The Cheshire countryside is the location for the National 25-Mile Championship this weekend, with the top riders gathering for the blue ribband event in the time trialling calendar.

Manchester Bicycle Club are the hosts of the event which uses the J2/21 course, just the second time it has been used for an open time trial.

New course records are expected to be set as top names battle it out for glory on roads between Chelford, Holmes Chapel and Congleton.

The women and juniors’ event takes place on Saturday afternoon, and a thrilling battle is expected between reigning champion Kate Allan (Team Bottrill) and national competition record holder Hayley Simmonds (Doltcini O’Shea Cycle Division).

National ranking system provider Spindata has the pair down to be less than a minute apart with Allan tipped to win, but in reality anything can happen and there are plenty of other riders capable of causing an upset such as Alex Clay and Emily Martin (both Team Bottrill) and Laura Davies (Jadan Vive le Velo).

Sunday sees the open event take place, and HUUB WattShop’s John Archibald is tipped by Spindata to add the National 25 crown to his win at the National 100 last month.

They reckon he will clock around 48-09 and win by 1-24 from Josh Charlton (Hetton Hawks CC) with Adam Duggleby (ADDFORM Vive le Velo) also in the mix having placed second in last year’s title race.

Others to watch for include Team Bottrill trio Jake Sargent, Rob Francis and Josh Williams as they target the team prize too, while James Jenkins (Hart Performance Coaching) and Michael Gill (HUUB WattShop) could also be in with a chance of the podium.

Elsewhere there are a pair of hill-climbs in the North East, with Muckle CC hosting a climb on Friday evening on the same course as the national championships later in the year. Then on Sunday it’s the Zurbaran Racing climb, with defending national champion Andrew Feather (HuntBikeWheels.com) down to ride.

Friday’s event uses the Dipton Mill Road climb in Hexham sees Andy Cunningham (Ilkley CC) expected to take the win, while others to watch for include Nick Munro (Outlands), David Fellows (Solihull CC) and Marcus Cram (Muckle CC).

Sunday’s climb is on the Unthank Bank climb in County Durham with Feather being joined there by Cunningham, Fellows and Cram who are all looking for a weekend double.

Elevate RT rider Ellen Reynolds and Madeleine Bell (Musselburgh RCC) are tipped to be top females in the Zurbaran Racing event, while Bell also rides on Friday night when she will have competition from Rachel Galler (Saint Piran).

Saturday’s other events include the Finsbury Park CC 25 in Cambridgeshire where Louise Robinson (Shaftesbury CC), Kim Barfoot-Brace (Team Bottrill) and Hannah O’Brien (Loose Cannon’s Conditioning) are expected to battle for the ladies’ podium.

Drag2zero rider Matthew Smith and Liam Maybank (Twickenham CC) are expected to be among the fastest in the open category, along with Team Ohten Aveas team-mates Andy Critchlow and Richard Oakes, Matt O’Brien (Loose Cannon’s Conditioning) and Sam Mcdonald (St Neots CC).

Tickhill Velo host a 10-mile event on Saturday near Hatfield Woodhouse in South Yorkshire, while in Northamptonshire it’s the penultimate round of the Northampton and District CA Series on a 10-mile course near Rothwell.

On Sunday it’s the Welsh 10-Mile Championships organised by Pontypool RCC, with junior talents Finlay Tarling (Team Bottrill) and Dylan Sage (Evolution Racing Academy) expected to dominate.

Tarling broke the junior course record two weeks ago, and will be aiming to go even faster this time.

AeroCoach rider Jessica Rhodes-Jones is tipped for glory in the women’s event, while Kim Barfoot-Brace (Team Bottrill) also rides.

Elsewhere Shropshire CCA are holding a four-up 50-kilometre team time trial near Hodnet, while in Norfolk it’s the Diss and District CC 25.

West Kent Road Club are holding a 25 near Molash in Kent, while Chichester City Riders’ 10 is taking place near Fontwell and just down the road it’s the Team TMC 10 near Washington.

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