2025 Nationals round-up: who took the stripes?

Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) illustrated that he is in fine form ahead of the Tour de France as he became Belgian champion with a 40-kilometre solo attack. The 34-year-old launched his move with around 40 kilometres remaining, and when the other riders looked at Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) to chase, he was gone for good. 

Evenepoel and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) eventually broke clear of the rest, before fighting it out for the two remaining medals as it became clear that Wellens was not going to be caught. Evenepoel eventually distanced Philipsen for second, whilst the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider rounded out the podium in third.

"I wasn't the best man in the race. That was Remco Evenepoel; everyone saw that. He was fantastic, but everyone was looking at him, and I was able to profit from that," Wellens said.

"This week, during the training camp, I couldn't feel my legs, so I thought I definitely had to try something at the Belgian Championship. I already received congratulations during the last twenty kilometres, but even then I wasn't sure that I would win. I've never suffered so much before. But it was worth it; this is the best victory of my career."

Justine Ghekiere (AG Insurance-Soudal Team) outsprinted Fien Van Eynde (Fenix-Deceuninck Development) to victory in a cobbled finish in Binche after the duo attacked clear from the peloton inside the final kilometre and a half, which featured pre-race favourite and World Champion, Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime). 

It was a move that was timed to perfection as the riders behind looked at each other, leaving Ghekiere and Van Eynde to power their way up the final rise and sprint it out for the championships over the cobbled finish. Fleur Moors (Lidl-Trek) won the group sprint five seconds behind the front duo to round out the podium.

Speaking post-finish, Ghekiere said, "Last year’s Tour [de France] was already very special. But now becoming Belgian champion and riding in that jersey for a whole year is really special. I can’t describe it. I’m very happy. I’m very happy! Actually, I don’t believe myself that I’ll be riding in that jersey for a year. That jersey is now finally visible in the peloton for a year!”

“I knew I shouldn’t go for the sprint. I noticed the peloton slowing down a bit and I thought: now is my moment. I saw Fien on my wheel and knew she was fast," Ghekiere said. "But after the climb, she was on a gap, so I knew she was at her limit. Then I thought: I’ll just go from as far away as possible. At the 400-metre sign, I decided to accelerate. She couldn’t get past. Is this a new step in my career? Just a confirmation that I’m doing well.”

Dorian Godon (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) was the strongest in the uphill sprint to the finish in Les Herbiers to become the French road race champion, outsprinting Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ) into second and Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) in third.

Godon had to overcome the Groupama-FDJ squad, who were particularly active throughout the day, and inside the final lap of racing, it was his teammate and defending champion Paul Lapiera who was ahead and looked like he could possibly take the win. However, Lapeira was eventually pulled back, as was a late attack from Louis Barré (Intermarché-Wanty), before the uphill sprint was launched, with Godon proving to be the fastest.

"I've already done 57 days of racing (this season), I was really at the end of my cycle after the Giro, I had some complicated moments, ups and downs," Godon said. 'I'm going to take a good week off and then prepare for what comes next."

Marie Le Net soloed to victory in the French championships, having attacked in the closing kilometres from the early breakaway of six riders. Her teammate Léa Curinier (FDJ-Suez) finished second, 39 seconds behind, whilst Julie Bego (Cofidis) ended third, at 41 seconds.

With 17 kilometres to go, the group of six split, with the three eventual podium finishers riding clear, before FDJ Suez played the team card, launching an attack with Curinier, before Le Net made the decisive move with 8 kilometres to the finish, and Bego was unable to follow.

"I can't believe it!" Le Net saidpost-finish. "We know that the French Championships are an open race. We know that there's a difference between having the best team and actually winning. I tried to stay one step ahead and not give in to the pressure. I thank Léa (Curinier) because she sacrificed herself and all the other girls behind her. I owe her forever. Luck was on my side today!"

Without doubt, the biggest surprise of the weekend came via Filippo Conca (Swatt Club), who beat Alessandro Covi (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Thomas Pesenti (Soudal Quick-Step) in a five-man sprint to become Italian road-race champion whilst racing for a club-level team. 

