Australia’s Amanda Spratt soloed the final 40km to claim a stunning silver in the women’s road race the 2018 UCI Road World Championships in Austria.

Reigning Olympic champion Anna Van der Breggen (Netherlands) soloed the final 39 kilometres of the race to to claim one of the most dominant victories ever seen at a World Championships. She finished over three minutes ahead of Spratt, with former world champion Tatiana Guderzo (Italy) taking bronze.
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“I honestly I think I can be really proud with the silver medal. It caps off a great season for me,” said Spratt, who became just the sixth Australian woman in sixty years to reach the World Championships' road race podium.

Spratt, Grace Brown, Brodie Chapman, Tiffany Cromwell, Shara Gillow, Lucy Kennedy and Sarah Roy, were among the 149 starters to set out on the 156km course which featured an 85km loop before three punishing laps of a 24km circuit with 2400m of vertical climbing.

Spratt was caught up in a early crash but recovered and with the help of team mate Kennedy, was able to remain at the front of the race and in touch of the pre race favourite Dutch team and form part of the crucial breakaway.    

On the penultimate lap, Van der Breggen launched herself from the main field to join Spratt's group, and despite her best efforts, Spratt was unable to keep the wheel of the Dutchwoman.

Van der Breggen soloed to the biggest winning margin in thirty years (3mins 42secs), while Spratt powered the final 40km home on her own to finish two minutes ahead of Guderzo. 

“It was a tough race out there, the whole team did an incredible job throughout the first stage to get me fresh to the final,” said Spratt, whose season has included victory at the Santos Women's Tour Down Under and Emakumeen Bira, a stage win at the Giro Rosa and podiums at Amstel Gold and at Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
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“That meant I could get into that break before the second last climb where I knew the Dutch would attack. I was waiting for that move. 

“Anna came across so quickly, I really tried to hold her wheel up that climb. She was honestly on another level today, she really deserves that title.”

Australia's Rohan Dennis etched his name into the record books with a storming ride to claim his maiden individual time trial world title at the 2018 UCI World Championships in Austria.

‘‘I can’t really explain it. It’s an amazing feeling, it is a dream come true," said the Adelaide cyclist who becomes just the second Australian to win the event after Michael Rogers' three consecutive titles between 2003 and 2005. 

“I've never won it (time trial world title) in any age group, I’ve been after this since I was a junior, so to win my first one in the seniors is pretty special.

"I am just going to enjoy the moment, and enjoy the next year in the rainbow," Dennis added.

The victory caps a stellar season from the Adelaide cyclist who has stood on the top step of the podium in six time trials in the 2018 season including at the Giro d'Italia and twice at the Vuelta a España.

The 28-year-old mastered the demanding 52.1 kilometre time trial to finish nearly one and a half minutes ahead of reigning champion Tom Dumoulin (Netherlands) who claimed the silver, with Belgium’s Victor Campanaerts half a second further behind in third.

"I was being coached from the team car by Brad McGee, and he gave me confidence at the top of the climb,” Dennis said after the race. 

“Once Dumoulin was through Brad told me I was a minute up and he kept me calm. I was considering a bit of a victory salute but I wanted to make sure - you're never sure until Tom crosses the line.

"I knew the power we (BMC) rode in Sunday’s team time trial, where we lost 19 seconds on the winners. I held higher power up the hill than I did in the TTT, and I knew Dumoulin had been pushing hard in the TTT, so I had a good idea of what power I needed to hold him.

"I think it was a 35 seconds gap at the bottom and at the top, I was fairly confident that I'd at least done the same time as him.

Dennis will now turn his attention to Sunday's road race where he will line up with Simon Clarke, Jack Haig, Chris Hamilton, Damien Howson, Nick Schultz, Robert Power, and Rory Sutherland.

