Connor Swift wins British national road championships

Connor Swift (Madison-Genesis) took the British national road race title after a solo attack on the final lap of the race. Two-time champion Adam Blythe (Aqua Blue Sport) took second after a chase in the final kilometres, while Owain Doull (Team Sky) took the sprint for third from a small chase group.

Having made the early break along with 16 other riders, including several from WorldTour teams, 22-year-old Swift took his chance to go it alone 15km from the line with the peloton out of picture. His sustained effort put off attacks from behind, with only Blythe able to put in a solo chase effort in the closing kilometres.

"It's like a dream come true," said Swift after the finish. "It's amazing to do it for Madison-Genesis - a Continental team and one of the underdogs for the race. I can’t remember the last time a Continental team won the national championships. [Ed: It was Kristian House in 2009]

"I felt so good on the last lap and I could tell everyone else was struggling," Swift added. "I rode off the front and thought, 'I'll go as hard as I can.' I took a big risk and it paid off and I won the race. It's mad!"

How it happened

The race took place in Stamfordham, in the north-east of England, and took in 185.6km of largely flat roads. Four laps of a 35.4km circuit and two of a shorter 22km circuit were punctuated by four ascents up Ryal hill (1.8km at 5.4 per cent), the last of which came 32km from the finish line.

Given the nature of the route, a sprint finish seemed likely, but that didn't stop a large breakaway getting up the road early on. The group comprised 16 riders, and it was a strong one, including Doull, Swift, Blythe, Mark Christian (Aqua Blue Sport), and Gabriel Cullaigh (Team Wiggins).

The break quickly built a three-minute lead, with the small group of chasers hanging just 30 seconds ahead of the peloton. That would be the status quo for much of the race, with no major drama occuring besides a brief split in the peloton on the third ascent of Ryal.

Heading into the final 50km, with only the final ascent of Ryal remaining, the gap was 1:40 to a three-man chase group including Ian Stannard (Team Sky). The peloton, which held Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) among others, lay 2:30 back.

The final 30km saw attacks start among the break, with the peloton out of contention at over five minutes down. A move including the two Aqua Blue men was eventually brought back after a big turn by Doull, while Stannard's group still chipped away a minute back.

An attack by Swift 15km from the line drew out a small group including Doull and Blythe, who hung around 15 seconds behind. He powered along, barely ceding any time to the chasers over the closing kilometres. Blythe made his move 3km out but couldn’t bridge the gap, leaving Swift to take the plaudits solo.

