It was announced in January that the British national road championships would return to the Isle of Man for the first time in over 20 years. Robert Millar won his one and only national title on the island back in 1995, while local rider Marie Purvis won the women’s road race.
Last year’s event saw Adam Blythe and Hannah Barnes crowned champions in the road races, while Alex Dowsett and Hayley Simmonds triumphed in the time trial. While the Stockton-on-Tees courses were for the sprinters and the power riders, the Isle of Man routes will provide a very different challenge.
The time trial will begin and end by Tynwald Hill and takes on a loop that gives the riders a challenging, and at times steep, course to tackle. In the road race, the riders will head around the TT motorcycle circuit, before a short loop to the North West of the capital Douglas. The sharp ramps on the short circuit should whittle down the main group but a fast, downhill run towards the finish could make for an interesting dynamic. A sprint is still possible, but it is unlikely to come from a large bunch as it did in Stockton-on-Tees.
