Impressive start to the Road National Cycling Championships for Canberra Cyclists

Canberra cyclists enjoyed a successful first day at the Mars National Road Cycling Championships at Ballarat, taking out a gold and bronze, in cooler conditions than over the previous few days.

Ailee McDonald (Suzuki-Bontrager) took out the gold medal in the women's under 23 TT after finishing 17th in the women's TT race and being the best under 23 finisher.  She finished ahead of Australian representative Jess Allen.  The best Canberra finisher was Gracie Elvin (Orica-AIS) who finished in 8th place and 2.01 minutes down on winner Shara Gillow.  Jess Maclean failed to start the race.

Top 10 Results and ACT riders

1	202	Shara GILLOW (QLD)		38:36.6
2	208	Grace SULZBERGER (TAS)		39:46.2	+1:09.6
3	266	Felicity WARDLAW (VIC)		39:57.2	+1:20.6
4	209	Taryn HEATHER (VIC)		40:00.4	+1:23.7
5	203	Tiffany CROMWELL (SA)		40:07.3	+1:30.7
6	231	Ruth CORSET (QLD)		40:12.8	+1:36.2
7	201	Amanda SPRATT (NSW)		40:22.6	+1:45.9
8	205	Gracie ELVIN (ACT)		40:37.9	+2:01.2
9	206	Carla RYAN (QLD)		40:38.7	+2:02.0
10	211	Bridie O'DONNELL (VIC)		40:49.5	+2:12.8
17	454	Ailie MCDONALD (ACT)	W23	42:04.6	+3:27.9
dns	221	Jessie MACLEAN (ACT)

Ailie McDonald with her gold medal Photo: Cycling Australia

Ailie's gold medal was not the only success for the day.  Michael Matthews riding in his Orica-GreenEdge kit for the first time took out the bronze medal in the men's elite TT.  His impressive ride was not enough to prevent Luke Durbridge (WA) winning the gold medal for the second year running. Three other ACT cyclists finished in the top 20, including Michael Cupitt (11th), Marc Williams (12th) and Joe Lewis (14th).  Nathan Haas did not start. The impressive start at the TT course surely improves Bling Matthews' chances on Sunday at the road race.


 Top 10 Results and ACT riders

1	3	Luke DURBRIDGE (WA)		43:26.7
2	25	Rohan DENNIS (SA)		43:48.0	21.2
3	28	Michael MATTHEWS (ACT)		44:11.8	45.1
4	5	Richard PORTE (TAS)		44:14.9	48.1
5	131	Jacob KAUFFMANN (NSW)		46:10.4	+2:43.6
6	7	William CLARKE (TAS)		46:21.5	+2:54.7
7	41	Nick BENSLEY (VIC)		46:37.9	+3:11.1
8	163	Jack ANDERSON (QLD)		46:43.1	+3:16.4
9	33	Cameron WURF (TAS)		46:45.3	+3:18.5
10	121	Shane MILLER (VIC)		46:53.3	+3:26.6
11	156	Michael CUPITT (ACT)		46:56.4	+3:29.7
12	106	Marc WILLIAMS (ACT)		47:05.2	+3:38.4
13	104	Blair WINDSOR (NSW)		47:18.8	+3:52.1
14	126	Joseph LEWIS (NSW)		47:24.7	+3:58.0
dns	30	Nathan HAAS (ACT)

Photos to come.

ACT cyclists had no luck at the under 23 men's TT with Mitch Lovelock-Fay coming in sixth, 1.23 minutes down on winner Damien Howson.  Adam Phelan still managed to finish just outside the top 10 even after a heavy crash. There are no details available on whether Adam Phelan will recover in time for the u23 road race on Saturday morning.

 Top 10 Results and ACT riders

1	303	Damien HOWSON (SA)		34:42.2
2	305	Alexander MORGAN (VIC)		34:44.0	1.7
3	304	Campbell FLAKEMORE (TAS)		35:20.6	38.3
4	338	Jordan KERBY (QLD)		35:43.5	+1:01.2
5	313	Jack HAIG (VIC)		36:02.0	+1:19.7
6	309	Mitchell LOVELOCK-FAY (ACT)		36:15.6	+1:33.4
7	311	Alex CLEMENTS (TAS)		36:38.0	+1:55.8
8	342	Mitchell MULHERN (QLD)		36:43.8	+2:01.6
9	307	Aaron DONNELLY (NSW)		36:44.3	+2:02.1
10	325	Harry CARPENTER (SA)		36:53.9	+2:11.7
11	315	Adam PHELAN (ACT)		36:55.9	+2:13.7
26	317	Ivan MICHELIN-BEARD (ACT)		39:40.4	+4:58.2
dns	324	Timothy CAMERON (ACT)

Phelan pre-race focus

The National women's and men's criterium races will take place tomorrow.