Full Results

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#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Connor Swift (GBr) Madison Genesis4:19:06
2Adam Blythe (GBr) Aqua Blue Sport0:00:22
3Owain Doull (GBr) Team Sky0:00:25
4Robert Scott (GBr) Team Wiggins0:00:26
5Fred Wright (GBr)Row 4 - Cell 2
6Ben Hetherington (GBr) Memil Ccn Pro Cycling0:00:27
7Gabriel Cullaigh (GBr) Team Wiggins0:00:34
8Ben Swift (GBr) UAE Team Emirates0:00:59
9Joey Walker (GBr) Team Wiggins0:01:00
10Dexter Gardias (GBr) Canyon EisbergRow 9 - Cell 2
11Mark Christian (GBr) Aqua Blue SportRow 10 - Cell 2
12Alistair Slater (GBr) JLT CondorRow 11 - Cell 2
13George Pym (GBr) Madison GenesisRow 12 - Cell 2
14Daniel Bigham (GBr)0:01:03
15Matthew Holmes (GBr) Madison Genesis0:01:13
16Charlie Tanfield (GBr) Canyon Eisberg0:04:24
17Thomas Stewart (GBr) JLT CondorRow 16 - Cell 2
18Mark Donovan (GBr) Team WigginsRow 17 - Cell 2
19Ian Stannard (GBr) Team Sky0:04:27
20Alexandar Richardson (GBr) One Pro Cycling0:07:52
21Andrew Tennant (GBr) Canyon Eisberg0:08:16
22Dylan Kerfoot-Robson (GBr) Team WigginsRow 21 - Cell 2
23Peter Williams (GBr) One Pro CyclingRow 22 - Cell 2
24Matthew Bostock (GBr)0:08:17
25Julian Varley (GBr)0:08:18
26Ben Turner (GBr) Corendon-CircusRow 25 - Cell 2
27Michael Mottram (GBr)Row 26 - Cell 2
28Joshua Hunt (GBr) Vitus Pro CyclingRow 27 - Cell 2
29Matthew Nowell (GBr) Canyon Eisberg0:08:19
30Christopher Latham (GBr) One Pro CyclingRow 29 - Cell 2
31Zeb Kyffin (GBr)Row 30 - Cell 2
32Max Stedman (GBr) Canyon EisbergRow 31 - Cell 2
33Mark McNally (GBr) Wanty-Groupe Gobert0:08:20
34Thomas Moses (GBr) JLT Condor0:08:22
35James Shaw (GBr) Lotto Soudal0:08:25
36Richard Handley (GBr) Madison Genesis0:08:36
37Thomas Baylis (GBr) One Pro Cycling0:08:40
38Thomas Pidcock (GBr) Team Wiggins0:08:44
DNFMark Cavendish (GBr) Dimension DataRow 38 - Cell 2
DNFRhys Britton (GBr)Row 39 - Cell 2
DNFEthan Hayter (GBr)Row 40 - Cell 2
DNFJoe Holt (GBr)Row 41 - Cell 2
DNFJake Stewart (GBr)Row 42 - Cell 2
DNFMatthew Walls (GBr)Row 43 - Cell 2
DNFDaniel Pearson (GBr) Aqua Blue SportRow 44 - Cell 2
DNFMark Robertson (GBr)Row 45 - Cell 2
DNFRichard McDonald (GBr)Row 46 - Cell 2
DNFCharles Page (GBr) Canyon EisbergRow 47 - Cell 2
DNFAlex Paton (GBr) Canyon EisbergRow 48 - Cell 2
DNFJack Pullar (GBr) Canyon EisbergRow 49 - Cell 2
DNFLouis Rose-Davies (GBr)Row 50 - Cell 2
DNFHarry Tanfield (GBr) Canyon EisbergRow 51 - Cell 2
DNFTom Elwood (GBr)Row 52 - Cell 2
DNFJoseph Clark (GBr)Row 53 - Cell 2
DNFMorris Bacon (GBr)Row 54 - Cell 2
DNFGary Freeman (GBr)Row 55 - Cell 2
DNFRichard Taylor (GBr)Row 56 - Cell 2
DNFLeon Mazzone (GBr) Holdsworth Pro RacingRow 57 - Cell 2
DNFJake Womersley (GBr) Holdsworth Pro RacingRow 58 - Cell 2
DNFDominic Schils (GBr) Java PartizanRow 59 - Cell 2
DNFIan Bibby (GBr) JLT CondorRow 60 - Cell 2
DNFEdmund Bradbury (GBr) JLT CondorRow 61 - Cell 2
DNFGraham Briggs (GBr) JLT CondorRow 62 - Cell 2
DNFEdward Clancy (GBr) JLT CondorRow 63 - Cell 2
DNFMatthew Gibson (GBr) JLT CondorRow 64 - Cell 2
