Great Britain will send just three riders to next week’s UEC Road European Championships, with Anna Henderson, Josh Tarling and Ethan Hayter forming the entirety of the squad. All three will compete only in the elite individual time trial, with no British presence in the road races or other categories despite the nation qualifying full quotas.
The Championships take place from 1–5 October in the Drôme and Ardèche departments of France, just days after the conclusion of the UCI Road World Championships in Rwanda. The timing has played a decisive role in British Cycling’s approach. Performance director Stephen Park explained that the governing body had opted to concentrate resources on the time trials rather than spread the squad across multiple events.
Photo Credit: Getty“With the Euros falling so closely on from the world championships this year, we will be focusing our efforts on the time-trial events specifically and are pleased we’re able to field three strong contenders across the elite categories,” Park said.
For Henderson, the European Championships come hot on the heels of her 8th place in the women’s elite time trial in Kigali. Tarling makes his return to championship competition after a summer disrupted by his crash at the Giro d’Italia, which left him with fractured vertebrae. Hayter, meanwhile, arrives fresh from winning the time trial at the Skoda Tour de Luxembourg, a result that secured his selection.
The decision not to contest the road races stands out, particularly as Great Britain qualified eight riders for the men’s event and six for the women’s. It continues a recent pattern of selective participation, with no riders sent to last year’s Championships in Belgium, and three of the past four editions seeing no British representation at all. Funding constraints tied to the Olympic cycle have also shaped the strategy, with British Cycling choosing to prioritise races where medal prospects are strongest.
This weekend’s World Championships in Rwanda underline that focus. For the first time since 1994, there will be no British riders in the elite women’s road race, with resources instead directed towards the inaugural women’s under-23 race. No men’s elite time trialists or mixed relay team were fielded either, further highlighting the governing body’s targeted approach.
Photo Credit: GettyAt the European Championships, Henderson, Tarling and Hayter will take on the 24km course between Loriol-sur-Drôme and Étoile-sur-Rhône on Wednesday 1 October. All three arrive with pedigree in the discipline, combining one Olympic, three world and two European medals between them. The challenge, however, will be immense, with reigning world champions Remco Evenepoel and Marlen Reusser among the headline names on the start lists.