​Remaining Schedule (times AEST)
 
27.09. THURSDAY

• ROAD RACE WOMEN JUNIOR (Start 5pm, Finish 7pm) Sarah Gigante, Anya Louw
• ROAD RACE MEN JUNIOR (Start 10pm, Finish 2am) Luke Plapp, Carter Turnbull, Tyler Lindorff

28.09. FRIDAY

• ROAD RACE MEN UNDER 23 (Start 8pm, Finish 1am) Jai Hindley, Callum Scotson, Robert Stannard, Michael Storer, Cyrus Monk

29.09. SATURDAY

• ROAD RACE WOMEN ELITE (Start 5pm, Finish 1am) Grace Brown, Brodie Chapman, Tiffany Cromwell, Shara Gillow, Lucy Kennedy, Sarah Roy, Amanda Spratt

30.09. SUNDAY

• ROAD RACE MEN ELITE (Start 540pm, Finish 1am) Simon Clarke, Rohan Dennis, Jack Haig, Chris Hamilton, Damien Howson, Nick Schultz, Robert Power, Rory Sutherland

Photos copyright Casey Gibson. 

Cycling Australia is pleased to announce the implementation of the revised athlete pathway strategy, the Australian Cycling Team Podium Potential Academy.

The Academy’s focus will be on developing athletes to target success at the 2024 Olympic Games and beyond in both sprint and endurance disciplines. 

The program will see athletes immersed in a high-performance environment at the Australian Cycling Team headquarters in Adelaide, with the aim of bridging the gap between the country’s regional high-performance network and the podium programmes in Adelaide.

The Academy aims deliver a comprehensive and balanced performance curriculum to develop athletes for the physical and mental demands of a high-performance sport, prepare them for Australian Cycling Team podium program, Olympic success and ultimately for life beyond sport.

Athletes will work with two full-time, discipline-specific coaches who will lead the Academy’s performance planning, training and racing strategies. The program will aim to support growth and learning opportunities both on and off the bike to build long-term resilience with high levels of athlete ownership.

Working with the Senior Athlete Career Advisor, athletes will be guided and supported through a process in which they will engage in formal education / career development to ensure a future career pathway away from the bike.  

An inaugural class of thirteen athletes was selected following an intense application process which included performance assessments, video presentations, panel interviews and reference checks. This process created a deeper understanding of the person behind the performances which allowed for a more balanced appraisal of athlete suitability and potential.

The Academy will launch in November 2018, to coincide with the end of the Academic year. At this point, athletes will relocate to Adelaide for the next step in their performance journey.  

Jon Norfolk (CA Head of Performance Pathways & People) said “We are excited to be launching the Academy program in 2018, adding an essential layer into our performance pathway.

“This Academy programme is the first stage of our broader pathway strategy which in time will assess the needs of all disciplines and levels of the sport. A well-functioning athlete pathway is fundamental to long and sustainable success, and it’s a platform we need to focus on and build upon over the next 6-10 years.”
“The Academy gives athletes full exposure to the Australian Cycling Team performance environment with a holistic programme explicitly designed to maximise their athletic potential. 

“However, success for the Podium Potential Academy will not just be measured in future Olympic success, but in the performance of all its graduates in transitioning out of sport successfully. 

“This success will be the result of a long-term athlete development strategy, with the Academy building on the great work of our network institutes and delivering the next stage of preparing athletes for future Olympic performance.”
 
Australian Cycling Team Podium Potential Academy Athletes 2018

Women’s Sprint:

• Caitlin Ward (SA)

Men’s Sprint:

• James Brister (SA)
• Tom Clarke (SA)
• Tom Cornish (NSW)
• Matt Richardson (WA)

Women’s Endurance

• Alex Martin Wallace (QLD)
• Sophie Edwards (SA)
• Sam De Riter (VIC)
• Maeve Plouffe (SA)

Men’s Endurance

• Conor Leahy (WA) 
• Luke Plapp (VIC)
• Jarrad Drizners (SA)
• Godfrey Slattery (VIC)

Brunswick Cycling Club's Luke Plapp claimed silver in the junior men's time trial at the 2018 UCI Road World Championships in Innsbruck, Austria.

