The HSBC UK National Road Cycling Championships got off to a cracking start on Thursday in the west of the island with the individual time trials.

It began with the women’s events over a single lap of the 13.8-mile testing course based at St John’s and taking in early sharp climbs to the Switchback, Kirk Michael coast road and the reverse TT Course route back to Ballacraine

Claire Rose (Visit Dallas DNA Pro Cycling) won the senior women’s crown while local woman Anna Christian (Drops’ Cycling) crossed the line seventh quickest in 34m 13.77s to win the under-23 crown - her second British champion’s vest after winning the Junior Women’s Road Race title in 2013.

The under-23 men’s race was won by Welshman Scott Davies (Team Wiggins) for the fourth consecutive year. He clocked a time of 28m 20.33s to beat One Pro Cycling’s Tom Baylis by almost 50 seconds.

The day came to an exciting climax when Team Dimension Data’s Steve Cummings, a late entry for the event and starting at No.26, held on to win the longer two-lap event by a tight margin of 8.44 seconds from pre-event favourite and five-time champion Alex Dowsett (Movistar).

The leading local was Peel’s Sam Brand who rides for the Atlanta-based Team Novo Nordisk development team. He was 27th in a total field of 36.

‘It’s pretty cool to be national champion,’ said Cummings, a team-mate of Mark Cavendish. ’It’s really nice to be back here in the Isle of Man for the first time in 17 years. You see the same people and hey have welcomed me back.’

Highlights of the time trials will be shown on British Eurosport 1 this Sunday at 7.30pm.