Duncombe Park in 2005 and the Pinarello RT professional from Doncaster will be in confident mood after his double victory in UCI ranked events in Wales last weekend. Downing also leads the British Cycling Premier Calendar series this year with older brother Dean (Rapha Condor Recycling.co.uk) lying in second spot. 157 riders have entered the race which also incorporates the Pete Longbottom memorial trophy. David Millar (Slipstream-Chipotle) returns to defend the title he won last year with silver medallist Daniel Lloyd (An Post-Sean Kelly) returning with hopes to improve just one notch.

Russell Downing will have good support in his team which includes Malcolm Elliott, Tom Murray and Lee Davis. Russell's brother Dean has probably the strongest team and numerical advantage on paper with Chris Newton, Kristian House, Rob Partridge, Dale Appleby and Graham Briggs included in the team's 13-man entry. Plowman Craven RT's Evan Oliphant and Simon Richardson are currently on form and can be a podium contenders. The youngsters in the 100% ME team like Ben Swift, Jonathan Bellis and Peter Kennaugh will be out to beat the old guard and have already demonstrated this season that they have the talent and motivation to do it.

The big hitters returning from the continent will undoubtedly be challenging for the champions jersey. Jeremy Hunt (Credit Agricole – Winner 1997 & 2001), Roger Hammond (Team Columbia – Winner 2003 & 2004), Ian Stannard (Landbouwkrediet / Tönissteiner) and Mark Cavendish (Team Columbia) all return to challenge for medals. Watch out for Matt Stephens (Sigma Sport RT) who showed he was returning to form last weekend with a storming ride when he finished in fourth spot in the GP of Wales. Cavendish continues to have good form and has showed that he can ride with the best of the pros on the continent over difficult terrain and will be favourite for the gold medal if it comes down to a sprint.