Nine Team Sky riders will line up across Europe this week as they battle it out in their respective national championships.

Although there will be no representatives at the British Time Trial Championships on Thursday, four riders will be making the trip to Lincoln on Sunday to compete for the road race title, which comprises an undulating 197.6km course in the heart of the city.

Peter Kennaugh goes into the race as defending champion after sprinting to a fine victory in Abergavenny last year, and he will be joined by Andy Fenn, Luke Rowe and 2013 champion Ian Stannard.

Up for grabs is the coveted white jersey which Team Sky have won on four of the last five occasions. Like the world champion’s rainbow bands, the winner of each national time trial and road race title gets to wear that jersey for the following 12 months, making them one of the most sought after prizes in the peloton.

Christian Knees and Leopold König kick things off on Thursday by lining up in the German and Czech Republic time trials respectively.

Neither rider has won either time trial title to date, although Knees did take the German road crown in 2010 which ensured he joined Team Sky as national champion at the start of 2011. Both riders will also take part in their equivalent road races on Sunday.

That same day, Lars Petter Nordhaug will be gunning for a second Norwegian road title, while Bernhard Eisel and Philip Deignan are aiming for their first wins in Austria and Ireland respectively.

Team Sky have notched up 16 national titles to date, with Richie Porte making sure 2015 got off to a stellar start back in January as he clinched the Australian Time Trial Championship.

In brief:

Thursday 26 June:

German Time Trial Championships – Christian Knees

Czech Republic Time Trial Championships – Leopold König

Sunday 29 June:

Austrian Road Race Championships – Bernhard Eisel

Czech Republic Road Race Championships – Leopold König

German Road Race Championships – Christian Knees

Great Britain Road Race Championships – Andy Fenn, Peter Kennaugh, Luke Rowe and Ian Stannard

Irish Road Race Championships – Philip Deignan

Norwegian Road Race Championships – Lars Petter Nordhaug