DNFJames Gullen (GBr) JLT CondorRow 65 - Cell 2
DNFJonathan Mould (GBr) JLT CondorRow 66 - Cell 2
DNFOliver Wood (GBr) JLT CondorRow 67 - Cell 2
DNFNeil Phillips (GBr)Row 68 - Cell 2
DNFDavid Bolland (GBr)Row 69 - Cell 2
DNFKinsey McIlquham (GBr)Row 70 - Cell 2
DNFCharles Quarterman (GBr) Leopard Pro CyclingRow 71 - Cell 2
DNFGeorge Atkins (GBr) Madison GenesisRow 72 - Cell 2
DNFMichael Cuming (GBr) Madison GenesisRow 73 - Cell 2
DNFTobyn Horton (GBr) Madison GenesisRow 74 - Cell 2
DNFJonathan McEvoy (GBr) Madison GenesisRow 75 - Cell 2
DNFIsaac Mundy (GBr) Madison GenesisRow 76 - Cell 2
DNFErick Rowsell (GBr) Madison GenesisRow 77 - Cell 2
DNFRobert Orr (GBr) Memil CCN Pro CyclingRow 78 - Cell 2
DNFJacob Tipper (GBr) Memil Ccn Pro CyclingRow 79 - Cell 2
DNFStephen Bradbury (GBr)Row 80 - Cell 2
DNFJacob Scott (GBr) One Pro CyclingRow 81 - Cell 2
DNFRhys Howells (GBr)Row 82 - Cell 2
DNFJohn Archibald (GBr)Row 83 - Cell 2
DNFWilliam Brown (GBr)Row 84 - Cell 2
DNFWilliam Corbett (GBr)Row 85 - Cell 2
DNFDavid Hewett (GBr)Row 86 - Cell 2
DNFRichard Jones (GBr)Row 87 - Cell 2
DNFAlex Luhrs (GBr)Row 88 - Cell 2
DNFJacky Ruez (GBr)Row 89 - Cell 2
DNFMatthew Clements (GBr)Row 90 - Cell 2
DNFTobias Dahlhaus (GBr)Row 91 - Cell 2
DNFJames Jenkins (GBr)Row 92 - Cell 2
DNFOliver Maxwell (GBr)Row 93 - Cell 2
DNFThomas Power (GBr)Row 94 - Cell 2
DNFLuke Ryan (GBr)Row 95 - Cell 2
DNFGeorge Wood (GBr)Row 96 - Cell 2
DNFAntony Richardson (GBr)Row 97 - Cell 2
DNFFraser Martin (GBr)Row 98 - Cell 2
DNFStephen Williams (GBr) SEG Racing AcademyRow 99 - Cell 2
DNFFrazier Carr (GBr)Row 100 - Cell 2
DNFDouglas Coleman (GBr)Row 101 - Cell 2
DNFRupert Graham (GBr)Row 102 - Cell 2
DNFAnthony Moye (GBr)Row 103 - Cell 2
DNFCharlie Passfield (GBr)Row 104 - Cell 2
DNFJordan Peacock (GBr)Row 105 - Cell 2
DNFMatthew Downie (GBr)Row 106 - Cell 2
DNFAndrew Nichols (GBr)Row 107 - Cell 2
DNFOliver W Bates (GBr)Row 108 - Cell 2
DNFAlex Dowsett (GBr) Katusha-AlpecinRow 109 - Cell 2
DNFCallum Ferguson (GBr)Row 110 - Cell 2
DNFWill Fox (GBr)Row 111 - Cell 2
DNFAndrew Turner (GBr)Row 112 - Cell 2
DNFDaniel Patten (GBr)Row 113 - Cell 2
DNFSam Brand (GBr) Team Novo NordiskRow 114 - Cell 2
DNFJonathan Dibben (GBr) Team SkyRow 115 - Cell 2
DNFTao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Team SkyRow 116 - Cell 2
DNFChristopher Lawless (GBr) Team SkyRow 117 - Cell 2
DNFWilliam Bjergfelt (GBr)Row 118 - Cell 2
DNFNathan Draper (GBr) Team WigginsRow 119 - Cell 2
DNFJacques Sauvagnargues (GBr) Team WigginsRow 120 - Cell 2
DNFReece Wood (GBr) Team WigginsRow 121 - Cell 2
DNFJesse Yates (GBr) Team WigginsRow 122 - Cell 2
DNFWilliam Perrett (GBr)Row 123 - Cell 2
DNFRuari Grant (GBr)Row 124 - Cell 2
DNFLiam Davies (GBr) Vitus Pro CyclingRow 125 - Cell 2
DNFHarrison Jones (GBr) Vitus Pro CyclingRow 126 - Cell 2
DNFGrant Martin (GBr) Vitus Pro CyclingRow 127 - Cell 2
DNFAlex Dalton (GBr)Row 128 - Cell 2
DNFJack Stanton-Warren (GBr)Row 129 - Cell 2
DNFPaul Double (GBr)Row 130 - Cell 2
DNFJoseph Nally (GBr)Row 131 - Cell 2
