Jack Bobridge got his Trek-Segafredo career off to an amazing start after a disappointing time trial as he claimed one of the most impressive solo wins ever at the Australian road race championships. After joining an early 21-rider break, he escaped with Bernard Sulzberger (Drapac) whom he dropped with 90km to go, and then finished off the amazing solo ride to claim his second title. Cameron Meyer (Dimension Data) made a late move to take second, with Patrick Lane (Drapac) taking a surprise bronze medal.

 

In 2011 Jack Bobridge was only in his second year at the professional level but was already hailed as one of the biggest talents in the world. He confirmed that status by riding to an impressive solo win at the Australian national championships and claims a maiden title at just 21 years of age.

 

However, his progress stalled and he never became the road rider that his early results had indicated he would be. For the 2015 season, he turned his attention back to the track and signed with the small Budget Forklifts team in his home country and it looked like his road career at the top level was over.

 

However, a solid performance at last year’s Tour Down Under where he won a stage and the mountains jersey helped him return to the pro ranks when Trek-Segafredo offered him a contract for the 2010 season. Motivated to start it all with a bang, he trained hard for Thursday’s time trial at the Australian national championships but he was a disappointing 10th.

 

That only spurred him on for the road race and today he emulated the effort that had allowed him to take a solo win five years ago. The only difference was the fact that his 30km solo ride from 2011 was tripled as he managed to stay away on his own for an impressive 90km to claim his second title.

 

Bobridge had been attentive in the early part of the race when a flurry of attacks led to the creating of a big 21-rider breakaway. Both major teams had riders in the move – Orica-GreenEDGE had Michael Hepburn and Mitchell Docker while Timothy Roe and Bernard Sulzberger were there for Drapac – so there was a chance that they would be given some leeway.

 

That turned out to be a wise move by Bobridge as the peloton showed no interest in bringing them back. The gap had gone out to 9 minutes when the Trek rider decided to up the pace to get rid of some of the weaker riders. Only Sulzberger could match his speed on the steep Mt. Buninyoung climb which would be tackled a total of 18 times, and the duo managed to increase their advantage over the peloton.

 

Bobridge dropped Sulzberger with 90km to go and managed to push his advantage out to 10 minutes. This was the signal for Orica-GreenEDGE to kick into action and they started to chase hard in the dwindling main group. They got a bit of assistance from Drapac but the game barely came down and it was still 9 minutes when Richie Porte (BMC) destroyed the chase effort by putting in some attacks in the peloton before abandoning the race.

 

Rohan Dennis (BMC) would later try to make a move when he felt that Orica-GreenEDGE was running out of gas. However, the gap was still nine minutes with 30km to go. Instead, Cameron Meyer escaped and was joined by Dennis but the pair of time triallists were unable to gain enough time. Bobridge held off his chasers to claim an emphatic solo win. Meyer dropped Dennis and soloed across the line in second, 2.52 behind the winner while Patrick Lane made a late solo move to pass the tiring Dennis – who would ultimately abandon – and win the bronze medal.

 

Nathan Haas (Dimension Data) won the sprint for fourth from a small 8-rider group that included pre-race favourite Simon Gerrans in sixth, the only finisher from Orica-GreenEDGE on a brutal day that only saw 15 riders finish the race.

 

With the Australian road championships done and dusted, the attention turns to the first WorldTour race of the year, the Tour Down Under, which kicks off on Tuesday, January 19. Two days earlier the riders will test their legs in the Down Under Classic criterium in Adelaide.

 

A traditional course

The 2016 Australian road race championships were held on the same 10.2km circuit in the city of Buninyoung that has been used for several years. It consisted of the short 1.5km of Mt. Buninyoung and a long, gradual descent to the finish and would be tackled a total of 18 times for an overall distance of 183.6km.

 

It was a brutally hot day when the riders gathered for the start and the heat would take its toll on the riders in what would be a very hard race. No one was able to escape in the first lap but as they tackled the climb for the second time, a big group surged clear. Sulzberger, Josh Taylor, Sam Crome, Fergus Sully, Dan Bonelle, Peter Milostic, Bobridge, Roe, Sean Lake, Mark Renshaw, Alistair Crameri, Docker, Ben Hill, Hepburn, Wes Sulzberger, Rhys Gillett and Peter Casey were joined by Jayden Copp and Nathan Elliott to make it a 21-rider move that had a two-minute advantage at the end of the second lap.

 

Bobridge and Sulzberger attack

David Evans, Chris Tassell, Shaun O’Callaghan and Leo Simmonds took off in pursuit and had reduced their deficit to one minute at the start of the next lap. The peloton was still in no hurry and had allowed the gap to go out to 3 minutes. The chasers would never make the junction and were brought back by the main group which had been distanced by seven minutes at the 50km mark.

 

As the riders hit the climb for the seventh time, Bobridge decided to up the pace and only Sulzberger could match his pace. The pair had a 20-second advantage as they crested the summit while the rest of the break split to pieces, with Sulzberger’s brother Wes being taken out by a mechanical. At the end of lap 8, the leading pair were nine minutes ahead of the peloton.

 

Orica-GreenEDGE kick into action

The chase group had been whittled down to Gillett, Parker, Taylor, Lake, Hepburn, Milostic, Crome, Docker and Roe but they were constantly losing ground. Meanwhile, the gap went out to 10 minutes and this was the signal for Orica-GreenEDGE to up the pace with Jack Haig and Alex Edmondson. Parker was now the nearest chase at 2.20, with Hepburn and Lake at 3.13 and Milostic, Roe, Crome and Taylor at 3.25.

 

In the 10th lap, Bobridge dropped Sulzberger on the climb while Orica-GreenEDGE sent Luke Durbridge up the road to join Docker. However, they would soon drop back to the peloton which was now down to less than 30 riders.

 

Porte ups the pace

Richie Porte decided to launch an attack on the climb. He failed to get clear but whittle the peloton further down. That spelled the end for Caleb Ewan and Edmondson, leaving Orica-GreenEDGE with seven riders at the end of lap 11. At this point, Bobridge was four minutes ahead of Sulzberger, 7.37 ahead of Lake, Parker and Roe and 9.07 ahead of the peloton.

 

Portw abandoned the race while Bobridge extended his advantage over Sulzberger to seven minutes. The peloton was not getting any closer and the gap was still 8.30 at the start of lap 14. This is when Drapac started to contribute to the chase but Bobridge only lost 10 seconds in the next lap.

 

Dennis takes off

Sensing the danger, Dennis decided to attack in lap 15 and his effort isolated Gerrans. He was joined by Lane with 30km to go but Durbridge had now returned to the group and managed to bring it back together. There was a bit of a tactical game and it was Meyer who managed to get clear with 28km to go. Dennis joined him and the pair started the third last lap with 6.55 to make up. The peloton was at 7.36.

 

At the start of the penultimate lap, the gap was still 6.25 and it was clear that Bobrdige was not going to crack. Meyer dropped Dennis on the climb and the BMC rider was caught by the peloton. Instead, Lane took off and it was three solo riders that led the race at the start of the final lap. That didn’t change in the final 10km, with Bobridge claiming an emphatic solo win and Meyer and Lane taking the minor positions on the podium.