National Championships week: Here's the full schedule and big names chasing jerseys before the Tour
CyclingWednesday, 24 June 2026 at 11:43
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Follow us on GoogleNational championships week has arrived, and there is a lot of racing to get your head around. Two of the biggest cycling nations have already crowned their new National Champions. In Australia, back in January, Jay Vine and Patrick Eddy took the men's time trial and road race titles, with Felicity Wilson-Haffenden and Mackenzie Coupland winning the women's. Last weekend the United States followed, as Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) soloed to a third elite road title in Charleston and Kate Courtney sprang a surprise in the women's race. Now seven more nations crown their champions this week, all under the shadow of the looming Tour de France. IDL Pro Cycling brings you the who, where, and when of this week’s National Championship races.
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We will update all the major National Champioship results as they come in throughout the week. Keep and eye on the results article below for all the details
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2026 British Cycling Championships
The Lloyds National Road Championships are back in Ceredigion, Wales, with the time trials in Lampeter and the road races finishing on the Aberystwyth seafront.
Men's road race
Sunday 28 June, Aberystwyth (187km). Start time to be confirmed. Sam Watson (Netcompany-Ineos) defends his jersey against a strong field that includes breakout sprinter Matthew Brennan (Visma-Lease a Bike), brothers Ben and Connor Swift (Netcompany-Ineos), Owain Doull (Visma-Lease a Bike), Fred Wright (Pinarello Q36.5) and Joe Blackmore (NSN Cycling).
Men's time trial
Thursday 25 June, Lampeter (38.4km). Start time to be confirmed. Ethan Hayter (Soudal-Quick Step) chases a third straight title against the clock.
Women's road race
Sunday 28 June, Aberystwyth (128km). Start time to be confirmed. Millie Couzens (Fenix-Premier Tech) defends, with Pfeiffer Georgi (Team Picnic PostNL), Cat Ferguson and Imogen Wolff (Visma-Lease a Bike) among the challengers.
Women's time trial
Thursday 25 June, Lampeter (25.6km). Start time to be confirmed. Welsh star Zoe Bäckstedt (Canyon-SRAM) defends on home roads after a strong Tour de Suisse, including a dominant stage win and runner up spot in the TT.
2026 Canadian Cycling championships
The maple-leaf jerseys are decided in St-Georges, Quebec, hosted by the Grand Prix Cycliste de Beauce.
Men's road race
Friday 26 June, St-Georges. Start time to be confirmed. Derek Gee-West (Lidl-Trek) returns as defending champion after winning his first national road title in 2025, fresh from fourth overall at the Giro d'Italia.
Men's time trial
Thursday 25 June, St-Georges. Start time to be confirmed. Gee-West, a strong time trialist, is among the names to watch for the title.
Women's road race
Saturday 27 June, St-Georges. Start time to be confirmed. Alison Jackson (EF Education-Oatly) defends the title she won with a solo move last year.
Women's time trial
Thursday 25 June, St-Georges. Start time to be confirmed.
France
France crowns its champions in Les Vals du Dauphiné, around La Tour-du-Pin in the Isère, a week before the Tour.
Men's road race
Sunday 28 June, La Tour-du-Pin (241.8km, around 3,400m of climbing). Start from 11:15, live coverage from 15:15. Dorian Godon defends, though Julian Alaphilippe is reported to be skipping to focus on the Tour de France, and several other Tour-bound riders may follow suit. This opens doors for the likes of David Gaudu or Romain Grégoire (both Groupama-FDJ United). Kévin Vauquelin of Netcompany-Ineos was recently ruled out of the race.
Men's time trial
Thursday 25 June, Aoste to La Tour-du-Pin (29.7km), men's start from 15:10. A rolling course with more than 400m of climbing that should suit the all-rounders rather than the pure power men.
Women's road race
Saturday 27 June (111.4km), live coverage from 14:00. Marie Le Net defends, with Cédrine Kerbaol and Juliette Labous among the contenders on a demanding course.
Women's time trial
Thursday 25 June, same Aoste–La Tour-du-Pin course (29.7km), women's start from 13:02.
2026 Italian Cycling Championships
Italy keeps its split-venue format, with the men racing in Piedmont and the women in Friuli Venezia Giulia.
Men's road race
Saturday 27 June, Asti to Cuneo (232km, around 2,500m of climbing). Start time to be confirmed. Club-level rider Filippo Conca pulled off a stunning win in 2025, so the tricolore has spent a year outside the WorldTour; sprinter Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) is among the favourites to bring it back, but the race looks wide open.
Men's time trial
Thursday 25 June, Vicoforte to Barolo (40km). Start time to be confirmed. Filippo Ganna (Netcompany-Ineos) is the overwhelming favourite, with Matteo Sobrero (Lidl-Trek), Mattia Cattaneo and Edoardo Affini among the chasers.
Women's road race
Sunday 28 June (Friuli Venezia Giulia). Start time to be confirmed. Italy's leading women, names such as Elisa Longo Borghini and Elisa Balsamo, are the ones to watch if they line up. Balsamo won multiple stages at the Giro d'Italia Women and Longo Borghini came very close to the overall at the Tour de Suisse Women last week. Both are clearly in stellar form.
Women's time trial
Date to be confirmed. The women's elite time trial has been postponed from the original 24–25 June slot, with a new date yet to be announced.
2026 Spanish Cycling Championships
Spain heads to Sabiñánigo, in the Huesca Pyrenees, for a mountainous edition.
