The AusCycling Track National Championships was contested over five days of cycling action at the Anna Meares Velodrome from 24-28 March.

Plowright storms to triply gold in team pursuit, omnium and points races

Victorian powerhouse Jensen Plowright prevailed in three events, with an exciting skirmish with Queensland’s Liam Walsh to win gold in the elite men’s omnium.

Plowright, an Australian Cycling Team Podium Potential Academy member, hit the ground running from the get-go in the four-race omnium with a second place in the scratch race early in the day.

Walsh battled back in the tempo round courtesy of a spirited lap gain on the field. However, Plowright balanced the ledger with a win in the elimination race at the beginning of the night session.

A Queensland versus Victoria battle ensued in the deciding points race, but Plowright’s ability to find an extra turn of speed proved too much for Walsh, who settled for the silver medal.

The win gave Plowright a second gold for the Championships after he guided Victoria to team pursuit gold on the opening day.

Moran wins elite women’s point race on the final lap

A South Australian onslaught from Chloe Moran and Amber Pate in the 100-lap points race capped off an exciting night of racing on Day 3.

Pate led the points for most of the race, only to have Moran take the title away from her at the final double-points lap finish after an opportunistic surge off the front with fellow South Australian Kat Chung-Orr.

The win secured Moran’s maiden individual elite national title and added to the team pursuit title she claimed on the opening day with South Australia

Leahy wins race against a clock

​A nail-biting elite men’s individual pursuit gold medal final duel between the Australian Cycling Team Podium Potential Academy duo of Conor Leahy and James Moriarty captivated the Anna Meares Velodrome crowd.

Leahy, who broke his collarbone only five weeks ago, took command early in the 4000m battle, but Moriarty fought back to reduce the time split at the halfway mark. But the gap was too much of a mountain to climb for Moriarty in the back half of the race, as Leahy charged to back-to-back national titles.

The elite women’s individual pursuit was also a special occasion for a very different reason, with National Road Series rider Samantha de Riter claiming a maiden track national title.

Second-ranked qualifier De Riter proved too good for Australian Cycling Academy Podium Potential Academy member and former junior world champion Lauren Perry in the final as she stormed to her first green and gold jersey.

“I had a bit of a faster schedule in mind, but the legs weren’t quite there. I crashed five weeks ago and broke my collarbone … to come here and win that race, yeah, I’m pretty happy. I went out really hot maybe expecting a bit more than I had in the legs but to hold off in the end feels pretty special.” – Conor Leahy
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Birthday joy for Martin-Wallace

Alexandra Martin-Wallace made it a birthday to remember on day 5 of the 2021 AusCycling Track National Championships, claiming a big win in the elite women’s scratch race.

Queensland’s Martin-Wallace had toiled hard all week-long for no podium reward but was able to turn her fortunes around in the final elite women’s race of the program.
Zipping up the green and gold jersey was a special moment for the Australian Cycling Team Podium Potential Academy member, who was celebrating her 21st birthday.

The South Australian duo of Moran and Breanna Hargrave rounded out the podium in the silver and bronze medal positions.

Edwards wins maiden individual national title

Australian Cycling Team Podium Potential Academy member Sophie Edwards scored a milestone win in the gruelling elite women’s omnium, the first individual national title of her career.

The South Australian was neck and neck with Queensland’s Alexandra Martin-Wallace in the scratch and tempo portions of the omnium but asserted her authority on the field with a classy win in the elimination race.

Edwards was then placed under the microscope by 2021 U23 national road champion Emily Watts’ unrelenting attacks in the final points race.

Watts persisted with attacks as the lap count dwindled, but Edwards' talent shone through to the finish to comfortably win the omnium green and gold jersey.

Edwards’ gold medal is her second of the Championships and continues South Australia’s dominance in this week’s elite women’s events.

The finish of the points race was heartbreak for Martin-Wallace, who lost her bronze medal finish to Tasmanian and fellow Podium Potential Academy member Lauren Perry on a countback after the final sprint.

Frislie triumphs in chaotic elite men’s scratch race

A frenetic elite men’s scratch race with entertainment from start to finish shut the curtains on a super Saturday at Anna Meares Velodrome.

Victorian Graeme Frislie emerged unscathed and first across the line in a ferocious scratch race that had the crowd on the edge of its seat.

From the gun, the pressure was on for the elite men courtesy of a daring but unsuccessful attempt to gain a lap from Haddon Kilmartin.

The intensity never wavered and would culminate in a series of courageous one-out attacks by firstly Jordan Villani and then Josh Duffy, who looked at one stage to have the win all wrapped up.

A rapid chase led by eventual silver medallist Oliver Bleddyn reeled Duffy back in on the final passing of the back straight, leading to a moment of chaos which ended with Frislie crossing the line for the national title and Blake Agnoletto, Declan Trezise and Jensen Plowright laying on the Anna Meares Velodrome boards.

All three riders were thankfully unscathed from major injuries in the incident.
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For each Summer of Cycling, Cycling Australia prepares endurance development racing teams for the Santos Tour Down Under, Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race (CEGORR) including Race Torquay, and the Herald Sun Tour.  

The development opportunity for athletes within Australia's High Performance Network and National Road Series teams to contest UCI events within Australia.

One of the youngest to line up at the 2020 Santos Tour Down Under was Adelaide teenager Sophie Edwards who switched the green and gold of the Australian Cycling Team’s Podium Potential Academy^ to take her place on the Team UniSA-Australia outfit.

A Junior Track World Championship medallist in 2018, Edwards joined the Academy in the same year, with a blend of track and road in 2019 resulting in two elite World Cup appearances in Hong Kong and Glasgow, while also taking part in a winter road racing program in Belgium. 
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Sophie penned her thoughts on her week at the Santos Tour Down Under for us below.

Last week I was grateful to be given the opportunity to swap out the track bike and take part in the Santos Women’s Tour Down Under. It has been a dream of mine to race the TDU, as I’ve not only watched it eagerly every year as a child in my hometown, but I also rode the family ride when I was seven, assisted at presentations and cleaned bikes in a valet service. 

The Santos Women’s Tour consisted of three hilly stages, all well over 100km with upwards of 1500m climbing. These challenging stages were followed by a technical street-circuit criterium in the heart of Adelaide, which preceded the men’s Schwalbe Classic. ​

It all started in Hahndorf, a 115km stage with close to 1500m of climbing. The streets were decorated and there was a much larger crowd than I expected! It was a tough race, with the strong World Tour teams setting the tempo high up the climbs. 

It was awesome to see a daring attack by Australian Brodie Chapman almost pay off before she was caught in a super technical finishing circuit with the sprint won by another Australian, Chloe Hosking. It was a massive learning experience for me as I couldn’t just try and finish, I had to constantly be aware of where my team was and assist our GC rider as much as I could.