Nicola Rutzou
The National Road Championships take place this week in Perth, WA, their new home, and we’re guessing that most East Coast cyclists will be watching from the couch this year, given the favourable time zone difference.
The action kicks off today (Wednesday, 8 January 2025) with the start of the time trials, followed by the Criteriums on Friday, 10 January and culminates with the elite women’s and men’s road races on Sunday, 12 January. Between the elite races, there are para events, junior races, and a Gran Fondo.
The Nationals have relocated to Perth after 18 years in Ballarat/Buninyong in regional Victoria, so the outcomes will be less predictable than the previous years.
The time trials are contested over a 9.8km circuit around Bold Park, just west of the CBD. The course includes two step-like climbs, and overall, it’s fast. The elite men will contest four laps (39.2km) and the elite women three laps (29.4km).
The 2.2km Criterium course is in the Perth CBD and, with six corners per lap, is likely to produce explosive racing. The fast, technical course has a mixture of wide boulevards and narrow side streets and gives riders plenty of opportunities to break away and get out of sight of the chasing bunch.
Both road races take place on Sunday, 12 January with the women’s race at 10.45 am and the men’s at 2.30 pm.
The races take place over a 13.6km circuit, in central Perth taking in King’s Park and the Swan River. While King’s Park is perched above the city, the highest summit is short and just a little punchy, so it’s likely that the race will be suited to a sprinter or puncheur rider rather than a pure climber.
Defending Champions
Current Australian champions Ruby Roseman-Gannon (Liv AlUla Jayco) and Luke Plapp (Team Jayco AlUla) will both line up to defend their road race national titles.
Plapp will aim for a fourth consecutive elite road race title, a feat never achieved before. He will also attempt to defend the jersey in the individual time trial, which he won in 2022 and 2024.
Roseman-Gannon also heads to Perth as a dual champion, having won the criterium and road race in 2024.
How to watch
SBS will live stream the Criterium races on Friday, 10 January, while the road races, including the Men’s Under 23, Women’s Elite and Men’s Elite, will be broadcast on SBS or SBS Viceland and live-streamed.