DNFMarcus Burnett (GBr)Row 132 - Cell 2
DNFMatthew Clarke (GBr)Row 133 - Cell 2
DNFPeter Cocker (GBr)Row 134 - Cell 2
DNFFinn Crockett (GBr)Row 135 - Cell 2
DNFAndrew Disley (GBr)Row 136 - Cell 2
DNFGeorge Evans (GBr)Row 137 - Cell 2
DNFTim James (GBr)Row 138 - Cell 2
DNFMatt Langworthy (GBr)Row 139 - Cell 2
DNFDaniel Nieto (GBr)Row 140 - Cell 2
DNFDaniel Pullen (GBr)Row 141 - Cell 2
DNFCharlie Renshaw (GBr)Row 142 - Cell 2
DNFFraser Rounds (GBr)Row 143 - Cell 2
DNFJoseph Sutton (GBr)Row 144 - Cell 2
DNFBradley Symonds (GBr)Row 145 - Cell 2
DNSStephen Cummings (GBr) Dimension DataRow 146 - Cell 2
DNSScott Davies (GBr) Dimension DataRow 147 - Cell 2
DNSLaurence Kirby (GBr)Row 148 - Cell 2
DNSPeter Kennaugh (GBr) Bora-HansgroheRow 149 - Cell 2
DNSLouis Szymanski (GBr)Row 150 - Cell 2
DNSDaniel McLay (GBr) EF Education First-Drapac p/b CannondaleRow 151 - Cell 2
DNSJames McLaughlin (GBr)Row 152 - Cell 2
DNSMitchell Webber (GBr)Row 153 - Cell 2
DNSRussell Downing (GBr) Holdsworth Pro RacingRow 154 - Cell 2
DNSDaniel Whitehouse (GBr) Interpro Stradalli CyclingRow 155 - Cell 2
DNSGermain Burton (GBr) JLT CondorRow 156 - Cell 2
DNSEdward Laverack (GBr) JLT CondorRow 157 - Cell 2
DNSJacob Vaughan (GBr)Row 158 - Cell 2
DNSAndy Brown (GBr)Row 159 - Cell 2
DNSTom Chandler (GBr)Row 160 - Cell 2
DNSKen Buckley (GBr)Row 161 - Cell 2
DNSDante Carpenter (GBr)Row 162 - Cell 2
DNSJake Kelly (GBr) One Pro CyclingRow 163 - Cell 2
DNSJames Knox (GBr) Quick-Step FloorsRow 164 - Cell 2
DNSLawrence Carpenter (GBr)Row 165 - Cell 2
DNSGruffudd Lewis (GBr)Row 166 - Cell 2
DNSJames Rix (GBr)Row 167 - Cell 2
DNSWilliam Harper (GBr)Row 168 - Cell 2
DNSSteve Lampier (GBr)Row 169 - Cell 2
DNSJoe Swinnerton (GBr)Row 170 - Cell 2
DNSLuke Rowe (GBr) Team SkyRow 171 - Cell 2
DNSGeraint Thomas (GBr) Team SkyRow 172 - Cell 2
DNSEtienne Georgi (GBr) Team WigginsRow 173 - Cell 2
DNSOliver Robinson (GBr) Team WigginsRow 174 - Cell 2
DNSAdam Kenway (GBr) Vitus Pro CyclingRow 175 - Cell 2
DNSTimothy Torrie (GBr) Vitus Pro CyclingRow 176 - Cell 2
DNSJake Alderman (GBr)Row 177 - Cell 2
DNSCameron Jeffers (GBr)Row 178 - Cell 2

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Daniel Ostanek
Production editor

Daniel Ostanek is production editor at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired as staff writer. Prior to joining the team, he had written for most major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly, Rouleur, and CyclingTips.

 

Daniel has reported from the world's top races, including the Tour de France and the spring Classics, and has interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars, including Wout van Aert, Remco Evenepoel, Demi Vollering, and Anna van der Breggen.

 

As well as original reporting, news and feature writing, and production work, Daniel also runs The Leadout newsletter and oversees How to Watch guides throughout the season. His favourite races are Strade Bianche and the Volta a Portugal, and he rides a Colnago C40.

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