THE Lloyds National Road Championships got underway in Lampeter, Wales on Thursday, with four time trial champions crowned, including Welsh success in the elite women’s race for Zoe Backstedt, a fourth time trial championship for Ethan Hayter in the elite men’s race, and under-23 success for Erin Boothman and Ben Wiggins.

A Welsh 1-2-3 headlined the elite women’s category in a sweltering Ceredigion, with Zoe Backstedt (CANYON // Sram Zondacrypto) defending her national time trial championship title on home soil with an emphatic time of 32:45.90.

Her sister Elynor Backstedt (UAE Team ADQ) joined her on the podium, with a fine bronze medal in a time of 33:50.97, the first time the sisters have shared a podium at a national championship.

Anna Morris (Private Member) came away with second place, with an impressive time of 33:07.87. The Welshwoman insisted the podium lockout was “super special, especially with it being at a home nationals. We had so much support out on the course, which has been really nice.”

But Zoe Backstedt reigned supreme on the day, dominating with the fastest first and second laps of the race, to finish 21.97 seconds ahead of her compatriots, and will look to continue her winning streak in the road race this Sunday.

The back-to-back champion, Zoe Backstedt, commented: “It was a super fun ride, really fast, difficult in places, and it was nice to go down classic Welsh country roads. I’m really proud of how I’ve done, it wasn’t easy, but I’m really happy to be able to come away with the National Champion jersey once again.”

Ethan Hayter (Soudal Quick-Step) stormed to a fourth elite time trial national championship title with a time of 44:10.89, cementing himself in history as one of the most decorated time trial riders in national championship history.

The experienced Connor Swift (Netcompany INEOS) bagged a silver medal with a time of 45:40.96, his first podium at a time trial event at national championships, although he was previously crowned road race champion in 2018.

Rounding out the podium was Josh Charlton (Ineos Grenadiers Racing Academy), crossing the finish line in a time of 45:51.23, who manouvered the course and the conditions perfectly to earn his first national road championships medal.

Four-time champion, Hayter, spoke of his win: “It was survival and I really benefited from all the overseas training I do. It was a case of fighting and seeing what you can do. Going into the road championships on Sunday, I’m looking forward to it, but we’ve got such a strong field, we’ll have to see what happens on the day.”

Scottish superstar Erin Boothman (Liv AlUla Jayco) mastered the roads of Lampeter to win in the under-23 women with a time of 33.36.60, nearly two minutes ahead second place Awen Roberts (CANYON // SRAM Zondacrypto Generation). The nineteen-year-old continues her fine form at national competitions off the back of her two medals at the Lloyds National Track Championships in February.

Roberts put in a consistent performance to finish in a time of 35:28.57, rounding out a stellar performance from the female Welsh contingent across both elite and U23 categories.

Eighteen-year-old Abigail Miller (UAE Development Team) recovered from a slower first lap to claim a bronze medal with a time of 36:13.00. Miller and Boothman are both familiar with sharing a podium together, after winning gold in the Team Pursuit in the UEC European Junior Track Championships in 2025 and breaking the world junior track record.

A delighted Boothman added: “It’s one of the highlights of my year so far, it’s great to do it off the back of a great season so far so it's a great moment. We knew it was going to be hard, and I went out pretty hot in the first lap, just trying to hold on. I always want to do well at the national championships, this is my first elite one, and I’m super happy to be able to pull it off.”

Ben Wiggins (Hagens Berman Jayco) cruised to a commanding victory, being the only man in the field to go under the 30-minute mark with a time of 29:02.12. Henry Hobbs (Team Visma Lease a Bike Development) pipped Finlay Tarling (NSN Development Team) to second, finishing above the Welshman by just three seconds.

After finishing second place in the past four editions in both the Junior and U23 categories, Wiggins fought hard to take the top spot on the podium at a national road championship for the first time.

Hobbs takes an impressive silver medal in his first national championship in the U23 category, with a time of 30:21.79.

Home favourite Finlay Tarling secured the final spot on the podium with a time of 30:24.86, a considerable improvement on his performance at last year’s championship where he came 24th.

Speaking on his win, Wiggins said: "It feels great to wear the national champion jersey. I was second twice as a junior, twice as an under-23, so to get it done today was probably my biggest goal this season and I’m super proud I got it. I feel really good, I had a good Giro [d’Italia Next Gen] last week, in good form as we can see today. It’s always a battle of attrition at the national champs, and I’m fighting for it.”

Full stage results and standings can be found here.

This evvening sees the Lloyds National Road Championships host the circuit event with some of the strongest names in the British road scene battling in a high-intensity route through the town of Aberystwyth.

Riders will start and finish on the iconic seafront before taking to the town centre streets in an exciting 1.6km lap.

50 minutes and five laps of racing will decide both the elite women and open championships, and it will also provide numerous opportunities for spectators to cheer on the riders as they pass by.

Fans and spectators don’t have to worry about missing work, as the circuit race gets underway in the evening with the women’s race starting at 18:15, while the Open will begin at 20:00.

Fans can watch the circuit race from flag to flag on the British Cycling YouTube channel, with the Women's race live from 18:00 and the Open race live from 19:50. You can also watch live on HBOMax and TNT Spor