Fred Wright claimed his second elite men's road race title at the British Road Championships, outsprinting Lewis Askey (NSN) and Connor Swift (Netcompany Ineos) by a wheel in a tense three-rider finish. The Pinarello-Q36.5 rider's only two professional victories have both been national titles, the first one coming in 2023.
Swift bridged up to a four-rider break, which included Wright and Askey on the first of the five local laps in Aberystwyth. The quintet, which also included Mattie Dodd (Ineos Grenadiers Racing Academy), Elliot Rowe (Visma-Lease a Bike Devo Team) worked well together to build an unassailable lead of almost three minutes with 11 kilometres to go.
At that point cooperation stopped, with Askey putting in a dig on the climb to drop Dodd and Rowe, before making another attempt to escape on the descent. However, the trio was still together with Askey leading with two kilometres to go.
Wright took over the front with 200 metres to go, as the trio spread across the road, speeding to the line.
Speaking after the podium, Wright said: “It was a typical National Championships. I attacked from the start, and it was full gas racing until a select group formed. We take chunks out of each other for as long as we can, and I was happy to make that group. I just slowly whittled it down and played my cards well in the end.”
He added that he was "trying not to think about" claiming the striped jersey again,
“The year I had in the stripes was really special. As soon as you are not in the stripes, you really miss it. I was trying not to think about it too much in the last 10km. I had to just think normally and race without going too crazy. It’s such a special thing. I plan to take these to the Tour.”
Rowe beat Dodd to take fourth place and so secure the U23 title.
How it unfolded
The 187.1km course around the Ceredigion region of Wales featured a challenging 2586m of altitude gain, and as is typical of British nationals, a large field of 140 riders went into battle from the off.
The race was lively from the get-go, but a nine-rider group was able to forge clear, though they were not given much rope by the main peloton, which held them at 45 seconds with 150km still to cover. A secondary wave of attacks launched after that as more riders sought to bridge to the front of the race, leaving the peloton to allow the leaders to eke out a slightly larger gap as the bunch settled briefly, one minute behind.
A lead group of six held the front of the race for around 40 kilometres, but with 116km to go, the peloton made contact, and former champion Wright was the first to catch the breakaway. He joined their ranks as the peloton dangled a handful of seconds behind. The race situation remained volatile after that, with riders attacking and dropping, and it was all change again as a large group of favourites moved clear and with 90km to go.
They had built a lead of almost a minute over the chasing bunch, but the race was all over the road, both at the front and in the peloton, with groups strung out into long lines. At the head of the race, the large group split and with 60 kilometres to go, a group of five strong riders had built a significant 1:25 gap over the main peloton. This group featured Wright, along with Lewis Askey (NSN Pro Cycling), Mattie Dodd (Ineos Grenadiers Racing Academy), Elliot Rowe (Visma-Lease a Bike Devo Team) and Jed Smithson (Team Jayco-AlUla).
The group arrived on the local lap in Aberystwyth for five laps of the circuit, but Smithson was struggling with the heat, needing a bottle but unable to get one and dropped from the group. Former national champion Connor Swift (NetCompany Ineos) bridged up to the lead group, and from there, the race entered a steadier state, with the five leading riders working well together and steadily building on their lead heading into the final 50kms.
A chase group of 7 were the only riders left in contention with the peloton drifting out to three minutes behind the head of the race. The chasers were not able to make an impression on the lead group’s advantage but would continue to work hard for placements and podium spots in the U23 category, which would still be at stake once the lead group had crossed the line.
With 21km to go, the first attack came from the lead group, Mattie Dodd attacking on a gradient to put space between himself and the rest of the group, with only Wright able to stay with him, and Lewis Askey forced to chase. They regrouped shortly afterwards, but the gloves were off, with Swift the next to launch, pursued by Wright and Askey. It was a straight punch-up after that, with Askey the next to strike, as the race headed back into the town centre ahead of the final lap.
The five riders worked well together, pushing the gap to 2:50 with 11 kilometres to go. Games in the front group started on a kilometre later, with Askey launching the first salvo. Attacks continued, Wright on the steep climb which dropped Dodd and Rowe, and then Askey on the descent as he flew past Swift.
But the trio was still together, with Askey pinned to the front with two kilometres to go. In the final kilometre, another Swift attack was shut down by Askey as Wright slotted in the front with 200 metres to go.
