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The location and date may have been changed, but for riders across the country the National 25-Mile Championship remains one of the top priorities of the season.

Now due to take place in Leicestershire on September 27 instead of Devon in June, the blue ribband event always attracts a field which boasts quality as well as quantity.

Runner-up last year in a Liverpool Phoenix strip, Phil Williams is aiming to go one better and taste glory in the new colours of Team Bottrill.

“The National 25 is a massive target to me,” said the 34-year-old from Liverpool. “With coming second last year and having a gap to first place that’s close enough to chase it has given me more focus and determination to go one better this year.”

Just 26 seconds separated Williams from winner Chris Fennell (The Independent Pedaler) in last year’s title race, and Williams added: “Matt [Bottrill] saw how close I was to first place and really wanted to help me to see if I could push on.

“He's been in a similar position where he was close but needed to find something else to go further, so his passion to see his riders achieve something matches with my determination to go better again this year. Hopefully when the races start up again I can begin to see an improvement.”

The Coronavirus lockdown has seen the time trialling calendar shuffled around with cancellations and postponements similarly affecting most sports. While the National 25 has moved from June to September it isn’t too much different to last year’s title race which was held in late August.

“The change of date will alter my preparations a bit,” added Williams.

“The order of national championship races has changed a bit which I think may actually be better for me as I can take the higher intensity of the 10 into the 25 and then into the 50, but we're all in the same situation so it'll be the same for us all come race day.

“For now I think it's about keeping the training going and keeping mentally up for it for quite a long time without letting the head drop.

“Matt has been talking me through how we should plan it and how I can stay in the right mentality without there being any races.

“But I'm going to keep ticking along, keep my fitness levels up, work on some weaknesses and really focus on spending the time working on the position so when the 25 rolls up I'm ready.”

Now riding for Team Bottrill, Williams has new options open to him as part of a team with many riders on their books.

He added: “I would usually ride the circuit champs, 50 and 10. I still aim to do these this year, but one which I haven't done before is the team time trial. That's something I'm really looking forward to as I think we have a brilliant team for that one. It isn’t something I've done before with riders at a similar level so it should be exciting.”

But before he gets to turn a pedal at a national championships, there’s much training to be done – something that can prove difficult in these times of Covid-19 and the resulting lockdown restrictions.

However, Williams added: “From a training point of view it's actually quite good. I did have a bit of time when I wasn't well but coming through that and not being in work has actually allowed me to have a bit more focus on training rather than mixing it in with the regular working day stresses. It's actually noticeable and easier to recover, but mentally difficult of course. I've been getting outside on the bike solo which does help and it so important for mental health to be able to do that.”

When September comes and the first rider is pushed off, all those months of training will come down to less than an hour on the bike.

But who does Williams see as his big rivals?

“In all honesty I don't really look at other riders as rivals,” he said. “I don't tend to pay much attention to the start sheet. I know the races will be really strong as always and of course the Ribble guys and Chris Fennell are all top riders and will be pushing for their own results, but I can only control myself so that's what I tend to focus on.”

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