Men's road race
Sunday 28 June (211km, around 3,160m of climbing). Start from 09:59. Iván Romeo (Movistar) defends. Whether Spain's Tour-bound stars appear is the big question: Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek), Enric Mas (Movistar), Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Carlos Rodríguez (Netcompany-Ineos) would all relish a climbers' course, but several may prioritise the Tour.
Men's time trial
Thursday 25 June (30.8km), start from 17:00. Abel Balderstone defends, with Romeo, a world-class time trialist, among the favourites to take it back.
Women's road race
Saturday 27 June (129.7km), start from 09:48. Sara Martín defends, with Mavi García among the established names in the field.
Women's time trial
Thursday 25 June (18.6km), start from 12:00.
Lotte Kopecky in the Belgian National jersey
2026 Belgian Cycling Championships
Belgium's titles are split between the Maarkedal time trials and the Brasschaat road races, a century on from the 1926 edition in the same town.
Men's road race
Sunday 28 June, start in Antwerp from 12:45, finishing in Brasschaat after a long loop and five finishing laps. On a flat course, this is one for the fast men: Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step), Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech) — fresh from overall victory at the Baloise Belgium Tour — and Arnaud De Lie (Lotto). Defending champion Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) is expected to save himself for the Tour, Wout van Aert is out injured, and Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) is pursuing a somewhat controversial 'no race' Tour de France preparation.
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Men's time trial
Friday 26 June, Maarkedal (two laps, around 400m of climbing). Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) is the defending champion, but will not line up for the TT. Who will take the Belgian bands?
Women's road race
Sunday 28 June, Brasschaat. Start time to be confirmed. Justine Ghekiere (AG Insurance-Soudal) defends, with Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) made an announcement this week that her pre-Tour de France Femmes route will go through the Belgian National Championships. She is the overwhelming favourite to win the jersey again.
Women's time trial
Friday 26 June, Maarkedal (one lap). Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) also lines up in the time trial in preparation for the Tour de France.
2026 Dutch Cycling Championships
The Dutch decide their road titles in Nijmegen and Berg en Dal, with the time trials held earlier in the week in Laren.
Men's road race
Sunday 28 June, Nijmegen (160.5km, around 2,670m of climbing). Unusually early start from 09:30 on the Grote Markt, finishing around 13:30, with live coverage from 11:30. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) skips again, tilting the hilly race towards the likes of Olav Kooij and Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco AlUla); Danny van Poppel defends his title.
Men's time trial
Wednesday 24 June, Laren (36km). Start time to be confirmed. The title is wide open with two-time champion Daan Hoole absent this year.
Wiebes won the first stage of the Giro, but was subsequently disqualified.
Women's road race
Sunday 28 June, Nijmegen (117.7km, around 1,837m of climbing). Start from 14:15, finishing around 17:45, with live coverage from 15:30. Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime) defends the jersey, with Demi Vollering (FDJ-SUEZ) and Riejanne Markus among the contenders on a climbing-heavy circuit.
Women's time trial
Wednesday 24 June, Laren (36km). Start time to be confirmed. Mischa Bredewold defends her title.
By Sunday evening, a fresh set of champions will be pulling on their national jerseys — and a handful will carry them straight into the Tour de France. Keep an eye on our official results page for all the winners as they come in. Link below 👇
David Bavin-HobbsChief Editor
David has been working in the sports & cycling industry for 16 years. Covering racing, business and technology, he has worked in communications for cycling companies, teams, and as a journalist. His proudest achievement is winning the first bike race he ever entered. He hasn't won a race since.
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Latest Comments
- - Increíble actuación de Bosoni. Ritmo brutal y cabeza fría. Respeto total.samanthak24-06-2026
- - Love the metabolic angle in this piece. Long efforts ≠ carb-only. Fats + constant nibbling + gels in surges is spot on. Peanut butter and Haribo is basically ultra diesel fuel.pedalpowe2924-06-2026
- - Sorry if dumb Q: how do minimum time limits work? He got DQ’d from NorthCape4000 for being too fast—why set a floor time in the first place?cyclechamp4524-06-2026
- - That passport saga at TCR in 2024 and then winning the 2025 edition by a mile tells you his resilience is off the charts. Also, the Traka 560 day-crusher… finishing before others even arrived? Ridiculous.breakawaybikerd24-06-2026
- - Sleeping at a Marriott during TD is hilarious and genius. Everyone thinks it’s all bivvy bags and gas stations, but consistent REM and proper recovery = free watts. He’s basically turned sleep into a time gain.jennifer1924-06-2026
- - Ten Dam calling him an “ultra-god” might be a bit much. Great ride, but the course and conditions change year to year—comparing directly to Gemperle’s 2025 time isn’t apples-to-apples. Would love more detail on wind and trail conditions this edition.andrewf24-06-2026
- - Question: why would a gravel bike be faster than a mountain bike on the Tour Divide? Isn’t the terrain super rough? Also, how did he deal with flats or suspension issues without a fork?sprocketspiny24-06-2026
- - Absolutely immense ride from Bosoni. Averaging ~400 km/day on the Divide with 5–6 hours sleep, on a gravel bike no less, is bonkers. The way he front-loaded calories (PB jars + gels) and still kept the engine purring late shows he’s nailed the modern ultra formula.bikebuffj24-06-2026
- - Pogacar imparabile. Se continua così, maglia gialla quasi sicura.cyclechamp4524-06-2026
- - Superb read, cheers. The Doetinchem club race comparison is brutal and honest. You can tell these guys are pros and still feel like weekend warriors when Pog opens the throttle.breakawaybikerd24-06-2026
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