Conca, who departed from Q36.5 Pro Cycling team at the end of 2024, was picked up by the Italian Club level team, Swatt Club, and it has turned out to be a match made in heaven as he takes the first professional win of his career after a tactical finale which saw many attacks before a five man group contested the sprint. 

"It was an incredible day," said the 26-year-old from Lecco post-finish. "In October, I was left without a team after four years in which I worked for others, because it was my job. So, I had few opportunities to get results and for this reason, I didn't even find a Continental team," Conca explained. 

"I had two choices: either stop, or continue with the reality of Swatt Club."

Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ) successfully defended her national title for the third successive year, and became champion for the sixth time in total, with a demonstration to finish 56 seconds ahead of Monica Trinca Colonel (Liv AlUla Jayco), whilst Eleonora Ciabocco (Picnic PostNL) ended third at 1:51.

On the climb of the Colle Maddalena, the race whittled down to the three riders who would end on the podium. With around 30 kilometres remaining, Longo Borghini launched an attack which distanced Trinca Colonel and Ciabocco and soloed to the finish, albeit with a minor scare when the race leader suffered a puncture in the closing kilometres. Trinca Colonel distanced Ciabocco, who finished just ahead of teammate Rachele Barbieri (Picnic PostNL). 

Courtesy of UAE Team ADQ's press release, Longo Borghini said, "Winning this Italian Championship is very emotional because it’s the first tricolour jersey I’ve won with UAE Team ADQ, and honestly, today was a true team victory. It’s never easy to start as favourites, but we weren’t afraid to embrace that role. From the beginning, we took control of the race."

"Almost unexpectedly, our pace was so high that only three of us remained in the front. I tried at first to take advantage of the work from my breakaway companions, and then, as planned, I attacked on the first of the three Cornaleto ascents. I was alone from there, and in the end, I managed to win. Everything went as planned, and despite a small mishap at the end, everything turned out perfectly. I’m truly happy to bring this jersey to UAE Team ADQ," said Longo Borghini.

There was a surprise in the Elite men's race at the Dutch championships as Danny van Poppel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) outsprinted Olav Kooij (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco AlUla) to victory. Kooij launched his sprint early, but Van Poppel bided his time and came past in the closing metres to win in a photo finish.

"I never thought this would happen," said the Red-Bull-BORA-hansgrohe rider in a post-race interview with NOS. "They often say that when you become a father, you fly, and that's true," he added.

"I came here to win; otherwise, I wouldn't participate. You see, you just need to have self-confidence."

It was victory number 105 for Lorena Wiebes (SD Worx-Protime), who dominated the field in the sprint to become Dutch champion for the second time in her career. The European champion, and now Dutch champion, finished bike lengths ahead of Charlotte Kool (Picnic PostNL) in second and Nienke Veenhoven (Visma | Lease a Bike) in third. There was also a crash inside the final 7 kilometres, which involved both Demi Vollering and Marianne Vos among others, but both came away without any serious injuries.

Post race with Wielerflits, Wiebes said, "The team worked really hard for it. The girls did a good lead-out. I expected Charlotte Kool to start earlier, but luckily I was able to catch her well and continue. I saw it happening, so I was able to react quickly."

"I was able to tell Gerri (Femke Gerritse) that I would pass on the right, so she wouldn’t close the gap. In the last twenty kilometres, the girls rode full throttle at the front, if not longer,” Wiebes said. “Then you feel the pressure to finish it off. And that worked out perfectly.”

Iván Romeo (Movistar) continued his fine month of June, adding the Spanish road race title to the stage win he took at the Critérium du Dauphiné. In a similar fashion to his Dauphiné, the current under-23 time trial World Champion used his ability to ride away from his opponents and build upon the gap that he had opened to take the win in Granada.

With 30 kilometres to go, Romeo found himself clear with Fernando Barceló (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) and José Felix Parra (Equipo Kern Pharma), and the trio contributed well, until the Movistar rider distanced Parra, before also dispatching Barceló, who would finish in second. Roger Adrià (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) outsprinted Juanpe López (Lidl-Trek) for the third spot on the podium.

