THE SHOWDOWNS FOR NATIONAL HONOURS

It’s that special and unique week on the calendar when professional racing pauses for an important reason: National Championships. Across Europe, Africa, and Asia, many nations will crown their champions in the time trial and road race disciplines. Perhaps most significantly, the winners will earn the honour of wearing their national colours until the next championship rolls around.

For 2025, CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto will see fifteen riders competing across six nations and two continents. In Rwanda, Diane Ingabire aims to defend both her time trial and road race titles, while in Uganda, Florence Nakagwa hopes to build on her 2024 time trial victory. Unfortunately, Selam Amha Gerefiel won’t be lining up to defend her eye-catching Ethiopian road race champion’s jersey.

As a German-registered team with deep roots in the country, it’s no surprise that the German National Championships will have the biggest team turnout, with six riders competing. This year’s edition holds extra significance: the event is organised by the father of Jule Märkl, and the road race course cuts directly through her hometown. 

“I’m really happy that I’m not at home at the moment because I think there’s a lot of stress going on in this house – I think my whole family is involved now! Everybody needs to help, and the place where it is, Linden, is a really small village, so everybody there also needs to help,” Jule jokes.

“But for me, it’s really exciting because I’ve known the roads since I was a little child. I train there all the time. The course is really hard. To win, you have to be really strong, but I think we have some people in the team who are favourites, so let’s hope for a good result for us. Maybe some riders are scared of the elevation and take it easy in the first laps, but I think it’ll be hard from the start.”

Saturday’s road race features six laps totalling 118.6 kilometres, climbing more than 2100m. It’s a flowing loop of constant effort, either up or down, with no real recovery.

“There are three climbs on the circuit. They come right after each other, and two of them are really steep. The biggest or the worst, or maybe the most beautiful, depending on what type of rider you are – is straight after the finish line. It hits 12% in some parts. At the top, it’s open and windy, and then there’s a small technical descent through my village. I’ve done it so many times, and I’ve already said my goal is to take the Strava QOM after the race… the road will be closed, and I can go full gas!”

As for her non-Strava race ambitions…

“It would be really nice if I could get in a breakaway and show myself a bit. I don’t think I’m strong enough to finish right at the front, but we have other riders for that. To show myself for my family and everyone supporting me, that would mean a lot. The same for Joëlle, who’s also local, ”

Before Saturday’s road race, Thursday’s 22.5km time trial unfolds over a single loop that meanders through villages and urban patches. Total elevation gain is 300m, two-thirds of which comes in the first 8km. The final 7km flattens out but features plenty of corners to keep things interesting.

“The start is more uphill than downhill. There’s a 3km climb that gets steeper as you go. The last 1.5km is on a narrow bike-only road that’s even steeper. After that, there are some technical descents with speed bumps – so no real chance to rest. It’s not a typical TT course; you could also do a road race on it. You need a solid pacing strategy to know where to push.”

Moving eastwards to the Polish National Championships, a major highlight for the team, and for Polish fans, is the return of Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney to the event. Having last competed in 2016, where she won both the time trial and road race, she returns nine years later with an invaluable ally in Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka. Ironically, Agnieszka has competed every year since Kasia’s last appearance, winning the time trial in both 2022 and 2023. This year, both riders will compete on familiar roads near their southern Polish hometowns, nestled close to the mountainous Slovakian border – adding extra motivation in the hunt for the coveted eagle jersey. Further advantage can be found in the team car, with four-time Polish Road Race Champion, Gosia Jasinska, most recently in 2018, calling the shots from the team car.

The time trial is a straightforward 27.9km out-and-back course, but the road race is anything but. It consists of two laps totaling 135km and over 2800m of climbing, featuring relentless steep pinches with no flat sections in sight. The second half of each lap descends overall, with the final 2km climb before this tipping point including 500m at a steep 12%. From there, riders roll 27km back toward the lakeside host town of Dobczyce, where a final 700m climb averaging 7% leads to the line.

Another strong prospect for the team lies with Zoe Bäckstedt in the individual time trial at the British National Championships. The race is centred around Aberaeron on the Irish Sea, with a constantly rolling two-lap course offering a bit of everything: narrow lanes, wide open roads, tight bends, and a punishing 500m ramp at 15%. Zoe will then team up with Generation rider Awen Roberts for the road race. The two Welshwomen will surely feel an extra boost racing on home roads as they take on a 130km road race composed of two sinuous circuits, where open, animated racing is expected. While there are significant uphill sections totaling 1900m in elevation gain, it’s hard to say whether the gradients will be truly decisive.

And how could we forget our resident Italians – Chiara Consonni, Valentina Corvi and Soraya Paladin? The Italian National Championships are always stacked with talent and fiercely contested, making it one of the most coveted and cherished jerseys in the peloton. This year’s course, centred around Darfo Boario Terme amongst Lombardia’s mountains, brings opportunities. After a gradual 4km climb with less than 40km to go, the race concludes with a fast, technical finishing circuit and a short, punchy ascent – a combination that should suit the strengths of all three.

For Valentina, it’s effectively her second-ever road race. Her debut, at Festival Elsy Jacobs in early May, ended in misfortune when she crashed heavily in the latter part of stage one, fracturing her collarbone and requiring surgery. Remarkably, her comeback race was none other than the UCI Val di Sole Mountain Bike World Cup last weekend, where she claimed her first-ever World Cup win in the cross-country. An extraordinary result, especially following such a challenging few weeks.

Safe to say, it’s a packed week of racing! Here’s a full list of who we’ve got on the various start lines.

OUR RIDERS

Germany – Fri (TT), Sat (RR)
• Ricarda Bauernfeind – RR only
• Justyna Czapla – TT + RR
• Rosa Klöser – TT + RR
• Jule Märkl – TT + RR
• Joëlle Messemer – TT + RR
• Antonia Niedermaier – TT + RR

Poland – Thu (TT), Sat (RR)
• Kasia Niewiadoma – TT + RR
• Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka – TT + RR

Great Britain – Thu (TT), Sun (RR)
• Zoe Bäckstedt – TT + RR
• Awen Roberts – TT 

Italy – Sat (RR)
• Chiara Consonni
• Valentina Corvi
• Soraya Paladin

Rwanda – Sat (TT), Sun (RR)
• Diane Ingabire – TT + RR

Uganda – Sat (TT), Sun (RR)
• Florence Nakagwa – TT + RR