Defending champions set to defend titles at AusCycling Road National Championship in Perth

Australian GreenEDGE riders Ruby Roseman-Gannon and Luke Plapp will defend their titles in what is shaping as a deep field at the AusCycling Road National Championships from January 8-12 in Perth. Plapp will be aiming for a fourth consecutive elite road race title, a feat never achieved by an Australian, and will also defend his individual time-trial title, which he won in 2022 and ’24.. Roseman-Gannon will head to Perth as a dual champion, having claimed victory in the criterium and road race this year. Plapp won his first two titles for the INEOS Grenadiers before completing the hat-trick this year in Ballarat, winning the green-and-gold bands for the Australian team of Jayco AlUla. A dual Olympian on both track and road, Plapp won a bronze medal as part of the team pursuit at Tokyo 2020 and was an early contender in this year’s Paris Games time-trial on a rain-drenched course before a nasty fall ended his hopes. Plapp, 23, had clocked the fourth-fastest time at the first intermediate check before he collided with a barrier fence. He was rushed to hospital for abdominal surgery but has had a full recovery. A grand tour cyclist, Plapp finished 52nd in general classification at this year’s Giro d’Italia. “It’s been special to wear the green and gold for the last three years, but nothing tops the pride of wearing it on the Aussie team,” Plapp said. “To have the stripes for both the time-trial and road race this year was a dream, especially to wear them throughout the Giro. “Coming into Perth nationals I’ll be giving it my best to keep both these jerseys. I’ve never not worn the Australian champion’s bands since I turned pro and I don’t plan for that to stop now.” Roseman-Gannon, 26, has had a stellar season, her first as Australian champion, including her first WorldTour victory: a sprint win at the Tour of Britain. The Victorian finished sixth in the road race at the UCI World Championships and helped Australia win the mixed relay team time-trial. “Winning the national road race was one of my long-term goals and to do it in Buninyong this year in front of my family, friends and my local cycling community was extra special,” Roseman-Gannon said. “It was a privilege and honour to represent the jersey on the world stage. “I’m excited for the new course in Perth – as much as I loved Buninyong, I think some variety in parcours and location will be good for the sport, spectators and riders.” As revealed exclusively in The West Australian last week, 2023 Giro d’Italia winner Jai Hindley will race the nationals in his home town through Kings Park and the streets of Perth on January 11 and 12, alongside another local, ten-time Tour de France finisher Luke Durbridge. Hindley, 28, could not resist riding in the nationals for the first time since 2020 after the WA Government’s successful coup to shift them from long-time host Victoria. West Australian Durbridge, 33, aims to start in the time trial, which he has won four times, as well as the criterium and road race. Perth has secured the road nationals for three years after it last staged them in 1997. The race was held in Victoria every year between 1998 and 2024 apart from a two-year stint in South Australia. The elite men will ride 177km, 13 laps of a 13.6-kilometre circuit that twists through King’s Park before becoming a peloton race alongside the Swan River and into the CBD. A punchy climb up William Street and Malcolm Street tops out at just 400 metres before the finish straight. The road nationals will also feature a time trial in Bold Park on January 8-9 and criterium through Northbridge on January 10.