Each year, the week of the National Championships kicks off with the individual time trial. A hard fought race against the clock, it determines each country’s brightest talents when it comes to getting aero and going flat out. For many, winning a national jersey is a great honour and the event serves as some rider’s main aim for the season. It’s been said that wearing a national champions jersey throughout the season is a source of extra motivation for riders and it’s also important to teams that they have as many national champions in their ranks as possible. With this being said, the stakes are high each year during Nationals week.
We’ve seen some predictable winners in this year’s National Time Trial Championships so far, but there have also been a few surprise results. In the British Championships, Ineos Grenadiers rider Ethan Hayter took victory in the men’s event, somewhat unsurprisingly given his third place in the ITT at the Critérium du Dauphiné a few weeks ago. Time trial specialist and previous Hour Record holder Joscelin Lowden took the honours in the women’s event, finishing ahead of Leah Dixon in second place.
Young prodigy Remco Evenepoel won in Belgium, 37 seconds ahead of his Quick Step Alpha-Vinyl teammate Yves Lampaert, while Tour of Flanders winner Lotte Kopecky predictably won in the women’s event. In France, it was an emotional moment for Bruno Armirail, who beat pre-race favourite Rémi Cavagna to take victory. Armirail was reportedly motivated to prove himself after being left out of Groupama-FDJ’s Tour de France team this year. Trek-Segafredo’s Audrey Cordon-Ragot took the sixth national title of her career in the women’s event in France.
Remco Evenepoel (Image: Getty)
In Denmark, it was a family affair for the Norsgaards as both Emma Norsgaard and her brother Mathias both took victory, clad in their matching Movistar outfits. Jan Tratnik and Matej Mohorič took first and second place respectively in Slovenia, making it a 1-2 for Bahrain-Victorious. Urška Žigart won the women’s event convincingly. Across the pond, it was Lawson Craddock and Leah Thomas who took victory in the USA, an especially impressive performance from Thomas who has only recently returned to racing following spinal surgery.
So you can keep up to speed with who will be rocking a different jersey in the race against a clock for the next year, here’s a full breakdown of this year's National Time Trial Champions.
Great Britain
Men’s winner: Ethan Hayter (Ineos-Grenadiers)
Women's winner: Joscelin Lowden (Team UNO-X)
Belgium
Men's winner: Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl)
Women's winner: Lotte Kopecky (Team SD Worx)
Denmark
Men's winner: Mathias Norsgaard (Movistar)
Women's winner: Emma Norsgaard (Movistar)
Slovenia
Men's winner: Jan Tratnik (Bahrain-Victorious)
Women's winner: Urška Žigart (Team Bike-Exchange)
Italy
Men's winner: FIlippo Ganna (Ineos-Grenadiers)
Women's winner: Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo)
Netherlands
Men's winner: Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo)
Women's winner: Ellen van Dijk (Trek-Segafredo)
Colombia
Men's winner: Daniel Felipe MartínezNorway
Men's winner: Tobias Foss (Jumbo-Visma)
Women's winner: Ane Iversen (Team Coop-Hitec Products)
France
Men's winner: Bruno Armirail (Groupama-FDJ
Women's winner: Audrey Cordon-Ragot (Trek-Segafredo)
Austria
Men's winner: Felix Großschartner (BORA-Hansgrohe)
Women's winner: Christina Schweinberger (Plantur-Pura)
United States
Men's winner: Lawson Craddock (EF Education-EasyPost)
Women's winner: Leah Thomas (Trek-Segafredo)
Brazil
Men's winner: Lauro Cesar Chaman
Women's winner: Ana Paula Polegatch
Sweden
Women's winner: Nathalie Eklund (Massi-Tactic Women's Team)
Canada
Women's winner: Paula Findlay
Czech Republic
Men's winner: Jan Bárta (Elkov - Kasper)
Women's winner: Denisa Slámová
Switzerland
Men's winner: Joel Suter (UAE Team Emirates)
Women's winner: Elena Hartmann
Estonia
Men's winner: Rein Taaramäe
Women's winner: Hanna Karoline Taaramäe
Kazakhstan
Men's winner: Yuriy Natarov (Astana Qazaqstan Team)
Women's winner: Makhabbat Umutzhanova
Ireland
Men's winner: Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost)
Women's winner: Kelly Murphy
Slovakia
Men's winner: Ján Andrej Cully
Women's winner: Nora Jenčušová (BePink)
Poland
Men's winner: Maciej Bodnar (TotalEnergies)
Women's winner: Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka (ATOM Deweloper Posciellux.pl Wrocław)
Spain
Men's winner: Raúl García Pierna (Equipo Kern Pharma)
Women's winner: Mavi Garcia (UAE Team ADQ)
Eritrea
Men's winner: Biniam Girmay (Intermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux)
Women's winner: Danait Fitsum
Israel
Men's winner: Omer Goldstein (Israel-Premier Tech)
Women's winner:
Latvia
Men's winner: Toms Skujiņš (Trek-Segafredo)
Women's winner: Dana Rožlapa
Japan
Men's winner: Sohei Kaneko
Women's winner: Shoko Kashiki (Team Illuminate)
Azerbaijan
Men's winner: Elchin Asadov
Venezuela
Men's winner: Orluis Aular (Caja Rural - Seguros RGA)
Women's winner: Lilibeth Chacón
Costa Rica
Men's winner: Jose Alexis Rodriguez
Women's winner: Estefanie Alvarez
Lithuania
Men's winner: Aivaras Mikutis (Team Ampler - Tartu2024)
Women's winner: Inga Češulienė (Aromitalia - Basso Bikes - Vaiano)
Hungary
Finland
Women's winner: Anniina Ahtosalo (Team UNO-X)
Germany
Women's winner: Lisa Brennauer (Ceratizit WNT-Pro Cycling)
Portugal
Men's winner: Rafael Reis (Glassdrive Q8 Anicolor)
Women's winner: Daniela Campos (Bizkaia-Durango)
Luxembourg
Men's winner: Bob Jungels (AG2R Citroën Team)
Women's winner: Christine Majerus (Team SD Worx)
Turkey
Men's winner: Ahmet Örken (Wildlife Generation Pro Cycling)
Women's winner: Azize Bekar
Cover image: Zac Williams/SWpix