Press Release 29 June 2025, Words by British Cycling, Images by Chris Maher
WATSON AND COUZENS VICTORIOUS IN DRAMATIC LLOYDS NATIONAL ROAD CHAMPIONSHIP CONCLUSION
The Lloyds National Road Championships came to a thrilling conclusion on Sunday 29 June as Millie Couzens and Samuel Watson took home the elite national road race titles after dramatic contests on the roads of Aberystwyth and Ceredigion.
Women’s Elite Road Race
Millie Couzens (Fenix-Deceuninck) sealed her first elite national road race title in emphatic fashion, producing a powerful sprint after a number of attacks to beat defending champion Pfeiffer Georgi (Team Picnic PostNL) to the line in Aberystwyth, with Anna Henderson (Lidl – Trek) completing the podium positions.
Under rainy grey morning skies over Ceredigion, the women’s race rolled out along the seafront for a steady opening to the contest. Flurries of attacks were seen on the first climb of the day, however it was on the descent that Lucy Glover (Smurfit Westrock Cycling Team) and Megan Anderson (Team Boompods) made the first lasting attack of the day, quickly earning 20 seconds on a small chasing group and over a minute on the peloton.
Shortly after, the chasing group made contact with the leading duo to form the day’s breakaway, consisting of Anderson, Glover, Jess Roberts (Spectra Racing), Jo Tindley (Smurfit Westrock Cycling Team), April Tacey (Team Coop – Repsol), Matilda McKibben (CJ O’Shea Racing Team), Madeleine Leech (Handsling Alba Development Road Team), Josie Knight (TEKKERZ CC), Cecelia Hime (Brother UK – On Form) and Holly Ramsey (Hess Cycling Team).
Beckie Storrie (Team Picnic PostNL) attempted to bridge the gap to the breakaway from the peloton and spent almost a full large lap hunting the head of the race down, before finally making contact just as Tindley and Hime were dropped, with the breakaways advantage standing at just under five minutes at the beginning of the third and final large lap.
Anderson and McKibben were dropped from the front of the race themselves as Anna Morris followed in Storri’s footsteps with a solo attack herself to join the leading group, as the favourites behind began to make moves of their own including Henderson and Cat Ferguson (Movistar Team), seeing the gap reduce to 2:45.
Further attacks were instigated by Henderson, which meant that Storrie – at the head of the race – possibly anticipated the impending catch, so she launched a bid for glory of her own which was short lived as she was followed by Roberts. However, the decisive move was made by Couzens who was not far behind, attacking the group of favourites with a devastating acceleration after some impressive work by her teammate Flora Perkins (Fenix – Deceuninck), with only Henderson, Georgi and fellow Team Picnic PostNL rider, Josie Nelson able to follow, where they quickly swallowed up Roberts and Storrie.
Ferguson and Imogen Wolff (Team Visma – Lease a Bike), having missed this move, led the chase behind, but it would be in vain as the leading quartet, driven on by Nelson working for her teammate Georgi, stayed away to enter the final kilometre alone to fight it out for the title.
Nelson, as predicted, led out the sprint but it was Couzens who launched earliest from a long way out, producing dizzying power to remain ahead of the closing Georgi on the line, raising her arms in celebration along the promenade as she sealed her first professional win. Georgi settled for second place ahead of Henderson.
Victory for Couzens – who won the U23 jersey in the Time Trial on Thursday – also saw her secure the U23 road race title, where she was joined on the podium by Time Trial champion Zoe Backstedt (CANYON // SRAM zondacrypto) and Ferguson.
Speaking after the podium, Millie Couzens said:
“Nationals is always quite a hard race to play tactically, everyone’s a little isolated and no one wants to commit too much. There was a point when the break had quite a big gap and I was worried, but luckily I had help from a few other teams and Flora [Perkins] to help control it a little bit.
“I’m so grateful for Flora, without her I don’t think we were going to bring them back. I’m so happy, it’s not the way I thought it was going to go, so it’s a good week.”
