Set to support Armitstead at the Commonwealth Games, one month after the national road race, Laura Trott and Dani King rounded off the podium at last year’s race. This time out, the world and Olympic team pursuit champions have the benefit of experience on their side, and good form to boot. In the most recent round of the national women’s road series, Trott won all three stages of the Surf and Turf two-day event, including victory on a tricky, circuitous 81km race. While the national road race will be a different kettle of fish entirely, it at least proved exactly what Wiggle Honda can do with their strength in numbers.

Trott, King and Elinor Barker occupied three of the top four places at that event. Much will depend in Abergavenny, however, on how they cope with the lumpy circuit. Neither King nor Trott have made big individual impressions in the UCI races they have competed at this year – though in fairness much of their work was as domestiques and lead-outs. Indeed, the two led Giorgia Bronzini to victory in the Grand Prix de Dottinges earlier this year. If they can keep tabs on the likes of Armitstead in the closing kilometres this time out, King and Trott are more than capable of taking advantage of their extra numbers in the sprint.