Thursday, 25th June - Time Trials - Lampeter
A Time Trial is a race against the clock where riders race around a set course with the winner being the rider with the lowest time.
A new time-trial course this year sees riders make their way to the beautiful market town of Lampeter. Starting not far from the University of Wales, Lampeter campus, the new course consists of a circuit that takes in the green fields and picturesque hills of the surrounding area.
Rolling roads, reaching a max gradient of 4.9%, greet riders who will look to get into their rhythm as they travel out of Lampeter towards the village of Llanfair Clydogau. Passing the village hall, riders will return back towards Lampeter, passing Cellan and the outskirts of Cwmann, before finishing as they cross Afon Teifi, providing an excellent test for riders.
The elite women, under-23 women and under-23 men will complete two laps to give a race distance of 25.6km, and the elite men’s field will be tested over three laps for a total distance of 38.4km.
Event start times:
U23 Men: 09:00
Elite Women: 10:45
U23 Women: 13:40
Elite Men: 14:50
Estimate end time: 17:00
Friday, 26th June - Circuit Championships- Aberystwyth
On the evening of Friday 26 June, the circuit championships will take centre stage in Aberystwyth.
The course will be on the same circuit used in 2025, starting on the iconic seafront before taking to the town centre streets for a course full of technical twists and turns, disrupting the rhythm of the race.
The circuit races are around Aberystwyth town centre on Friday night and will be spectacular to watch as the riders race to be the first to cross the finish line on Aberystwyth promenade.
The competitors and their team cars will be located on north promenade where you can watch the riders warming up in preparation for the racing. They will make their way along the promenade to the Bandstand where they will formally sign on.
The will be approximately 70 cyclists will undertake 5 laps along a new anticlockwise course of 1.6 km around the streets of Aberystwyth town centre. From the start on the Promenade, the race will take a left turn into Pier Street to the top of Great Darkgate Street before turning back towards the sea, switching into Portland Street and Queens Road (Morfa Mawr) returning to Victoria Terrace and the finish line.
The cyclists will be passing the Bandstand on the Promenade on each lap. The final stretch of the last lap is usually fast and furious!
Racing starts with the Women's races at 6.15pm, followed by the open competition at 8pm, so come along early, explore the town centre, browse the Ceredigion expo by the bandstand and enjoy a snack, an ice cream or coffee before the racing starts.
.
Sunday 29th June - Lloyds National Road Racing Championships Aberystwyth
Riders who competed in 2025 will once again feel a sense of familiarity with a similar route around Aberystwyth. After a processional start on the seafront, the road races will head out of town towards Llanfarian as far as Trawsgoed on a picturesque yet testing 23.4km anticlockwise loop, before heading back towards Aberystwyth passing Y Gors. The peloton will be challenged across three laps for the women's race and five laps in the men’s race, before action moves onto the finishing circuit.
The finishing circuit of 12.4km - four full laps for the women’s and five full laps for the men’s race - use the start and finish point on the seafront as its central focus, running along almost the entirety of the promenade, past the old college and the castle grounds, before a technical section through the old harbour that loops out over Trefechan bridge.
Such is the testing nature of the course; there is a maximum gradient of 8.7% through Southgate to be tackled each lap. The narrow technical descent from Moriah back to the main A44 will be a test of bike handling skills as the riders reach the final few kilometres of each championship. From there, the race heads back into the town before concluding on the seafront promenade after 128km for the women and 187km for the men.
Event start times:
Elite/U23 Women: 08:45
Elite/U23 Open: 13:45
The riders come through the finish line on Aberystwyth promenade at the end of each lap and will be needing some cheering!
