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The RTTC National 12-Hour Championship takes centre stage on Sunday as 55 riders take on the demanding R12/16 course in South Wales.
Organised by Virtual Cycling Club on behalf of the South Wales District, the championship gets underway at 6.01am on Sunday 16 August, with riders setting out from the Monmouthshire Livestock Market. The headquarters will be at Llanarth Village Hall, with the event running for 12 hours.
At the head of the field, Jake Sargent will be attempting to make it three consecutive National 12-Hour titles after another dominant performance in 2025.
Sargent's record in this event over the past two years makes him the obvious rider to beat.
In 2025 he covered 312.06 miles to take the title, finishing just 3.52 miles ahead of Team Bottrill team-mate Benjamin Williams, with Alexander Royle third on 300.54 miles.
Both Sargent and Williams return this year, starting at 7.00am and 6.56am respectively.
Sargent will have plenty of opposition, however. Christopher Gibbard, Hadyn James, Lee Williams, Anthony Jones, Henrik Persson, Casper Von Folsach and Owen Burgess are among the riders who will be looking to challenge at the sharp end of the field.
Gibbard and Jones will be particularly interesting. Both are members of the FTP Race Team and both have substantial 12-hour experience. Lee Williams is another proven performer, having finished seventh in last year's National Championship with 280.19 miles.
Gibbard starts at 6.50am, while Jones starts at 6.58am, just two minutes before Sargent. Lee Williams is away at 6.47am.
There is also considerable strength in the Team Bottrill line-up. Alongside Sargent and Williams are Peter Horton, Rob Powell and Matthew Uttley. Horton and Powell both contested last year's championship, finishing on 249.18 and 183.96 miles respectively.
The women's championship could be just as intriguing, with all three riders who stood on the National podium in 2025 returning.
Naomi de Pennington returns as defending champion after covering 276.72 miles last year. Kim Barfoot-Brace was second with 266.45 miles, while Chris Murray finished third on 264.50.
The trio will again line up together, with Murray starting at 6.41am, Barfoot-Brace at 6.42am and de Pennington at 6.52am.
That gives the defending champion another chance to demonstrate the form which took her to the title last year, but she will again face the two riders who finished immediately behind her.
Joanna Cebrat is another rider to watch. She was entered for last year's championship but did not start; this year she is back on the start sheet, riding for 360cycling.
Roxy Woodfield also returns, riding for Passion Fit, while Helen Stevenson, Mandy Lane, Carol Tsang, Lizzie Jenkins, Tracy Dean and Mary Corbett add further depth to the women's field.
This year's championship uses the R12/16 course, starting on the old A40 Raglan–Abergavenny road near the Monmouthshire Livestock Market.
The opening morning circuit is almost 91 miles, taking riders through Raglan, Monmouth, Mitchel Troy, Usk and Hereford before returning to Hardwick Roundabout.
The riders then move into a series of 25.79-mile circuits, completing five of these before moving onto the finishing circuit.
The finishing section consists of a series of 15.484-mile laps, giving the riders the opportunity to continue adding to their distance right through the final stages of the 12 hours.
Over 12 hours, the R12/16 will test the riders' ability to pace themselves, manage their effort and nutrition, and maintain their performance as the miles accumulate. With so many experienced endurance riders in the field, the final hours could prove decisive.
One of the most interesting aspects of this year's field is the number of riders returning from last year's championship.
Alongside Sargent, Williams, de Pennington, Barfoot-Brace, Murray and Lee Williams, the field includes Jack Rigby, who covered 250.44 miles in 2025; Gareth Williams, also on 250.44; Peter Horton on 249.18; Jamie Richardson-Paige on 246.71; Jez Willows on 244.28; and Stephen Clark on 219.44.
Nick Higginson, Kevin Wood and Rob Powell are also returning after competing last year.
There are some fascinating endurance stories further down the start sheet too. David Steel is the first rider away at 6.01am and will ride in the 75–79 age group, while John J Murphy, starting at 6.02am, is in the 85–89 category. Mary Corbett is entered in the 65–69 female category.
At the other end of the age range, the field also includes riders such as Guy Stapleford, Mike Jefferies, Hadyn James and Owen Burgess in the 40–44 category.
The championship is therefore about much more than the battle for the overall medals: riders across a wide range of ages will be taking on the same 12-hour challenge.
The team championship will also be worth watching.
Team Bottrill set a new National 12-Hour Team Competition Record in 2025, with Sargent, Benjamin Williams and David Halliday combining for 913.64 miles.
David Halliday is not on this year's start sheet, but Sargent and Williams return, joined by Peter Horton, Rob Powell and Matthew Uttley.
FTP also have a strong presence, with Christopher Gibbard, Henrik Persson, Anthony Jones, Lee Williams, Owen Burgess and Tim Radley all on the start sheet.
The team competition adds another layer of interest to an event already packed with individual storylines.
Sargent starts as the man to beat, but the 2025 results showed just how close the leading riders can be. Williams was only 3.52 miles behind him, while three riders broke the 300-mile barrier.
The women's championship is arguably even more intriguing. De Pennington has the defending champion's jersey, but Barfoot-Brace and Murray both return having finished within 12.22 miles of her last year.
And with riders from the 40–44 category through to John J Murphy in the 85–89 age group, there will be stories throughout the field as the hours tick away.
The first rider will leave at 6.01am, with Sargent the final rider to start at 7.00am. Twelve hours later, the National champions will be crowned.
The question is whether anyone can prevent Jake Sargent from making it three in a row — and whether Naomi de Pennington can repeat her success in the women's championship.