Another outstanding day at the National Championships saw UAE Team ADQ enjoy one of the most successful performances in the team’s history. In less than 12 hours, the squad collected five medals across Europe, with Dominika Wlodarczyk winning the Polish national time trial title, Lara Gillespie claiming victory in Ireland, Maeva Squiban taking silver in France, and Elynor Backstedt (Women Elite) and Abigail Miller (Women U23) securing bronze medals in Great Britain, alongside several other impressive performances.
The day’s first victory came in Poland, where Dominika Wlodarczyk delivered a dominant ride to win the women’s individual time trial national title over the 39.8 km course in Raszag. The UAE Team ADQ rider stopped the clock in 34:43, finishing 1:32 ahead of Agnieszka Skalniak-Sójka (Canyon//SRAM) and 2:10 ahead of Marta Lach (Team SD Worx-Protime).
Dominika Wlodarczyk said: “It was no secret that I had been preparing specifically for the time trial, especially because this year’s Tour de France Femmes includes an important TT stage. I’ve worked hard on this discipline and on becoming more comfortable on my time trial bike. This National Championship was my final major test before the Tour, so it’s fantastic to see all that hard work paying off. I’d also like to thank the team for doing an amazing job preparing my bike. Beating a specialist like Agnieszka means a lot to me, and now I’m looking forward to Saturday’s road race with the ambition of winning another national title.”
The second gold medal arrived later in the evening thanks to Lara Gillespie, who became Ireland’s Elite national time trial champion for the first time in her career. Covering the 30.7 km course in Swinford in 38:38, at an average speed of 47.6 km/h, she finished 1:30 ahead of Linda Kelly and 1:36 ahead of Marine Lenehan (Lidl-Trek). The victory adds to the two Irish Elite road race titles she won in 2020 and 2023.
Lara Gillespie said: “I really enjoyed myself today. I’m not usually a time trial specialist, but today I had this opportunity and I tried to have fun and push myself a bit. It was an unusually hot day around here, but I’d just come off two months of hard work and heat at the Giro d’Italia, so I was ready. I felt I had good legs; I managed to ride fast and find a good aerodynamic position, and I really enjoyed myself. I’m glad I had the chance to be here. It’s a performance that gives me confidence for Saturday’s road race as well.”
One of the most courageous performances of the day came from Paula Blasi. Less than 24 hours after crashing during the course recon, requiring hospital treatment and four stitches, the Spanish rider still decided to start the National Championships time trial. Despite not being at full fitness, the recent Volta a Catalunya winner finished a strong fourth, just 39 seconds behind the new Spanish champion Mireia Benito (AG Insurance-Soudal Team) over the 18.6 km course between Guasa and Sabiñánigo.
There was also an encouraging ride from young Celia Torres (UAE Development Team), who finished seventh overall. She would have earned the Under-23 silver medal, but a last-minute rule change introduced by the Spanish Cycling Federation excluded professional riders from the U23 classification.
Earlier in the afternoon, Elynor Backstedt celebrated an excellent return to racing after more than two months out with injury, claiming the bronze medal in the British Elite time trial near Lampeter. She finished just 1:05 behind her sister Zoe Bäckstedt (Canyon//SRAM), who took the national title.
Later in the day, Maeva Squiban added another podium for UAE Team ADQ by taking silver at the French National Championships. Racing over the 29.7 km course from Aoste to Les Vals du Dauphiné, she missed out on victory by only 11 seconds, finishing behind Célia Le Mouël (Ma Petite Entreprise), while Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly) completed the podium.
Another medal came from Great Britain, where Abigail Miller claimed bronze in the Under-23 individual time trial, finishing just two seconds behind winner Erin Boothman (Liv AlUla Jayco Women’s Continental Team). Fellow UAE Development Team rider Eilidh Shaw also impressed with fourth place on her return from injury.
The National Championships week had already begun in spectacular fashion for UAE Team ADQ, with Rinata Sultanova winning Kazakhstan’s Elite time trial title on Monday. Yesterday, Milana Ushakova in Ukraine and Fee Knaven in the Netherlands added two more Under-23 national time trial titles for UAE Development Team, underlining the outstanding form of the entire UAE cycling project.
(ph. @stuchlikphoto | @SWpix | British Cycling)
