Ethan Hayter flew to a resounding victory in the elite men’s time trial at the British National Road Championships in West Wales, taking the honours with a time of 54:08 across the 41 kilometre course near Aberaeron.
Known for his time trial prowess, the Soudal Quick-Step rider went into the race as the favourite for the win and didn’t disappoint, touching an average speed of 45 kmph for much of his effort. Sam Watson (Ineos Grenadiers) took second, more than 20 seconds down on Hayter, with Oliver Knight (Cofidis) completing the podium in third. Ethan Vernon (Israel-Premier Tech) and Max Walker (EF Education-EasyPost) rounded out the top five.
Callum Thornley (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe Rookies) took the under 32 men’s title earlier on in the day, beating Ben Wiggins of Hagens Berman Jayco CT 21 seconds ahead of Elliot Rowe (Visma-Lease a Bike) in third.
Matthew Rossiter of George Fox Cycling Solutions was the man in the hot seat for much of the afternoon in the elite men’s field, setting a time of 56:57 at the finish after ripping through the course with an average speed of 43.41. But that was soon toppled once the handful of WorldTour and ProTour professionals got out on the west Wales roads.
Visma-Lease a Bike’s young sensation Matthew Brennan toppled his namesake, although that didn’t last long when Connor Swift (Ineos Grenadiers) and Oliver Knight (Cofidis) came through the finish, with the latter then in the top spot with a time of 54:55, but the leaderboard was turned upside down once more when Swift’s Ineos teammate, Sam Watson, came across the line in 54:37 to move in front of Knight.
Hayter then stole the show. Watson had gone through the second time check in warp speed, setting a time of 35:15 on his way to the finish - but Hayter then stopped the clock almost 30 seconds quicker than the Yorkshireman. There was no relenting from Hayter and he thundered to the finish to add a fourth national title to his collection.
Speaking afterwards, the Londoner said: "I went quite aggressive through the first lap, maybe a bit too much, and suffered to be honest during the second half of the race. I managed to recover a bit and then squeeze it out to the finish and hold on. It’s really nice to win this."
Hayter will now look to defend his road race title, won last year in North Yorkshire, on Sunday, a race which he explained suits his attributes. "I think it does, but there's so many good riders so it can be a bit of a lottery sometimes here at the national championships. I’m here without teammates or anything like that but I’ll give it my best and can celebrate this."
Results
British National Road Championships 2025 - elite men’s itt (44 km)
1. Ethan Hayter (Soudal Quick-Step) 54.08.98
2. Sam Watson (Ineos Grenadiers, +28.33s
3. Oliver Knight (Cofidis), +46.15s
4. Ethan Vernon (Israel-Premier Tech), +1.00.26
5. Max Walker (EF Education-EasyPost), +1.00.27
6. Connor Swift (Ineos Grenadiers), +1:02.11
7. Matthew Brennan (Visma-Lease a Bike), +2:48.27
8. Joshua Giddings (Lotto), +3:13.33
9. Matthew Rossiter (George Fox Cycling Solutions), +3:42.62
10. Harrison Wood (Sabgal/Anicolor), +3:54.50