Plapp powered across the 27.8km course to post the fastest time of the day to that point, however Belgian Remco Evenepoel powered home to claim gold almost one and a half minutes ahead of the Australian. Italian Andrea Piccolo claimed bronze. 

The medal adds to the Melbourne cyclist's dual track world titles (Points Race & Madison) he won at the 2018 UCI Junior Track World Championships in Switzerland in August. 

WATCH >>> See Luke's ride here

Luke Plapp

I woke up so excited, just wanted to race and send it! 'No nerves, no hope' I thought to myself when the butterflies started flying around!

I wasn't sure how to feel about my time crossing the line. I was confident my time would be up there, but little did I know how much it would get beaten by!

Pretty stoked with the silver and has been an unreal couple of months. It is a bitter-sweet feeling of silver.  'Never put a number on to come second' but there was nothing I could have done to get the top step!

The course was crazy, it had a little bit of everything. So many climbs and so many descents!

Copyright Casey Gibson

Cycling Australia is pleased to announce the BMX Freestyle selections for the Australian team which will contest the 2018 UCI Urban Cycling World Championships in China in November.

BMX ‘Freestyle Park’, which will make its Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games,  sees cyclists perform a series of tricks during their ‘1 minute run’ across a ramp-filled course. Riders’ tricks are judged based on difficulty, originality, style and execution.

The Australian team in China will be headlined by the Gold Coast’s Logan Martin who claimed the first-ever rainbow jersey on offer in the discipline in 2017.

2018 began ominously for Martin following a training crash in March which broke his collarbone in four places and forced him to miss the opening round of the UCI BMX Freestyle Park World Cup.   

Martin recovered in time to contest the Series’ second round in May where he finished second, before storming to a third-round win in July and gold in the BMX Park Final at the X-Games in the USA later that month.  

“I’m stoked to have another opportunity to ride the UCI World Championship again this year and represent Australia,” said Martin, who currently sits fourth overall on the World Cup standings.  “To have won the first-ever UCI BMX Freestyle World Championship last year was mind-blowing to me and I will most definitely be going for the gold medal again this year.

“I have had a rough start to the year, but my main focus was to get back to full strength leading into July’s World Cup and X-Games in which I won both Park events.

“It has been a much better start to the second half, and I’m feeling really good and strong on my bike. I’m looking forward to the next few events and to finish off the year strongly.”

Brandon Loupos celebrated victory in the opening round of the UCI BMX Freestyle Park World Cup, however, in unfortunate circumstances, the Sydney rider suffered a bike mechanical in round two and had his bike stolen just three hours before the final in round three.

The Gold Coast’s Kyle Baldock and Melbourne's Jake Wallwork round out the selections.

The 2018 UCI Urban Cycling Worlds Championships will take place in Chengdu, China, from 7-11 November 2018. More → www.urbanworlds.cn

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Australian Team - 2018 UCI Urban Cycling Worlds Championships

• Logan Martin - 24 - Gold Coast, QLD 2017 - World Champion; 2018 - 1st Canada World Cup, 1st X-Games, 2nd France World Cup - Currently 4th in World Cup series; Won Nitro Games Park & second X-Games Dirt
• Brandon Loupos - 25 - Engadine (Sydney), NSW 2018 - 1st Japan World Cup, 7th X-Games, 12th Canada World Cup, 23rd France World Cup - currently 6th in World Cup series, won X-Games Dirt; 2017 - 10th World Championships
• Kyle Baldock - 27 - Gold Coast, QLD 2018 - 3rd X-Games, 14th Japan World Cup, 19th France World Cup, Currently 24th in World Cup series; 5th X-Games Dirt; 2017 - 21st World Championships
• Jake Wallwork - 24 - Kilmore (Melbourne), VIC 2018 - 23rd Canada World Cup - Currently 38th in World Cup Series; 2017 - 19th World Championships

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