Feature – Tough courses for British Road Race Championships

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A look at the courses for the British Road Championships in Wales in June where the Men’s and Women’s champions in road race and time trial will be crowned.

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Feature – Tough courses for British Road Race Championships

This June, the world of cycling will descend on Abergavenny and Newport for the British Road Championships and the organiser, Bill Owen has come up with some tough ‘sporting’ courses for both the road race and the time trial.

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Ian Bibby has a dig on the finishing circuit climb looking to break clear last year.

We will have more details on the courses in the near future but for now, we have some high res imagery of the maps and profiles (see below) as well as a quick taster after talking to Metaltek manager Dave Povall, a local who knows the roads well.

The over riding message from Dave was that anyone who thinks because the course doesn’t include the Tumble that it will be easy, better think again and that no-one should underestimate to the tough courses Bill Owen has come up with.

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Above: The finishing circuit and profile. Click the photo to display a high res version. When displayed, right click and save image to disc and view as a bigger image with more detail.

With a lot of help from the Monmouthshire Council , Bill Owen has come up with courses that will certainly see a deserving champion. The time trial for example will have some stiff climbing in it around the Celtic Manor service roads. I have heard figures of 25 or 28 per cent climbs (the organiser says more like 1 in 7 LoL) and the men will have two laps of it.

A third of the time trial is the grounds of the Celtic Manor on new roads that were put in for the Ryder Cup in 2010, and the whole loop will be on closed roads which is pretty dam exciting and is far from a drag strip. And there will be NEG outriders I understand.

The Women’s road course is undulating on roads used by the organiser in other Welsh GP’s and British championships and then has four finishing circuits as used by the men in last years Welsh GP.

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The Women’s loop and profile (not as bad as it looks LoL). Click the photo to display a high res version

It is a finishing circuit that the men will do ten times and whilst one lap may not look that tough, at the end of a race, the legs will be feeling the miles already done. It’s a five mile circuit that goes up from Abergavenny for a couple of miles before descending for a few miles into the finish. A late attack on the climb and full gas downhill… it may not come to a sprint.

The final course I want to introduce more than anything is the Men’s opening 100k loop. No, it doesn’t go up the Tumble like the Sportive does or like the championships have in the past. Instead, it takes the road to Usk like it has before and then turns right to head towards Newport.

It is at Newport and the Celtic Manor service roads that the course will have its Welsh ‘Berg’ which could see the field split if the riders want to race it hard. Some dual carriageway follows on the way to Chepstow where the Elite Series crit will be at the end of July around the Castle.

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The Men’s road race loop and profile. Click the photo to display a high res version

The roads back to Abergavenny, via Chepstow and the centre of Monmouth are said to be very lumpy and even take the riders back into England for a short spell! It is such a tough loop that it’s expected that it will be quite a select group that makes it back into Abergavenny for the finishing loops where there will be fireworks on that finishing circuit in the fight for the stripes.

As ever, it’s the riders that will make the race, not the course but for sure, this course does sound quite interesting and challenging and it will be good to go back to Celtic Manor, home of many championship battles a few years ago now and a Women’s World Cup Road Race.

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The scene in 2009 and Peter Kennaugh and Kristian House fight out the title

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Time trial course and profile. Click the photo to display a high res version

The British Cycling Time Trial Championships Thursday 26th June 2014

Women and under 23 men, 14:00-15:30 to complete one lap of a 20klm circuit.
Elite Men Start 18:30-21:00 to complete two laps of the 20klm circuit

Start outside the front of the Celtic Manor Hotel, turn right up Coldra Wood Drive and left on Cats Ash Road. Turn Left into Abernant Road and right onto Old Usk Rd to cross the River Usk and past the Newbridge on Usk Hotel.

Through Tredunoc and on to the Usk Caerleon road to turn left at the Cwrt Bleddyn Hotel in the direction of Caerleon.

Turn left into the Celtic Manor Resort across the River Usk on the Ryder Cup Bridge, crossing the Bulmore Road and onto the climb past the 2010 club house. Through the underpass of Cats Ash Road and across the Roman Road Golf Course to finish outside the hotel.

Presentations of the medals and winners jersey will be made immediately after the events on the podium at the finish outside the Hotel entrance

 

The British Cycling Women’s National Road Race Championship Sunday 29th June 2014

Start 09:00 Frogmore Street Abergavenny

Neutralized through Abergavenny to the B4598 Usk Rd and the official 0.00klm start. Through Usk and onto the old Monmouth Rd. to Raglan and on to Mitchel Troy.

Enter Monmouth and through the old Town Arch Monow Bridge and up the main shopping street of Monmouth. Turn left on the Hereford Rd. through Welsh Newton to turn left on the old Ross Rd. direction of Abergavenny.

Returning to Abergavenny via Skenfrith and Cross Ash. Through the Town Centre and past the finish line to start the first of four laps of the 8klm circuit taking in the Mardy and Llantilio Pertholey and returning to Abergavenny for a total of 101klm – 63miles

The British Cycling Elite Men’s National Road Race Championship Sunday 29th June 2014
Start 13:00 Frogmore Street Abergavenny

Neutralized through Abergavenny to the B4598 Usk Rd and the official 0.00klm start.

Through Usk and onto the Caerleon Road, turn left into the Celtic Manor Resort across the River Usk on the Ryder Cup Bridge, crossing the Bulmore Road and onto the climb past the 2010 club house.

Through the underpass of Cats Ash Road and across the Roman Road Golf Course past the hotel. Turn right up Coldra Wood Drive and left on Cats Ash Road, turn right to take you to the A48 and onto Chepstow Town Centre.

Left at the town arch and past the Race Course and into the Wye Valley to Tintern Parva. Climb out of the Wye Valley and onto Trellech before descending into Monmouth and through the old Town Arch Monow Bridge and up the main shopping street of Monmouth.

Turn left on the Hereford Rd. through Welsh Newton to turn left on the old Ross Rd. direction of Abergavenny. Returning to Abergavenny via Skenfrith and Cross Ash. Through the Town Centre and past the finish line to start the first of Ten laps of the 8klm circuit taking in the Mardy and Llantilio Pertholey and returning to Abergavenny for a total of 186klm-116miles.

Presentations of the medals and winners jersey will be made immediately after the events on the podium at the finish. 

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