Results
Results powered by FirstCycling
Pos |
Rider |
Time |
|---|---|---|
1 |
Alfred Brockwell Wright (GBr) Pinarello-Q36.5 |
4:15:47 |
2 |
Lewis Askey (GBr) NSN Cycling Team |
00:00:00 |
3 |
Connor Swift (GBr) Netcompany Ineos |
00:00:00 |
4 |
Elliot Rowe (GBr) Team Visma | Lease A Bike Development |
00:00:17 |
5 |
Mattie Dodd (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers Racing Academy |
00:00:17 |
6 |
Oliver Wood (GBr) |
00:03:05 |
7 |
Thomas Portsmouth (GBr) |
00:03:05 |
8 |
Adam Mitchell (GBr) Vendee U Primeo Energie |
00:03:05 |
9 |
Jed Smithson (GBr) Hagens Berman Jayco |
00:03:05 |
10 |
Danylo Riwnyj (GBr) |
00:03:12 |
11 |
Jacob Bush (GBr) Development Team Picnic Postnl |
00:03:29 |
12 |
Joseph Brookes (GBr) Avc Aix Provence Dole |
00:03:34 |
13 |
Benjamin Bright (GBr) |
00:03:54 |
14 |
Matthew Brennan (GBr) Visma-Lease a Bike |
00:03:56 |
15 |
Ben Turner (GBr) Netcompany Ineos |
00:03:56 |
16 |
Oliver Stockwell (GBr) Bahrain Victorious |
00:03:56 |
17 |
Lukas Nerurkar (GBr) EF Education-EasyPost |
00:03:56 |
18 |
Ben Askey (GBr) |
00:03:56 |
19 |
Mark Donovan (GBr) Pinarello-Q36.5 |
00:03:56 |
20 |
Max Krasinski (GBr) |
00:03:56 |
21 |
Louis Sutton (GBr) Euskaltel-Euskadi |
00:03:56 |
22 |
Sebastian Grindley (GBr) Lidl-Trek Future Racing |
00:03:56 |
23 |
Edward Morgan (GBr) |
00:03:56 |
24 |
Lewis Tinsley (GBr) |
00:03:56 |
25 |
Ben Wiggins (GBr) Hagens Berman Jayco |
00:03:56 |
26 |
Adam Lewis (GBr) Aps Pro Cycling By Team Cadence Cyclery |
00:03:56 |
27 |
Adam Howell (GBr) Bourg En Bresse Ain Cyclisme |
00:03:56 |
28 |
Thomas Gardner (GBr) |
00:04:42 |
29 |
Harrison Dainty (GBr) |
00:04:57 |
30 |
Zeb Kyffin (GBr) Terengganu Cycling Team |
00:04:57 |
31 |
George Kimber (GBr) |
00:05:02 |
32 |
Tomos Pattinson (GBr) Ef Education - Aevolo |
00:05:04 |
33 |
Jack Rootkin-Gray (GBr) |
00:05:04 |
34 |
Ethan Hayter (GBr) Soudal-QuickStep |
00:05:06 |
35 |
Tom Williams (GBr) |
00:05:55 |
36 |
Finlay Xavier Pickering (GBr) Jayco-AlUla |
00:05:55 |
37 |
Oliver Dawson (GBr) |
00:06:09 |
38 |
Tom Martin (GBr) |
00:07:28 |
39 |
Theodor Obholzer (GBr) |
00:07:28 |
DNF |
Ethan Vernon (GBr) NSN Cycling Team |
|
DNF |
Noah Hobbs (GBr) EF Education-EasyPost |
|
DNF |
Alistair Gardner (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Henry Hobbs (GBr) Team Visma | Lease A Bike Development |
|
DNF |
Joshua Giddings (GBr) Lotto-Intermarché |
|
DNF |
Maxwell Hereward (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Jack Brough (GBr) Avc Aix Provence Dole |
|
DNF |
Josh Housley (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Thomas Armstrong (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Jake Edwards (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Zachary Walker (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Luca Nicholson (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Owain Doull (GBr) Visma-Lease a Bike |
|
DNF |
Angus Stoneham (GBr) Sco Dijon Team Materiel-Velo.Com |
|
DNF |
William Salter (GBr) Alpecin-Premier Tech Development Team |
|
DNF |
Finn O'Brien (GBr) Development Team Picnic Postnl |
|
DNF |
Callum Thornley (GBr) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe |
|
DNF |
Cameron Mason (GBr) Alpecin-Premier Tech Development Team |
|
DNF |
Matthew Peace (GBr) Development Team Picnic Postnl |
|
DNF |
Louis Herring (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Tom Scott (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Alexander Murphy (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Oliver Snodden (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Matthew Bostock (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Joe Holt (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Piers Mahn (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Jack Crook (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Olivier Mangham (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Sam Walsham (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Matthew Kent (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Noah Bleteau (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Max Bufton (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Dylan Sage (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers Racing Academy |
|
DNF |
Lucas Jowett (GBr) |
|
DNF |
James Sawyers (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Lucas Jackson (GBr) Movistar Team Academy |
|
DNF |
Joshua Ballinger (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Oscar Nisbett (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Luke Meyer-Eland (GBr) Maxsolar-Raymon |
|
DNF |
