A battle for the 2023 British National Time Trial Champion’s jersey

Wednesday 21st June 2023 saw Britain’s elite women cyclists take to the roads of Darlington to battle it out for the British National Time Trial Champion’s jersey.

The British National Time Trial Championships for cycling are held annually. The winners of each event are awarded with a symbolic white cycling jersey featuring blue and red stripes, which can be worn by the rider at other time trial events in the country to show their status as national champion. The champion’s stripes can be combined into a sponsored rider’s team kit design for this purpose.

Hayley Simmonds (AWOL O’Shea) set the early pace with a time of 38 minutes and 12 seconds around the 27.4km course. However, her time in the hot seat was short-lived once the favourites took to the course. The lead changed hands several times before the end of the race, but Lizzie Holden (UAE Team ADQ) took home the British Champion’s jersey for 2023 with a time of 37 minutes and 2 seconds, with Anna Morris (WardPerformanceUK.com) finishing 12 seconds behind the leader, and Elinor Barker MBE (Uno-X Pro Cycling Team) settling for the third step on the podium.

Speaking after her win, Lizzie Holden said:

“It feels really special. I always looked up to those in the national jersey, and I guess now I have one of my own. It doesn’t feel real yet. This was something I wanted to aim for because I’ve been close before, but part of me was like I don’t know if I can actually do it. I just did what I could do and thankfully it paid off.”

See below the photos from the event.

Britain’s Elite women cyclists

Britain’s Under 23’s women’s cyclists

In the Under 23s race, Madeleine Leech (Lifeplus Wahoo) was victorious, one minute ahead of second place Lucy Gadd (Stade Rochelais Charente-Maritime), and Flora Perkins (Fenix-Deceuninck Development Team) clinched third place.

After winning, Madeleine Leech said:

“It’s really nice to have won the title. I just gave everything I had left and yeah, I felt strong in the last half, so I just kept squeezing, and it paid off.