National Road Championship 2014 courses announced

The courses for the 2014 National Road Championships were annnounced today by British Cycling.

The races will take place in Monmouthshire on June 26-29 on rural South Wales roads out of Abergavenny, just as they did when the town hosted the event in 2009.

Then, the men’s race was won by Kristian House of Rapha-Condor, the last time a rider not on a World Tour team took the title of national champion.

The 2014 title could end up the hands of a more familiar face though, as Tour de France winners Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome are expected to compete alongside current national road race champion Mark Cavendish.

The allure of wearing the national champion’s jersey on home soil when the Tour de France visits the UK in July will surely see all three gunning for the win.

The men’s route will cover a 116 mile circuit south-bound out of Abergavenny toward the coast, along to Chepstow before heading back up to Monmouth and back west to finish where it began.

The women's race will also see some famous faces, with both Lizzie Armistead and current time-trial champion Joanna Rowsell expected to race on the 63-mile route.

The course that the women will follow differs from the men's early on as the race heads down to Usk, before heading to Monmouth from there. At Monmouth the women's route rejoins the men's on the way back into Abergavenny.

The time trial will take place on a 20km circuit inside the grounds of the Celtic Manor Resort. The women will take the course as-is, while the men will cover the circuit twice.

Further information on the race can be found on British Cycling's website.