Who are the new national road race champions?

Every summer riders return to their home nations to compete for the honour of racing in their national colours for the next calendar year.

The middle of last week saw the time triallists go head-to-head in their respective National Championships, with the road races following over the weekend. 

Team tactics often go out of the window in Nationals and the races become attritional, hard-fought affairs. As such we generally see a number of surprise winners in the elite men's and women's races.

In the British National Championships, 19-year-old Alice Towers took an unexpected victory in the women's race in Scotland, beating defending champion Pfeiffer Georgi to the crown. In the men's race it was a veteran winner, as Mark Cavendish used all of his tactical nous to take a second career national road title.

>>> Tour de France 2022 start list: The confirmed riders for this year’s race

Elsewhere there were some less surprising results. Peter Sagan rode to an eighth Slovakian national title with ease, while Mavi García took a third consecutive victory in the women's Spanish National Championships.

Of course many riders in the men’s peloton opt not to compete in their national competitions because of their proximity to the upcoming Tour de France. In Slovenia for instance, the country’s three most prominent riders, Tadej Pogačar, Primož Roglič, and defending champion Matej Mohorič, all missed the race in order to prepare for the Tour, leaving the door open for 35-year-old Kristijan Koren to claim victory.

With so many events happening over the weekend it can be difficult to keep track, so here’s a guide to who will be donning their national jersey over the next year.

Great Britain

Men's winner: Mark Cavendish (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl)
Women's winner: Alice Towers (Le Col-Wahoo)

Belgium

Men's winner: Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Fenix)
Women's winner: Kim de Baat (Plantur-Pura)

Denmark

Men's winner: Alexander Kamp (Trek-Segafredo)
Women's winner: Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitaine Futuroscope)

Slovenia

Men's winner: Kristijan Koren (Adria Mobil)
Women's winner: Eugenia Bujak (UAE Team ADQ)

Italy

Men's winner: Filippo Zana (Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè
Women's winner: Elisa Balsamo (Trek-Segafredo)

Netherlands

Men's winner: Pascal Eenkhoorn (Jumbo-Visma)
Women's winner: Riejanne Markus (Jumbo-Visma)

Colombia

Men's winner: Sergio Higuita (Bora-Hansgrohe)
Women's winner: Lina Marcela Hernández (Colombia Tierra de Atletas - GW - Shimano)

Norway

Men's winner: Rasmus Tiller (UNO-X Pro Cycling Team)
Women's winner: Malin Eriksen

France

Men's winner: Florian Sénéchal (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl)
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: Kyle Murphy (Human Powered Health)
Women's winner: Emma Langley (EF-Education-Tibco-SVB)

Brazil

Men's winner: Vinicius Rangel Costa (Movistar)

Sweden

Men's winner: Lucas Eriksson (Riwal Cycling Team)
Women's winner: Jenny Risveds

Canada

Men's winner: Pier-André Coté (Human Powered Health)
Women's winner: Maggie Coles-Lyster (DNA Pro Cycling)

Czech Republic

Men's winner: Matěj Zahálka (Elkov-Kasper)
Women's winner: Tereza Neumanova (Liv Racing Xstra)

Switzerland

Men's winner: Robin Froidevaux (Tudor Pro Cycling)
Women's winner: Caroline Baur (Roland Cogeas Edelweiss Squad)

Estonia

Men's winner: Mihkel Raïm (Burgos-BH)
Women's winner: Ann-Christine Allik

Kazakhstan

Men's winner: Yevgeniy Gidich (Astana Qazaqstan Team)
Women's winner: Rinata Sultanova

Ireland

Men's winner: Rory Townsend (Wiv Sungod)
Women's winner: Alice Sharpe (IBCT)

Slovakia

Men's winner: Peter Sagan (Team TotalEnergies)
Women's winner: Nora Jenčušová (Bepink)

Poland

Men's winner: Norbert Banaszek (HRE Mazowsze Serce Polski)
Women's winner: Wiktoria Pikulik (ATOM Deweloper Posciellux.pl Wrocław)

Spain

Men's winner: Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos Grenadiers)
Women's winner: Mavi García (Movistar)

Eritrea

Men's winner: Merhawi Kudus (EF Education First-EasyPost)
Women's winner: Monalisa Araya

Israel

Men's winner: Itamar Einhorn (Israel-Premier Tech)
Women's winner: Omer Shapira (EF Education-TIBCO-SVB)

Latvia

Men's winner: Orluis Aular (Trek-Segafredo)
Women's winner: Anastasia Carbonari (Valcar - Travel & Service)

Japan

Men's winner: Yukiya Arashiro (Bahrain-Victorious)

Azerbaijan

Men's winner: Elchin Asadov (Sakarya BB Pro Team)

Venezuela

Men's winner: Orluis Aular (Caja Rural - Seguros RGA)
Women's winner: Lilibeth Chacón

Costa Rica

Men's winner: Jason Huertas
Women's winner: Krissia Araya

Lithuania

Women's winner: Daniela Campos (Bizkaia-Durango)

Luxembourg

Men's winner: Colin Heiderscheid (Leopard Pro Cycling
Women's winner: Christine Majerus (Team SD Worx)

Turkey

Men's winner: Mustafa Sayar (Sakarya BB Pro Team)
Women's winner: Azize Bekar