Wright Edges Askey and Swift by a Wheel for a Second British Road Title as Bäckstedt Completes a Welsh Double
Fred Wright is the British elite men's road race champion once again, the Pinarello-Q36.5 rider winning a tense three-up sprint in Aberystwyth to beat Lewis Askey and Connor Swift by no more than a wheel. It is the second national title of Wright's career, and remarkably the only two professional victories he has taken — the first having arrived back in 2023.
The race in Wales came down to a small group of the strongest survivors after a hard day of attrition on a demanding circuit. Wright, Askey and Swift broke clear of the rest, and the finish was always going to be decided on the line. Wright held his nerve in the closing metres, launching late and just edging Askey of NSN, with Swift of Netcompany-INEOS taking third in a podium of fine quality.
"It's such a special thing," Wright said afterwards, clearly moved to have added a second tricolour band to his palmarès. The win arrives at a pivotal moment in his career: the 26-year-old is preparing to join Q36.5 Pro Cycling having spent six seasons with Bahrain Victorious, and a national title is the perfect way to stamp his class on the season ahead of the Tour de France.
The women's elite road race produced a dominant champion in Zoe Bäckstedt, who completed a stellar national championships by adding the road title to her time trial crown. The Canyon//SRAM zondacrypto rider proved a class apart, finishing ahead of Josie Knight of DAS-Hutchinson in second and Millie Couzens of Fenix-Premier Tech in third.
For Bäckstedt, the road-and-time-trial double underlines her status as the standout British rider of her generation, and her victory in front of home crowds in Wales carried obvious emotional weight. Earlier in the championships she had also led an all-Welsh sweep in the time trial alongside Anna Morris and her sister Elynor, capping a memorable week for the Bäckstedt family on home roads.
The British titles add to a frantic weekend of national championships across Europe, with new road champions crowned in France, Belgium and the Netherlands on the same day. For the British contingent heading to the Tour de France, the timing is ideal: Wright in particular will arrive in Barcelona in the colours of national champion, hunting the breakaway stage win that has so far eluded him at the highest level.