Mike O'Connor
Australia’s top track cyclists delivered a week of blistering speed and hard-fought racing at the 2026 AusCycling Track National Championships, with stars Conor Leahy, Leigh Hoffman, Sophie Edwards and Alessia McCaig leading the charge at Brisbane’s Anna Meares Velodrome.
The action began on Tuesday last week, as Olympic champion Conor Leahy smashed the men’s elite pursuit national record to open the Championships with a bang.
Leahy lit up the Velodrome, clocking 4:04.062 on Tuesday night, his sixth national pursuit gold, adding to his five consecutive national titles in the event between 2020-2024.
Leahy broke the national record by almost two seconds.
“I knew it was quick, the coach was calling my splits, and I was going faster than I planned to go, and when I started to see Ollie [Bleddyn], it gave me a carrot to chase.”
Claudia Marcks, 22, also defended her women’s 1000m time trial title after winning the inaugural event in 2025.
By Wednesday, another record had fallen, as Adelaide’s Sophie Edwards broke the national record in the women’s individual pursuit, before going on to claim the fifth national title of her career in the final against Claudia Marcks.
Edwards’, the Commonwealth Games gold medallist, qualifying time was enough to break the national record with a scintillating 4:32.651.
“I didn’t believe it when I looked up at the board and saw I had broke the record; I didn’t believe it,” Edwards said.
“I had a big weekend of racing doing the ProVelo tour in Brisbane, so I didn’t know how I would pull up. Super proud to take the victory.”
Tayte Ryan also defended his green-and-gold jersey in the 1000m time trial.
Thursday was another day for the record books as first Leigh Hoffman confirmed his status as the nation’s fastest man, setting a flying 200m time of 9.321, the fastest ever recorded on Australian soil, before Victoria’s McCaig broke the women’s championship record with a 10.644 ahead of a strong field including Queensland’s Deneaka Blinco and Western Australia’s Liliya Tatarinoff.
On Friday, Western Australia’s Conor Leahy again showed his class, this time in the elite men’s points race, claiming his 11th national title after taking three laps to beat Queensland duo Rohan Haydon-Smith and Noah Blannin.
After their record-breaking rides in qualifying a day earlier, Leigh Hoffman and Victoria’s Alessia McCaig comfortably won their respective finals to claim national titles.
Meanwhile, New South Wales’ Nicole Duncan also broke through for her first individual national title in the elite women’s elimination race, riding a composed and tactical event before sprinting past South Australia’s Sophie Edwards in the final lap.
Emerging Queensland star Neve Parslow, who claimed the road race and time trial junior national championship double in Perth earlier this year, looked dominant in the elimination, riding from the front to claim the green-and-gold jersey.
The 18-year-old held off a strong finish from New South Wales’ Elsie Apps.
“My plan was to stick to the front, I managed to pull it off perfectly,” Parslow said.
The ACT’s Angus Withington took out the U19 sprint final over South Australia’s Mitchell Stephens despite qualifying ninth earlier that morning.
Saturday again belonged to the sprinters, with Alessia McCaig taking out the women’s keirin and claiming the sprint-keirin double for the third consecutive year.
It was also McCaig’s fourth consecutive keirin national title.
“I’m stoked, four in a row is crazy,” McCaig said. “I broke a PB and didn’t lose a race all week, so I’d say that is a ’10-out-of-10 week for me.”
Leigh Hoffman also claimed a historic double after a bullocking performance in the men’s keirin final, backing up from his win in the sprint final on Friday night.
Hoffman was forced to go wide on the final lap, but powered his way through to win comfortably.
On Sunday, South Australia’s Rylee McMullen emerged as one of the most successful riders of the championships, collecting three national titles. She claimed the women’s points race ahead of Sophie Edwards and Keira Will, adding to earlier wins in the scratch race and team pursuit.
“I love a points race, we went in with a plan to make it really hard,” McMullen said. “It was nice not to let it come down to a sprint finish.”
The closing night on Monday delivered keirin titles and a dramatic finale in the endurance races.
The men’s elimination race produced one of the standout moments of the week, with New South Wales rider Tom Cornish claiming victory in dramatic fashion. After hitting the deck earlier in the race, Cornish remounted and fought his way back through the field before out-sprinting reigning champion Kurt Eather in the final lap.
“I just didn’t want to give up,” Cornish said. “Once I got back on, it was all about staying in it and taking my chance at the end.”
It was Cornish’s first national championship since 2021, and his first as an endurance rider after switching from sprint.
Along with national titles and benchmark times on the line, the championships also served as a key audition for Australian team selection ahead of the upcoming Glasgow Commonwealth Games, with every ride carrying added weight as riders looked to impress selectors.
Mike O’Connor – A keen cyclist, runner and photographer, Mike O’Connor is the Editor of Bicycling Australia. He manages the BA website and social media, and loves promoting the achievements of Australian cyclists.
