Nicola Rutzou
Patrick Eddy (Team Brennan) and Mackenzie Coupland (Liv AlUla Jayco) have surprised the favourites to claim maiden road race national titles on a dramatic day at the Road National Championships in Perth.
Eddy defied the might of Team Jayco AlUla, storming home in a dramatic final lap to beat Luke Plapp in a sprint finish. The 23-year-old Bendigo rider claimed victory in the 176-kilometre race after getting the better of Jayco AlUla’s Plapp, Ben O’Connor and Luke Durbridge in the final kilometres.
After failing to secure a renewal to his WorldTour contract at the end of 2025, Sunday’s victory reaffirmed Eddy’s talents at the top level and is by far the most significant victory of Continental-level Team Brennan.
In one of her first appearances for her WorldTour team, 20-year-old Mackenzie Coupland (Liv AlUla Jayco) won the elite and under-23 women’s road race at the Westbridge Funds Road National Championships.
On the final lap in Kings Park in Perth, Coupland broke clear from the peloton and overtook her teammate, Josie Talbot, who had been in the early breakaway.
Hold her own tempo, Coupland fended off a group of three chasing from behind − Neve Bradbury (CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto), Katelyn Nicholson (Butterfields Ziptrack Racing), who was in the early breakaway with Talbot, and teammate Ruby Roseman-Gannon.
After 108km of racing, the West Australian crossed the line in just under three hours to become the new local hero. Roseman-Gannon outsprinted Bradbury for the silver medal.
In the Under 23 Men’s Road Race, Brisbane’s Jackson Medway (Tudor Pro Cycling Team U23) jumped across to the breakaway before attacking brilliantly on the final lap of the 135km race, soloing to victory in Kings Park.
Medway powered to the national title in 3 hours 07 minutes, while former breakaway companions Noah Blannin (CCACHE x BODYWRAP) and Dylan Proctor-Parker (RCA Bikes Online) finished nearly one minute behind.
The National Criterium winners were Ruby Roseman-Gannon and Jensen Plowright.
Roseman-Gannon displayed power and composure to claim her third Road National Championships elite women criterium title, while Plowright (Alpecin-Premier Tech) claimed one of the biggest wins of his career to take out the men’s race in a dramatic final lap.
In the Elite ITT races, Felicity Wilson-Haffenden and Jay Vine set a blistering pace to take their national titles.
Wilson-Haffenden (Lidl-Trek) put the cycling world on notice with an exciting victory in the elite women’s time trial, while Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates) put in an emphatic performance to claim the elite men’s time trial.
Nicola Rutzou – a long-time contributor and, most recently, the editor of Bicycling Australia. Nicola is a keen Sydney-based road cyclist who writes reviews, news, and destination pieces, as well as the weekly e-newsletter for BA online.
