This piece comes from Zac Williams, the photographer who took that Eiffel Tower shot. A Perth native, Zac has spent years traveling the world capturing some of the sport’s biggest moments — from the Olympic Games to the Giro d’Italia to the Tour de France. With Australian Road Nationals back on his home turf last week, this isn’t just a race report — it’s a love letter to a city, its riders, and its fans.
Chants of “DURBOOOOOOOOOOO, DURBOOOOOO, DURBOOOOOOO” ring in my ears. The man of the hour, the hometown hero, Luke Durbridge, is making his way to the podium through throngs of adoring fans, each one trying to get their own piece of history with pats on the back, handshakes, and words of congratulation, mixed with warm hugs and incredulous laughter shared with family and close friends. It’s 5:15 pm on January 12, 2025 — it’s time for the coronation of Luke Durbridge.
Just a few days earlier, on Thursday afternoon, it was misery and rage that punctuated Luke Durbridge’s time trial in front of his home crowd. DS in the car, Matt White, told Durbridge to stay out of the finish chute on his fourth of four laps, confusing the Perth local on the charge towards what likely would’ve been a podium finish, forcing him to stay out on the course and eventually leading to a gut-wrenching DNF. Luke Plapp delivered the goods for his team, taking the win by eight seconds, but that would’ve done little for Durbridge’s morale. He was left ruing what could’ve been and no doubt hatching a plan for a Sunday of redemption.
The crit was next on Friday. Durbridge, the only Jayco AlUla rider lining up, told me before the start “We’re here to race. I’m at home, why wouldn’t I get out there?” Durbridge animated the relentless charge around Northbridge, launching multiple attacks, the last of which was reeled in with one lap to go. Another hometown hero and Olympic gold medallist, Sam Welsford, got the job done in the final sprint, to the roars of the local crowd. The energy at that race was immense. I spent the afternoon run off my feet — 18,000 steps through the day, an indicator of just how many laps I did of that 1.2 km circuit through the heart of Perth.
I had been looking forward to Nationals ever since I got wind of the contract being signed over from Ballarat, a venue that hosted the championships for what felt like a lifetime. For 18 years in a row, Nationals had been decided on and around Mt Buninyong.
There was a lot of chatter when the announcement came about Perth being too far away, not being equipped for a big event like the Road Nats, or not being worth the trip. They dragged our road race course, labelling it “soft.” The weekend spent in and around Kings Park and the ascents of Malcolm Street proved quite the opposite. It was brutal.
The excitement and crowd numbers that punctuated Friday afternoon and evening had me champing at the bit for what Sunday was going to hold. I’d never seen anything quite like it in my time on the scene in Perth. The finish was lined three deep the whole way down, pubs on the course were taken over by local kit brands, and the vibes all the way around the circuit were infectious. I can’t remember how many times I heard my name called out or saw a friendly face with nice things to say. It was such a high. I knew Perth was going to turn out in force for these championships. What I didn’t know was how special Sunday was going to be on a personal level for me.
Saturday came and went with the junior, Para cycling, and U23 men’s races — a good day to get my eye in on the course, find my shots, and get into a flow with my moto pilot; a dress rehearsal for the big premiere to follow the next day.
After covering off the bases for the gran fondo, including a celebrity appearance from everyone’s favourite F1 Finn, Mr. Valtteri Bottas, it was time to get the real racing underway. The elite/U23 women set off with a traditionally cagey first lap before an early break formed right in front of me as I stopped for a photo along the back side of the course through Kings Park. I was beyond stoked to see local rider Sophia Sammons jump across, followed by one of my close friends, Cassia Boglio, resplendent in her new kit and bike, racing on “vibes,” as her coach and 2019 National Road Race champion, Michael Freiberg, instructed her to do the night before. Those words no doubt governed her choice to go long and see what would stick.
I’ve known Cass for four or five years now. I remember riding with her back in Belgium in 2022 when she was on NXTG (now AG Insurance Soudal). She was really struggling to adjust to European life far away from home and not feeling like the support she needed was there. She made the brave choice to return home, seemingly giving up on the opportunity she’d been working towards her whole young adult life, choosing to turn her focus to gravel and individual road racing, riding on her own terms.
I’ve had a lot of incredible experiences doing this job. I shot the Olympic Road Races on the moto last year, covered the Giro for the organisation — also on the back of the bike. I watched Cavendish break the TDF stage record. But seeing someone whose story and journey I’ve been so close to take the biggest result of her career — a third place at the elite National Road Race, in front of our home crowds — brought out all the emotions.
Cass crossed the line, hand over her mouth, in utter disbelief at what just transpired. I snapped out of my work mindset as she was asking me, amid joyful tears, if she had in fact done it and got on the podium. Confirming to her what she had done in a sweaty hug as we both shed tears was something I won’t forget anytime soon.
Capturing the celebrations with her family and all of our friends was an honour and a privilege. All I could wonder as I shot the podium was how on earth the men’s race was going to live up to this.
Then Durbo decided to step up to the plate. I’d heard rumours all through the week from friends close to Luke that he was planning to go long. Knowing how fast and attritional the racing was going to be on the 13.2 km course, and with the famous Fremantle Doctor sea breeze at the backs of the riders on the most exposed section of the lap, it was going to be hard to bring back any breakaway — especially with both the U23 men’s and elite women’s victors coming from the early move.