Sara Martín (Movistar) outsprinted five-time champion Mavi García (Liv AlUla Jayco) in a two-up sprint to the finish line in Granada to take the second and most significant victory of her career. Martín and García attacked from a group of five riders around 10 kilometres from the finish and were not to be seen again by the chasers. Defending champion, Usoa Ostolaza (Laboral Kutxa Fundacíon) won the sprint from the group of three behind to finish third.

"Today it was my turn to fight for what was mine," Martín said, speaking to Marca post-race. "The heat also took its toll. We fought hard, and there's nothing to complain about. With about six kilometres to go, I broke clear with Mavi García, and in the final sprint, I was able to win. When I crossed the finish line, what I felt was almost indescribable. So much happiness."

You think of all those people who have always been there supporting you. Now it's time to enjoy it and celebrate with them."

Samuel Watson (INEOS Grenadiers) timed his move to perfection to become British champion in Aberystwyth, Wales. 

The INEOS Grenadiers rider rolled off the front of the leading group heading into the final lap of racing, and with the riders behind hesitating in the chase, he would solo to the win. Matthew Brennan (Visma | Lease a Bike), who had been looked at to do a large part of the chasing due to his fast sprint, ended up in second, whilst Ethan Vernon (Israel-Premier Tech) rounded out the podium in third.

“It’s pretty unbelievable to be honest, yeah, over the moon,” Watson said to Domestique. “It’s a bit of a dream, I always wanted the bands on my sleeves for the rest of my career, and well, at least one year in the national champs jersey, it’s an incredible feeling.”

Millie Couzens (Fenix-Deceuninck) claimed the first professional victory of her career by sprinting to victory from a select group in Aberystwyth, Wales, to become the Elite Women's British road-race champion. Just a few days earlier, Couzens became the British champion in the under-23 time-trial event, but now adds the Elite Women's road-race British champs jersey to her collection. By default, Couzens also picked up the under-23 road race title as well, rounding out a brilliant couple of days for the 21-year-old.

In a group of four riders, Couzens proved to have timed her sprint to perfection, launching first and powering to the win, beating defending champion and three-time winner Pfeiffer Georgi (Picnic PostNL) into second whilst Anna Henderson (Lidl-Trek) finished third. Josie Nelson (Picnic PostNL) finished fourth after leading out the sprint for her teammate Georgi. 

"I'm so happy, it's gone way better than I thought it was going to go, so, a good week," said Couzens when speaking to Domestique post-race. "Nationals is always quite a hard race to play tactically because everyone is a bit isolated and nobody wants to commit too much. There was a point when the break had quite a big gap, and I was worried, but luckily we had two riders from our team, so Flora [Perkins] could help control."

It was the recently crowned Giro Next Gen champion, Jakob Omrzel (Bahrain-Victorious Development), who was victorious in the elite men's road race in Slovenia.

The 19-year-old illustrated what all the hype around him is about as he soloed to victory in the Elite category despite his youthful age. Jaka Marlot (Factor Racing) finished second, whilst Omrzel's teammate from the professional team of Bahrain Victorious, Matevž Govekar, finished third.

Eugenia Bujak (Cofidis) doubled up at the Slovenian National Championships, adding the road race to the time trial title she already claimed a few days earlier. Nika Bobnar ended second in the sprint, whilst it proved to be a majorly successful day for the French team in Slovenia as Špela Kern (Cofidis) finished third.

It was a 1-2 for Lidl-Trek in Denmark as Søren Kragh Andersen became Danish champion for the first time in his career with Mads Pedersen in second, and Casper Pedersen (Soudal Quick-Step) in third. 

Lidl-Trek dominated the race as Kragh Andersen was able to win solo, 25 seconds ahead of Mads Pedersen, who outsprinted Casper Pedersen. Lidl-Trek also had the fourth place rider in their ranks in the form of 18-year-old Albert Withen Philipsen. 

It was another solo victory in the Elite Women's race in Denmark, as Alberte Greve (Uno-X Mobility) delivered the win in Aalborg, finishing 1:13 ahead of former World Champion Amalie Dideriksen (Cofidis) in second, and her teammate Solbjørk Minke Anderson (Uno-X Mobility) in third.