Cai Davies (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Cameron Mclaren (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Samuel Nisbet (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Nathan Smith (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Ben Chilton (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Henry Hunter (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Seth Jackson (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Elliott Colyer (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Evan Marsh (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Cai Curtis-Roberts (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Hugh Aubrey (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Rory Gravelle (GBr) Tirol Ktm Cycling Team |
|
DNF |
William Smith (GBr) Team Visma | Lease A Bike Development |
|
DNF |
Jim Brown (GBr) L39Ion Of Los Angeles |
|
DNF |
Matthew Kingston (GBr) Mg.K Vis Costruzioni E Ambiente |
|
DNF |
William Truelove (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Alfred George (GBr) Elite Fondations Cycling Team |
|
DNF |
David Hird (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Jordan Giles (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Ewan Mackie (GBr) Madar Pro Cycling Team |
|
DNF |
Josh Charlton (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers Racing Academy |
|
DNF |
Thomas Heal (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Alex Beldon (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Gabriel Dellar (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Sam Llewelyn (GBr) Team Skyline |
|
DNF |
Adam Quixall (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Joshua Horsfield (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Oliver Curd (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Ben Millar (GBr) |
|
DNF |
George Safranauskas (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Ben Goodwin (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Paddy Chapman (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Tim Shoreman (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Aaron King (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Dexter Leeming-Sykes (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Philip Large (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Josh Hall (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Archie Peet (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Lyle Simpson (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Alexander Foster (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Sam Barbour (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Finn Mason (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Sam Chaplin (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Dylan Belton Owen (GBr) |
|
DNF |
John Bardsley (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Robert Smart (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Oscar Pratt (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Iwan Clark (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Oliver Gill (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Sion Jones (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Reuben Corlett (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Daniel Whitehouse (GBr) St George Continental Cycling Team |
|
DNF |
Magnus Denwood (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Jack Baldie (GBr) |
|
DNF |
Dylan Hicks (GBr) Un Cycling Team |
|
DNF |
George Stephen (GBr) |
|
DNS |
Sam Watson (GBr) Netcompany Ineos |
|
DNS |
Ben Swift (GBr) Netcompany Ineos |
|
DNS |
Max Walker (GBr) EF Education-EasyPost |
|
DNS |
Oliver Hucks (GBr) |
|
DNS |
Jack Lockwood (GBr) |
|
DNS |
Rowan Baker (GBr) |
|
DNS |
William Harding (GBr) Mg.K Vis Costruzioni E Ambiente |
|
DNS |
Mark Stewart (GBr) Modern Adventure |
|
DNS |
Lucas Joseph Towers (GBr) Modern Adventure |
|
DNS |
Joseph Blackmore (GBr) NSN Cycling Team |
|
DNS |
Alex Pickering (GBr) |
|
DNS |
Ben Granger (GBr) Solution Tech Nippo Rali |
|
DNS |
Robert Donaldson (GBr) Jayco-AlUla |
|
DNS |
Max Poole (GBr) Picnic PostNL |
|
DNS |
Sean Flynn (GBr) Picnic PostNL |
|
DNS |
Matthew Walls (GBr) Team Storck - Mrw Bau |
|
DNS |
William Tidball (GBr) Vélo Club Villefranche Beaujolais |
|
DNS |
Fergus Phelan (GBr) |
|
DNS |
Hamish Maclaren (GBr) |
|
DNS |
Joshua Golliker (GBr) Ef Education - Aevolo |
|
DNS |
Jamie Whitcher (GBr) |
|
DNS |
Max Hinds (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers Racing Academy |
|
DNS |
Alex Franks (GBr) |
|
DNS |
Samuel Greenwell (GBr) Lotto - Groupe Wanty |
|
DNS |
Joshua Tarling (GBr) Netcompany Ineos |
|
DNS |
Finlay Tarling (GBr) Nsn Development Team |
|
DNS |
Oliver Peace (GBr) Picnic PostNL |
|
DNS |
Ryan Oldfield (GBr) |
|
DNS |
Deetry Jarrett (GBr) |
|
DNS |
Thomas Lewis (GBr) |
|
DNS |
James Sweeney (GBr) |
