The season is racing away with the first of our National Championships taking place on Sunday in the Hemel Hempstead CC promotion at Cranfield, Bedfordshire, it is also the sixth and last leg of the Knight Composites TT Series. Despite having a full road racing programme with Team WNT Pro Cycling, abroad and at home, Hayley Simmonds has claimed the Women’s Series winning three rounds and finishing second to her WNT Pro Cycling team mate, World and Olympic Champion Katie Archibald in round five, the Circuit of Greystoke Forest.

Simmonds is last away of the women at 10am chasing Bronwen Ewing (Rye & District Wheelers), who was seventh in the 2015 Championship at the same venue, and Alice Lethbridge (Drag2Zero), who was runner up to Julia Shaw in the 2016 title race. Others to watch for include Helen McKay (Les Filles RT) and Maryka Sennema (Fusion RT Fierlan), most of the riders from Storey Racing (!) and Louise Scupham (Team Jadan-Weldtite), now moved up from the Junior ranks to the Espoirs.

Ryan Perry (Team Raleigh GAC) defends his 2016 title ahead of Matthew Smith (Team Bottrill-HSS Hire), who finished just six seconds behind Perry in 2016. Brett Harwood (Team Bottrill-HSS Hire), Kevin Tye (VeloRefined Aerosmiths), Danny Axford (Arctic Tacx RT) and Dan Bigham (Brother NRG Pro Cycling) who was part of the competition 10 record breaking team on Wednesday are some of the other well known names listed.

The Juniors  include Joe Laverick (Banks-Catford CC Equipe), the GHS 10-mile time trial 2016 Champion and Lauren Dolan (Liv CC-Epic Coaching), the girls 2016 Champion. Two Paracyclists compete, Jamie Harding (Royal Dean Forest CC) and Graeme Church (Team Milton Keynes).

The Veterans include Peter Nicholls (Race Hub), overall winner of that category in the Knight Composites TT Series, and Jackie Field (CC Ashwell), who took the Women’s Vets Series.

All riders face two laps of a 10.2-mile circuit. Event HQ is at Cranfied University Sport Hall, College Road, Cranfield, Beds, MK43 0AL.