Geraint Thomas bids to reclaim British road race crown
Welsh star Geraint Thomas will bid to reclaim the British Championships road race title on home soil in Abergavenny on Sunday.
Thomas was second to Sir Bradley Wiggins in Thursday's time-trial at Celtic Manor and, with Wiggins and defending champion Mark Cavendish absent this weekend, the Cardiff rider and 2010 winner will bid to claim Team Sky's fourth British title in five attempts in Monmouthshire.
Defending Tour de France champion Chris Froome is also missing - Thomas is the only member of Team Sky's Tour squad to ride the race - but Pete Kennaugh and Ian Stannard, who like Wiggins each missed selection for Yorkshire, compete as two of Team Sky's six riders.
Team Sky are expected to dominate the 186-kilometre race, which features one large circuit and 10 smaller ones, having won three of the four nationals since its formation, with Wiggins replacing Thomas as champion in 2011 and Stannard triumphant in 2012 .
The exception was 2013 when Cavendish won in Glasgow, but the Omega Pharma-QuickStep rider is absent from his title defence with bronchitis, less than a week prior to the Tour's start in Leeds on July 5, when he will chase the yellow jersey for the first time in his career.
David Millar (Garmin-Sharp) abandoned his time-trial on Thursday, saving himself for his nationals swansong, while Alex Dowsett (Movistar) could also enliven the race.
Another non-Team Sky rider who could upset the apple cart is Adam Yates, who has had an impressive first season as a professional with Orica-GreenEdge.
He won the Tour of Turkey and was sixth in the Criterium du Dauphine - the highest-placed British rider, ahead of Froome.
Yates, competing alongside twin brother and Orica-GreenEdge team-mate Simon in Wales, knows the race will be difficult to predict.
The 21-year-old from Bury told britishcycling.org.uk: "The thing with the nationals, it's always a bit of a lottery.
"I want to do well and it would be great to win the jersey but it'd be pretty difficult to win I think.
"I'm going quite well and I'll give it a go and we'll see."