Conor Leahy, another local lad and Olympic gold medallist, was Durbo’s breakaway companion for the first 60 or so kilometres of his phenomenal 160 km raid. Luke said in a post-race interview that the night before the race, he’d dreamt that he was in a break with Conor Leahy, ripping around in front of their home crowd. Maybe fate did have a hand in this fairytale.
I watched Durbo slowly tire through the afternoon, knowing the enormity of the ride he already had in his legs. With two laps to go, it was looking like the firepower from behind was going to reel him back in, with Jay Vine, Jai Hindley, Liam Walsh, and Brady Gilmore the most active in the chasing group. The writing was starting to appear on the wall for Durbo. The support of the Perth tifosi didn’t seem to have the same effect on the lone leader.
I dropped back to the peloton on the motorbike for the second-last ascent through St George’s Terrace and up to the Malcolm Street climb, knowing that the race was about to be decided from behind. Just as I did, Luke Plapp launched a monster attack from the group, with Vine and Hindley trying to close to his wheel.
Watching the best riders in the world tear up your local roads is always a thrill. This was on another level. Plapp flew across the gap to Durbo, closing him down in the final straight. As the bell rang for the last lap, the energy of the crowd set the hairs on the back of my neck on end.
Plapp blew past Durbridge, slapping his own hip, screaming at Durbo to get on the wheel — later telling the media that he shouted, “If you hold it the whole way round, the title is yours.”
I knew this was it. The last few laps before this, I really wasn’t happy with what I’d shot, getting in my own head about my choices and second-guessing myself. I was so nervous about doing this historic event in my hometown justice, and I didn’t feel like I had. I pushed that to one side and locked in for the last 13 km of the weekend.
I jumped off the moto on the descent, capturing Plapp absolutely charging through the park with Durbo on his wheel. I made a last-minute choice to stop and shoot them in front of The Old Swan Brewery, which turned into one of my favourite shots of the weekend. I leapt back on the bike and told my pilot, Walt, to get us to the finish, full gas. As we passed the duo in the final kilometre or so, I saw discussions going on with Hayman in the car and the boys on the bikes. I didn’t want to dream about anything just yet. I knew Plapp was on the verge of a record-breaking ride to take a fourth national title in a row. I didn’t even know if Durbo could hold on in his state.
What transpired in those final few hundred metres can only be described with clichés and superlatives. Plapp, repaying the tireless and selfless Durbridge — a rider that Plapp had not only admired while his own career was starting, but also a teammate and fiercely loyal domestique to the talented youngster from Melbourne. Plapp, pushing Durbridge in front of him as they rounded the final corner into the finish chute on Fraser Avenue, thousands of Durbridge’s biggest fans screaming his name, his face awash with disbelief, was phenomenal.
Durbridge showed his true stamina, celebrating all the way through the final couple of hundred metres, giving me some of my favourite finish-line pictures I’ve ever captured, irrespective of the context in which they were taken.
What followed for me after he crossed the line was the cherry on top. I’d gone straight to the very back of the finish straight, perched on the corner to capture a wider, “all-in” view of the action, as Chris, my colleague, got the close-up action photo of the finish. I jumped up and switched to my wide lens as Durbo slowed down, with Plapp following close behind. As he dumped his bike and unclipped, he stepped straight to me, smacked my camera out of my hands as I put it to my face, and grabbed me in a bear hug, both of us in disbelief at what just happened.
That’s two moments and two hugs from Sunday I won’t ever forget.
Seeing someone I’ve admired my whole cycling life — especially someone as humble and genuine as Luke — get this opportunity, in the swansong of his career, in Perth, a place both of us are so proud to be products of, has gone right to the top of my cherished moments in this job. Right next to Jai’s ride into yellow and the insanity of the Olympic road races.
I doubt Plappy will ever have to buy a beer in Perth again after the class he showed in those closing kilometres. The presence of mind and the selflessness he showed skyrocketed him in my estimations, which were already sky-high. He talks the talk of Aussie mateship and team culture, and on Sunday he well and truly walked the walk.
The podium location couldn’t have topped the weekend off better — overlooking the city at one of the lookouts in Kings Park, with thousands of fans standing behind me in an almost Roman-amphitheatre-like atmosphere, as Durbridge was adorned with the iconic green-and-gold bands for the second time in his career, 12 years after he did the double, claiming the TT and RR titles in the same year over in Ballarat.
His words on the podium — eloquent and heartfelt — moved me to tears, as they did the man with the mic. Reflecting with impressive clarity on just how special the preceding four or so hours had been to him in the context of his life and career, it resonated with me so intensely. I’d spent the last few days truly overwhelmed by the support the city that helped to shape me showed me.
I lost count of the times I heard my name called out to me on the moto, or how many waves or cheers I got from friends and family as I tore around my hometown. I knew the Perth Nationals was going to be special. I’d been waiting like a kid for Christmas ever since I got the contract to cover it for AusCycling, pulling my dear friend and colleague Chris Auld into the fray to cover them with me — someone I owe an enormous amount of gratitude to for helping to launch my career.
Being able to share that week with him, even amidst the 54 hours we worked in five days (probably a record for us), was something I’ll always cherish.
I’ve always banged the Perth drum to anyone who will listen to me when I’m overseas. We punch well above our weight with pro rider production. Names like Hindley, O’Connor, Durbridge, Meyer, Allen, Welsford, and Storer have animated and triumphed in some of the biggest races our sport has to offer.
Now, we’ve finally had a chance to show everyone what all the fuss is about.
I can’t wait for the next two years of Road Nats in Perth. As I always say: WEST IS BEST.
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