With the drama and excitement of the 2017 British Cycling National Road Championships still fresh in our minds, Leisure Lakes Bikes, a road bikes stockist, has reflected on how the action unravelled on the Isle of Man:
How the 2017 National Road Championships were shaped
Thursday June 22nd saw the 2017 National Road Championships get underway with the time trial championships, which was followed by the road race championships on Sunday June 25th.
Set on identical routes and covering the same distance, the under-23 men’s and women’s time trial events were the first competitions of the event. Starting and finishing at Tynwald Hill, in St John’s, entrants worked their way around one lap of a 13.8-mile loop which goes clockwise up to Kirk Michael, before turning and going south to Ballig (it’s the same route as the Isle of Man TT course), and then back towards St John’s. While the men’s race took place on the exact same route as the other time trial events, they needed to complete two laps in order to get a time and so were required to race for 27.6 miles. Team Wiggins’ Scott Davies won the under-23 men’s race in a time of 28:20:33, while Claire Rose of Visit Dallas DNA Pro Cycling claimed the women’s time trial title in a time of 32:11:32 and Stephen Cummings of Team Dimension Data the men’s time trial crown in a time of 57:18:66.
The action continued with the road races three days later. The women’s race began that day’s proceedings, with the start line located at the TT Grandstand in Douglas. From there, riders completed a lap of the 37.7-mile-long Isle of Man TT Snaefell Mountain Course — the Snaefell mountain road climb was a part of this route that entrants needed to pay particular attention to. There were then six laps of a 4.5-mile clockwise finishing circuit to undertake once back in Douglas, before crossing the finish line that was set out alongside the start line at the TT Grandstand.
Those who watched the women’s road race will have been very familiar with the setting of the men’s event — it was almost identical bar the fact the men had to complete two more laps of the main circuit and an extra ten laps of the finish circuit. As such, the men’s race encompassed 120.6 miles of tarmac, while those in the women’s race were tasked with completing 64.45 miles for their event. Boels Dolmans Cycling Team’s Elizabeth Deignan won the women’s road race in a time of 2:44:18, while Stephen Cummings completed a prestigious double at the 2017 National Road Championships by winning the men’s road race in a time of 4:28:49.
The esteemed company that the 2017 winners join
Scott Davies, Claire Rose, Stephen Cummings and Elizabeth Deignan join very esteemed company in the cycling world by winning a race at the 2017 National Road Championships. This is because all of these Olympians hold victories at this event over the years…
Olympians with wins in the men’s road race
| Competitor | Year(s) won | Olympics feat(s) |
| Roger Hammond | 2003, 2004 | Represented Great Britain at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics. |
| David Millar | 2007 | Represented Great Britain at the 2000 and 2012 Summer Olympics. |
| Geraint Thomas | 2010 | Gold medal winner at both the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. |
| Sir Bradley Wiggins | 2011 | Gold medal winner at the 2004, 2008 (double Gold), 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics. |
| Ian Stannard | 2012 | Represented Great Britain at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics. |
| Mark Cavendish | 2013 | Bronze medal winner at the 2016 Summer Olympics. |
Olympians with wins in the under-23 men’s road race
| Competitor | Year(s) won | Olympics feat(s) |
| Paul Manning | 1996 | Gold medal winner at the 2008 Summer Olympics and silver medal winner at the 2004 Summer Olympics. |
| Peter Kennaugh | 2008, 2009 | Gold medal winner at the 2012 Summer Olympics. |
Olympians with wins in the women’s road race
| Competitor | Year(s) won | Olympics feat(s) |
| Nicole Cooke | 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 | Gold medal winner at the 2008 Summer Olympics. |
| Emma Pooley | 2010 | Silver medal winner at the 2008 Summer Olympics. |
| Lizzie Armitstead | 2011, 2013, 2015 | Silver medal winner at the 2012 Summer Olympics. |
| Sharon Laws | 2012 | Represented Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Olympics. |
| Laura Trott | 2014 | Double gold medal winner at both the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics. |
Olympians with wins in the under-23 women’s road race
| Competitor | Year(s) won | Olympics feat(s) |
| Nikki Harris | 2007 | Represented Great Britain at the 2016 Summer Olympics. |
| Joanna Rowsell | 2008 | Gold medal winner at the 2012 Summer Olympics. |
| Lizzie Armitstead | 2009, 2010 | Silver medal winner at the 2012 Summer Olympics. |
| Laura Trott | 2011, 2013, 2014 | Double gold medal winner at both the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics. |
Olympians with wins in the men’s time trial
| Competitor | Year(s) won | Olympics feat(s) |
| Stuart Dangerfield | 1998, 2001, 2003, 2005 | Represented Great Britain at the 2004 Summer Olympics. |
| Chris Newton | 1999, 2000 | Silver medal winner at the 2004 Summer Olympics. |
| David Millar | 2007 | Represented Great Britain at the 2000 and 2012 Summer Olympics. |
| Sir Bradley Wiggins | 2009, 2010, 2014 | Gold medal winner at the 2004, 2008 (double Gold), 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics. |
Olympians with wins in the women’s time trial
| Competitor | Year(s) won | Olympics feat(s) |
| Ceris Gilfillan | 2000 | Represented Great Britain at the 2000 Summer Olympics. |
| Yvonne McGregor | 2001 | Bronze medal winner when representing Great Britain at the 2000 Summer Olympics. |
| Wendy Houvenaghel | 2003, 2007, 2011, 2012 | Silver medal winner at the 2008 Summer Olympics. |
| Rebecca Romero | 2006 | Gold medal winner at the 2008 Summer Olympics. |
| Sharon Laws | 2008 | Represented Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Olympics |
| Emma Pooley | 2009, 2010, 2014 | Represented Great Britain at both the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. |
| Joanna Rowsell | 2013 | Gold medal winner at the 2012 Summer Olympics. |