'I can't wait to wear the bands' - Ethan Hayter beats Lewis Askey at British national road race

Ethan Hayter outpaced Lewis Askey the final time up Saltburn Bank to win the men's British National Road Race on Sunday.

The Ineos Grenadiers rider was part of a select group of three, along with Askey of Groupama-FDJ and Max Walker (Astana-Qazaqstan Development) who entered the bottom of the last climb in contention for victory, but timed his attack perfectly to round Askey and take the win.

It is the first time Hayter has won the elite road race title, although he has twice won the national champs time trial before.

"It's my first time, so that's really special," he said post-race. "It has been quite a hard period, I haven't won a race since I broke my collarbone for the second time last year, so it's really nice.

"There were about 100 different groups and attacks so it was a hard part of the race getting that right. As a team we rode really well, you can't be in every move yourself. One of us was there, and you can use other team. We rode really well, then in the second half of the race I was always on the front foot and felt quite good. I just knew I had to be patient and puck and choose the right time to go, because everyone was looking at me a little bit.

"I had to hesitate a little bit when he [Askey] came past me on the hairpin, I had to back off to not hit his back wheel. He was really going strong, but I was hoping I had a little bit extra as it levelled off to come over the top." 

Asked if he was excited to be national champion, Hayter said: "I can't wait to wear them."

The final trio had separated from an earlier quintet, which also included Bob Donaldson (Trinity) and Jake Stewart (Israel-Premier Tech), which had set off the front with under 80km to go of the 182km race.

They were later joined by Joe Blackmore (Israel-Premier Tech) and former British champion Connor Swift (Ineos Grenadiers), which allowed Stewart and Hayter to do less work. 

With around 40km to go, the decisive split happened, with Walker, Hayter and Askey going up the road. A late surge from Swift from behind also allowed his teammate Hayter to do a bit less pulling in the break.

"One of the motorbikes with the chalkboards told me Connor Swift [his teammate] was coming across, and you don't want to use the other guys like that, but that's bike racing," Hayter explained. "Connor trying to come across really gave me that extra bit at the end."

Donaldson of Trinity won the under-23 race.

Results

British National Road Championships 2024, road race: Saltburn-by-the-Sea > Saltburn-by-the-Sea (182km)

1. Ethan Hayter, Ineos Grenadiers
2. Lewis Askey, Groupama-FDJ
3. Max Walker, Astana-Qazaqstan Development
4. Connor Swift, Ineos Grenadiers
5. Owain Doull, EF Education-EasyPost
6. Bob Donaldson, Trinity
7. Josh Tarling, Ineos Grenadiers
8. Joe Blackmore, Israel-Premier Tech
9. Matt Walls, Groupama-FDJ
10. Dan McLay, Arkéa-B&B Hotels