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Luke Durbridge (Jayco AlUla) has ridden to his second Australian road race title, turning a long breakaway in his home town of Perth into victory, just ahead of teammate Luke Plapp.
Durbridge was part of an early break with fellow West Australian Connor Leahy (Ccache-Bodywrap), before dropping Leahy with 82 km still to race. Durbridge powered on alone for most of 70 km but appeared to be fading in the final kilometres, until Plapp – the three-time defending champion – bridged across to Durbridge at the start of the final lap.
Plapp and Durbridge rode together through the final 13.6 km, with Plapp doing most of the work. And then, when it came to the final rise to the line, Plapp sat up, allowing Durbridge to take the win, 12 years after his first Australian road title. Plapp held on for second in a Jayco AlUla 1-2, while Liam Walsh (Ccache-Bodywrap) burst clear of the chasing peloton to clinch third place a short time later.
Durbridge attacked on the first lap of the 13-lap, 177 km race, and when live coverage began – with around 100 km to go – he and Leahy were out front, roughly 1:30 ahead of a chase group of six riders. In that chase were Durbridge’s teammate Michael Hepburn, Leahy’s teammate Liam Walsh, Sam Welsford (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Blake Quick (Roojai Insurance), Matthew May, and Leighton Cook.
On the climb that ended lap 7, Durbridge dropped Leahy, and in the peloton, a surge from some of the big names – including Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Simon Clarke (Israel-Premier Tech), Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates), and Chris Harper (Jayco AlUla) – swept up the chase group.
Durbridge’s lead increased to a maximum of roughly three minutes with around 58 km to go, before the gap started to slowly decrease. Jayco AlUla remained vigilant in the peloton, marking any and all moves to help protect Durbridge’s lead.
Durbridge led by less than a minute when Plapp made his move just before the end of the penultimate lap, around 15 km to go. Plapp bridged across to his teammate solo, the pair joining forces as they got the bell for the final lap.
Plapp did much of the work in the closing kilometres as an 11-rider group – the remnants of the peloton – struggled to mount a concerted chase. Plapp urged Durbridge to the front on approach to the finish line, allowing the 33-year-old plenty of time to celebrate in front of friends and family and his many local fans.
Quotes of the day
While he’s won this race before, winning a national title in front of his home crowd meant a lot to Durbridge.
“It’s one of the most proud moments of my life. I was in the zone all day, and just got so much support, so much love, and everyone’s here. And I just want to say thank you to everyone.”
Durbridge was particularly full of gratitude for Plapp’s assistance in the final lap.
“It was looking pretty dire straits. Both quads had gone, my back had gone as well, quite a long time ago – I’d started to blow. And Plappy said ‘Oh look, mate, you just hold the wheel and it’s yours.’ I knew I just had to suffer, and he’s so strong. He’s a true champion. I don’t know what would have happened if he didn’t come across, but he gave that to me and I can’t thank him enough for that.”
Jayco AlUla were in control throughout the entire race, first with Durbridge out front, then with Hepburn in the chase, and finally with numbers in the peloton as Durbridge led solo. When Durbridge’s lead was looking tenuous, Plapp was able to make his move, ultimately bolstering Durbridge’s effort and securing the victory – and the 1-2 – for the Australian team.
Durbridge has been a fixture in the breakaway at Road Nationals almost every year for the past 12 years or so. Moving the event to Durbridge’s hometown of Perth after more than 20 years in Buninyong didn’t disrupt that pattern.
Durbridge’s first road race title, back in 2013, also came from the break. That day he got away in a group of seven after just 5 km of racing, and was the last man standing, winning solo by roughly a minute.
Plapp gave up his chance of rewriting the history books when he handed the victory to Durbridge. While three other Australian riders have managed to win four national road race titles, no one – male or female – has won four in a row. Victory today would have given Plapp that honour.
The Australian summer of racing continues at the Santos Tour Down Under next week, starting with the women’s WorldTour race on Friday January 17. The men’s race begins on Tuesday January 21.
