Alex Edmondson wins tactical battle to claim national road championships in Buninyong
USED to doing the hard yards for others, Alex Edmondson was feeling good during Sunday’s national championships in Buninyong. So after a chat with teammates, he went for it.
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A MID-RACE chat with a veteran teammate and an intimate understanding of a training partner-turned-rival has helped Alex Edmondson claim a thrilling national championship title.
Edmondson, a world champion and Olympic silver medallist on the track, saluted on the road for Mitchelton-Scott at the end of a tense 16-lap, 185.6km battle in Buninyong.
In a cagey race decided as much by tactics as legs, Edmondson outlasted breakaway companion and good friend Chris Harper (Bennelong SwissWellness) and held off Jay McCarthy and a chasing group of 13 rivals to secure a shock victory.
“I’m absolutely speechless. It’s been a dream of mine,” Edmondson said.
“It was a magical day that I’m not going to forget for a hell of a long time.
“As you could see I was pretty happy. I think I was about to fall off the bike, I threw my hands up that hard. I don’t get many opportunities to do it so I’m absolutely thrilled to be able to win the national title.”
Edmondson, 24, has impressed as a hardworking domestique for the Australian WorldTour team, but approached team captain Matt Hayman half way through the race with the question that made it all possible.
“I said, ‘Look, I feel good, what do I need to do?’ and he said: ‘If you can, just follow’.”
With 31km to go and just 36 riders left in contention, Edmondson chose the wheel of an attacking Harper.
Hayman said later: “He said he felt good, which was nice that he told me that before he jumped in that move.
“That meant I had a bit of confidence (in him) without having to go back to the car to find out.”
Edmondson and Harper shed Will Clarke (Cannondale-Drapac) and Troy Herfoss with 21km remaining to set up their mate-versus-mate showdown for the line.
The South Australian pair train daily during the summer.
“I saw my mate Chris Harper go and I knew he was in ripping shape, so I knew it was a wheel I needed to get on,” Edmondson said.
With Edmondson feeling strong and sprinter Caleb Ewan poised to strike in the chasing group behind, Mitchelton-Scott had all the aces in the closing stages.
“It was pretty touch and go. The team wanted me to drop (Harper) and go solo or they were going to work for Caleb so I was second guessing myself a bit. But I knew if we stayed away and it came down to a sprint that I would get him,” Edmondson said.
“I go to a lot more races and work for others and I think that’s why it’s making it even harder to sink in.”
It was a significant result for the local team in their first race as Mitchelton-Scott, having been criticised for not winning the national championships since 2014.
But the team’s win was soured by the loss of classics specialist Luke Durbridge, who was taken to hospital with a suspected broken collarbone and concussion after a nasty crash on a right-hand corner with 14km to go.
Only 38 of the 114 starters finished, but it was less volatile affair than recent editions, with climbers like Richie Porte (BMC), Chris Hamilton (Team Sunweb) and Brendan Canty (Cannondale-Drapac) left frustrated by the conservative nature of the race.
A breakaway group of eight riders formed on lap four and were allowed to established a maximum advantage of more than seven minutes before they were steadily reeled in.
MEDICAL UPDATE: Unfortunately it's a broken right collarbone for @luke_durbridge1 after his fall. Send him your best wishes for a speedy recovery. #RoadNats
— Mitchelton-SCOTT (@MitcheltonSCOTT) January 7, 2018
‘SNEAKY’ SHANNON BOOKS GAMES BERTH
SHANNON Malseed’s “sneaky” approach has shocked her more celebrated rivals, with the emerging Victorian snatching national championship glory.
Malseed, 23, screamed in delight after winning a six-rider sprint to the line in Buninyong — holding off Lauren Kitchen (FDJ) and Grace Brown (Holden Team Gusto).
In a dramatic climax to the nine-lap 104.4km race, Malseed’s group had caught Katrin Garfoot (QAS) with just 50m of road left after the defending champion had launched a bold attack with 3km remaining.
“I passed Kat and then ‘Spratty’ (Amanda Spratt) and Kitchen started to fade and I realised that I was about to cross the line,” Malseed said.
“I sort of prepped myself for the double hander (victory salute), but I was so overwhelmed that I could only balance one hand in the air.
“I think I lost my voice a little bit, I screamed so loud. It’s absolutely just amazing.”
One of the rising stars of women’s cycling, Malseed won the 2016 Oceanias road race and was last year’s National Road Series champion.
A Ballarat local, she used her intimate knowledge of the 11.6km Buninyong circuit to keep a low profile within all the major moves as two-time winner Spratt (Mitchelton Scott) and titleholder Garfoot exchanged blows in a shrinking field.
“I’m a bit sneaky so I definitely knew I had a chance and that’s all I needed,” she said.
“I can play that game like ‘Oh, I’m a little bit inexperienced’ sort of thing, but I’m always thinking about the tactics I can use to beat those girls.
“I knew I had the physical form coming in and I’m riding the best I’ve ever ridden and I knew if I could hang on up that climb I have a decent sprint on me.”
The victory guarantees Malseed a spot in Australia’s Commonwealth Games team — something she admitted had been a “pipe dream”.
“This means I’ve ticked one of those bucket list results,” she said.
“To have this under my belt so young, I’m so proud of myself and proud of everyone who has been involved in my development. I’m so thankful.”
The race roared to life in the first kilometre, with the seven-strong Mitchelton-Scott team looking to make the most of their numerical advantage as Jessica Allen attacked.
Her move dragged Kitchen (FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope) and Kate Perry (Specialized Women’s Racing) with her on the first ascent of the Midland Highway.
The trio, with Kennedy doing the lion’s share of the work, established a lead of nearly four a half minutes over a sedate peloton 35km into the race.
But it was Allen’s Mitchelton-Scott teammates who eventually put the hammer down behind her, shredding the field with a series of attacks from Lucy Kennedy, Sarah Roy, under-23 winner Alex Manly and Spratt.
A group of seven remained to contest a tactical final lap, with Malseed timing her run to perfection after Garfoot’s brave bid for back-to-back glory was denied just shy of the line.
CONFUSION AS MANLY TAKES U-23 TITLE
HER Mitchelton-Scott team may not have got what they wanted from the women’s race, but Alex Manly ensured she didn’t leave the national championships empty-handed by taking out the under-23 title.
Manly, 21, finished in a chasing group 2min32secs behind elite winner Shannon Malseed, but it proved enough.
“It’s pretty special. You don’t get to wear the Aussie stripes too often. It was nice to come away with the win,” Manly said.
With the under-23’s racing alongside the elite women, Manly admitted to some confusion in the hectic final kilometres.
“When I was going up the hill I heard a commentator saying how this young girl was going really good in the front and I was like ‘Oh damn’,” she said.
“But I had the (under 23) numbers on my stem and I was like ‘None of them are up there’ and it turned out they weren’t.”
Originally published as Alex Edmondson wins tactical battle to claim national road championships in Buninyong
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