Race Results
1. 28 Millie Couzens Fenix-Deceuninck * 1 5 3:28:06
2. 1 Pfeiffer Georgi Team Picnic PostNL 5 3:28:06 –
3. 44 Anna Henderson Lidl – Trek 5 3:28:06 –
4. 2 Josie Nelson Team Picnic PostNL 5 3:28:08 +0:02
5. 32 Lauren Dickson Handsling Alba Development Road Team 5 3:28:51 +0:45
6. 12 Zoe Backstedt CANYON // SRAM zondacrypto * 2 5 3:28:57 +0:51
7. 51 Cat Ferguson Movistar Team * 3 5 3:28:57 +0:51
8. 85 Eilidh Shaw UAE Development Team * 4 5 3:28:57 +0:51
9. 82 Imogen Wolff Team Visma – Lease a Bike * 5 5 3:28:57 +0:51
10. 40 Grace Lister Hess Cycling Team * 6 5 3:29:00 +0:54
11. 39 Kate Richardson Handsling Alba Development Road Team 5 3:29:00 +0:54
Men’s Elite Road Race
Samuel Watson (Ineos Grenadiers) produced a stunning final lap solo attack to comprehensively win the elite men’s national road race title with a scintillating performance.
Watson, who had shadowed the leading groups for almost the entire race, launched his attack on the penultimate pass of the finish line, taking an elite group of favourites by surprise to roll back onto the home straight a lap later all alone to seal victory. Pre-race favourite Matthew Brennan (Team Visma – Lease a Bike) won the sprint behind for second place, where he was followed home by Ethan Vernon (Israel – Premier Tech) in third.
The high quality level of the field showed in the early stages of the race, with a number of attacks attempted by a variety of riders, however no attack really looked to have the teeth to stay away during this phase.
A turning point in the race was just before half distance, when a large crash on one of the narrow Welsh lanes caused a blockage, catching a number of riders out and forcing some to withdraw from the competition. The head of the race, containing most of the big names, pushed on ahead, unaware of what was occurring behind.
The breakaway of the day came about on the second lap of the finishing circuit, when Callum Thornley (Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe Rookies), Owain Doull (EF Education – EasyPost), Oliver Knight (Cofidis) and Jacob Bush (Development Team Picnic PostNL) broke away from the leading group, managing to maintain a gap of between 20 to 40 seconds over the following laps.
Bad luck struck Knight with two and a half laps to go, when his chain bounced and looped, leading to a lengthy mechanical stop, leaving just the trio leading at the head of the race, as the pace increased in the chasing group with the advantage dropping rapidly.
Thornley, Doull and Bush’s three lap odyssey came to an end a lap later, as the leaders finally found themselves caught and the elite group hearing the bell to signal the last lap together, including Knight, who had produced a stunning performance to regain contact with the group. It was here however, that Watson launched his endeavor.
The Yorkshireman had been inconspicuous for much of the race, remaining near the front while saving energy. He used that surplus here to sprint clear of the group along the home straight, with almost no reaction from any other members of the group allowing him to quickly gain over 20 seconds advantage.
A lack of cohesion in the group behind meant that there looked to be no real challenge to the 23 year old’s claim to the title, which proved true minutes later as he entered the finishing straight alone, with plenty of time to soak up the applause of the watching fans, crossing the line in celebration as his run of sparkling form continues.
Brennan’s second place finish provided some consolation as it meant he took home the U23 title, ahead of Thornley in second and Alex Beldon (MUC-OFF-SRCT-STORCK), whose bronze medal is a magnificent achievement for the National Club level rider competing against some of the finest U23 talent in the country.
Speaking after his victory, Sam Watson said:
“It’s pretty unbelievable to be honest, I’m over the moon. It’s a bit of a dream, I’ve always wanted the bands on my sleeves for the rest of my career, and to have at least one year in the national champions jersey is an incredible feeling.
“I didn’t feel good all race, probably because it was so hard and I was on the limit. That probably helped me because I was willing to lose the race to win, as soon as I had the gap, I just had to go full gas to the line. I didn’t know what the gap was, it was only at 200 metres to go that I realised I would win.”
Race Results
1. 68 Samuel Watson Ineos Grenadiers 6 4:08:02
2. 122 Matthew Brennan Team Visma – Lease a Bike * 1 6 4:08:31 +0:29
3. 71 Ethan Vernon Israel – Premier Tech 6 4:08:31 +0:29
4. 1 Ethan Hayter Soudal Quick-Step 6 4:08:31 +0:29
5. 59 Lewis Askey GROUPAMA – FDJ 6 4:08:31 +0:29
6. 96 Callum Thornley Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe Rookies * 2 6 4:08:31 +0:29
7. 28 Oliver Knight Cofidis 6 4:08:31 +0:29
8. 83 Alex Beldon MUC-OFF-SRCT-STORCK * 3 6 4:08:31 +0:29
9. 39 Jacob Bush Development Team Picnic PostNL * 4 6 4:08:31 +0:29
10. 69 Joseph Blackmore Israel – Premier Tech * 5 6 4:08:38 +0:36
