Olympic and Paralympic Medallists to ride for National Champions’ Jerseys In Newport

Olympic, Paralympic and world championship medallists will go head-to-head for the coveted national champions’ jerseys next weekend (3-6 March), as the 2022 British National Track Championships heads to the Geraint Thomas National Velodrome of Wales in Newport.

Tokyo heroes Lora Fachie (individual pursuit gold), Jack Carlin (team sprint silver, sprint bronze), Sophie Unwin (road race silver, individual pursuit bronze), Fin Graham (individual pursuit silver, road race silver) and Neah Evans (team pursuit silver) will look to pick up where they left off last summer, while new British Hour Record holder Dan Bigham has his sights on a sixth national title.

A strong Welsh contingent will be spearheaded by 2021 world championships medallists Rhys Britton and Megan Barker, while Aberaeron’s rising star Josh Tarling will be hoping to add to his two junior European titles from last year. Britton and Tarling will ride together as part of the Team Wales team pursuit quartet on Sunday. 

Full rider list.

Tickets for the event are on sale here, with seated tickets ranging from £10 - £15 per session. Standing tickets are also available priced at £5 - £10, and concession prices are available for those aged under 16 or over 65. 

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Men’s sprint
Double Olympic medallist Jack Carlin will ride in the keirin, sprint and open team sprint events, but will face stiff competition from the likes of fellow Great Britain Cycling Team riders Matt Rotherham, Joe Truman, Hamish Turnbull, Lewis Stewart and Ali Fielding. 

Men’s endurance 

The 2020 championships saw the HUUB-Wattbike Test Team dominate the pursuit events. This year, John Archibald (individual pursuit, points, scratch) Dan Bigham (individual pursuit), Jonny Wale (individual pursuit, 1km time trial) Kyle Gordon (points, scratch, open team pursuit) and Will Perrett (individual pursuit, points, scratch, open team pursuit) are once more on the hunt for national jerseys. 

Commonwealth individual pursuit champion Charlie Tanfield will compete in the individual pursuit and points race, while local riders William Roberts, Joe Holt, Harvey McNaughton, Rhys Britton and Joshua Tarling will be looking to make their mark in the team pursuit for Team Wales.

Women’s endurance

Tokyo team pursuit silver medallist Neah Evans (individual pursuit, points, scratch) will be joined by fellow world championships team pursuit bronze medallist Megan Barker (individual pursuit, points, scratch, team pursuit), and Carmarthen’s three-time national champion Ella Barnwell.

The next generation of British endurance riders is represented by European junior team pursuit champion Maddie Leech (individual pursuit, points, scratch, team pursuit) and Welsh rider Eluned King (individual pursuit, points, scratch). 
 
Women’s sprint

Sophie Capewell will look to defend her sprint title in what looks to be a highly-competitive field. Alongside Capewell, fellow up-and-coming sprinters Lauren Bate, Milly Tanner and Blaine Ridge-Davis also take their place on the start line, having enjoyed a historic bronze medal in the team sprint together at the 2021 world championships in Roubaix. Multiple European junior medallist Rhian Edmunds steps up from the junior ranks to contest the keirin, sprint, team sprint and 500m time-trial titles.

Para-cycling
There is no shortage of medal-winning experience in the para-cycling races, with double Paralympic champion Lora Fachie looking to add to her impressive medal collection as she lines up in the para-cycling 1km time trial and tandem sprint. Double Tokyo medallists Fin Graham and Sophie Unwin will be further joined by Katie Toft, Sam Ruddock and Blaine Hunt, who will all be targeting the coveted national champions’ jerseys.

Day-by-day guide:

• Thursday: Closed qualifying session.

• Friday session 1: Men’s individual pursuit, men’s team sprint, women’s sprint, women’s individual pursuit, para-cycling sprint.

• Friday session 2: Men’s individual pursuit final, men’s team sprint final, women’s sprint final, women’s individual pursuit final, para-cycling scratch race.

• Saturday session 1: Men’s sprint, men’s kilo final, men’s points race, women’s team pursuit final, women’s scratch, para-cycling pursuit.

• Saturday session 2: Men’s sprint final, men’s points race final, women’s keirin final, women’s scratch race final.

• Sunday session 1: Men’s scratch race, women’s team sprint, men’s team pursuit, women’s points race, para-cycling time-trial.

• Sunday session 2: Men’s keirin final, men’s scratch race final, women’s team sprint final, men’s team pursuit final, women’s 500m time-trial final, women’s points race final.