There was a changing of the cycling guard in the National Time-Trial Championships as Nicholas Narraway put an end to Kaden Hopkins’s two-year title reign.

The 23-year-old came out on top of a star-studded open men’s division, which also featured fellow professional Conor White, to deny Hopkins a third straight title.

The victory, which came by nearly a minute, was especially sweet for Narraway as it was the first senior national crown of his burgeoning career.

“This is my first elite national title so that feels good and is definitely special,” Narraway told The Royal Gazette. “I finally beat the two big, older guys.“

Narraway was confident of success heading into the event which was contested on a new, hillier course at Southside Road in St David’s.

“I definitely thought I had a chance as the course suits me a little better than usual,” he said. “By no means does it cater to me, but it was my best shot since I started racing, so I knew I had to take advantage of it.

“It’s a different course this year so it’s definitely interesting to have something new. Normally it’s the same course every year but it was just refreshing to have something new.

“The turnarounds were pretty tight, and you had to focus on that, and the hills were more challenging than you think.”

Narraway also reaped the benefits from all the hard work he put in preparing for the event and he has now put himself in position to achieve an impressive double in the National Road Race Championships at Clearwater Beach on Sunday.

“I have been putting in a lot of time on the TT bike and doing a lot of TT work and was just hoping for a good day,” he said.

“We have the road race on Sunday and I can only look to have another good day then and see what happens.” .

White finished runner-up and two-times defending champion Hopkins third in the open men’s division.

Also celebrating a maiden national time trial title was Hanah Cannon, who came away with the open women’s honours.

“It is quite unexpected but was a really good race and I really enjoyed it,” she said. “It’s my second time-trial and it was good to be out here.”

The 33-year-old’s race was far from uneventful as she came off her bike on the final lap.

“The corners were very tight so I managed to fall off,” she chuckled. “I fell off on the last corner.

“Otherwise it was a really good course because with the roads being closed it was nice that you could do some of these hills without stopping halfway and being crashed into. So having all the volunteers to help keep the roads closed was really great.”

Panzy Olander finished second and Marina Louw third to complete the open women’s podium.

Achieving an impressive hat-trick was Warwick Academy student Jackson Langley, who came away with Junior Male honours and found the new course challenging.

“The course was definitely a little bit harder than the previous year with all the hills and especially the wind,” the 16-year-old said.

“‘But it was easier to see where you were in relation to others and if you have that strong power-to-weight ratio you can really take it down because there’s two major hills per lap. It’s hard but it’s a good change.”

Dylan Eiselt took second and Luca Bortoli third in the Junior Male division.

Also retaining their title was Bermuda High School for Girls student Charlotte Millington, who claimed Junior Female honours after beating out sole rival Skye Ferguson.

“It feels great to defend my title and I didn’t realise we would have so little people, but I’m glad I could win,” the 17-year-old said.