CADEX Riders Sweep Aussie National Championships!

Montag, 13. Januar 2025

Across road, criterium, and time trial events, athletes riding CADEX WheelSystems took gold medals in every elite discipline at the Australian National Championships.

Over a week of racing in Perth, riders from Team Jayco AlUla and Liv AlUla Jayco combined for four national titles and another three podium finishes, all aboard CADEX wheels. The CADEX 50 Ultra Disc WheelSystem was piloted to victory in both the men’s and women’s road championships, as well as the women’s criterium championship, while next-generation CADEX Aero WheelSystem took gold and bronze in the men’s time trial and silver in the women’s time trial.

Durbridge wins—with Plapp's assist

Veteran Luke Durbridge led home a memorable Team Jayco AlUla one-two in the men’s road championship ahead of teammate Luke Plapp after an epic solo breakaway ride. It is the second national road title for “Turbo Durbo,” the first win coming in 2013. This victory, in front of friends and family on home turf, was a dream scenario for the man from Perth.

Riding with his CADEX wheels, as well as CADEX Aero Integrated handlebar, Durbridge was the first rider to attack on the opening lap as he made an early move with under 10km of the 177km course completed. The 33-year old was initially joined by one other rider, Paris Olympics track gold medallist Conor Leahy (CCache), but with 80km remaining he found himself alone at the head of the race. Behind in the chasing bunch, Team Jayco AlUla were marshalling the counter attacks with Michael Hepburn, Luke Plapp, Kell O’Brien and Chris Harper all working hard to shut down moves.

As the laps ticked by, the time gap to Durbridge continued to come down, and as the final lap approached, Plapp made his move.

The defending champion accelerated clear of the pursuers and quickly across to his teammate as the bell rang out for the final lap, meaning just 13.6km remained. After a mammoth day alone and off the front, Durbridge was unable to provide much assistance to Plapp, but the pair managed to hold their advantage despite a series of attempts to close them down from behind.

The pair entered the finishing straight with over a minute advantage. As the finish line came into view, spectators could only wonder which Team Jayco AlUla rider would spend the 2025 season wearing the green-and-gold jersey of Aussie national champion. Would Plapp make it an historic fourth nationals win in a row, or would the day belong to the local favorite? In the end it was Durbridge crossing the line first to lead home a special one-two for Team Jayco AlUla, with the duo crowning a stunning week of racing in Western Australia.

“That was amazing,” Durbridge said. “I just want to say thanks to the whole team. What they did behind me, not just Plappy, everyone behind was just blocking all day which allowed me to just do my ride. I was maybe a bit too ambitious, but that’s the way I race. When Plappy came past he said, ‘hold the wheel’ and he gave it to me. He’s a gentleman and I really appreciate that. I will never forget that.”

Plapp was full of praise for his senior teammate. "That was all Durbo's," he said. "He's been amazing to Australian cycling for so many years. It's, I think, 12 years since he last won this jersey and he's been there for everyone else in those last 12 years. To have the national champs in his backyard, I knew how much it meant to him. There's not a dry eye here and everyone's happy for Durbo."

Stewart stuns the favorites

In the women’s 109km road race, 20-year-old Lucinda Stewart put in a phenomenal performance on the streets of Perth to take the national title. The young Aussie recently signed with the Liv AlUla Jayco team for the 2025 season, and in her debut she took top honors in grand fashion.

Among a field full of experienced WorldTour pros, including teammate and defending champion Ruby Roseman-Gannon, Stewart confidently jumped into an early breakaway group of five riders on the second of eight laps and raced with maturity beyond her years. The laps ticked down and the time gap between the escapees and the peloton increased with every kilometer, eventually reaching more than six minutes with 60km remaining.

As the race entered the final 20km, Stewart’s advantage remained above three minutes. Recently crowned criterium champion Amber Pate jumped away with Amanda Spratt (Lidl-Trek) in the closing laps, attempting to bridge across to the leaders and assist, but the duo eventually ran out of road. Ahead, Stewart raced attentively following the wheels before launching her ferocious sprint to take a career-changing victory ahead of Ella Simpson (St Michel).

"It's not my usual style of race, but my role today was all in for the breakaway knowing we had so many strong options back in the bunch and it just so happened that the break stuck out to the end," Stewart said. "I've only really been in this team for one week and it already feels like home to me and the culture in the team is something really, really special and I'm so proud to be a part of it. I've looked up to the girls in this team since I was really little so it feels pretty cool to be a part of it."

Plapp takes a third TT title, Pate finishes with silver

A new course in Perth couldn’t stop Luke Plapp from powering to his third Australian time trial championship title in five years.

The defending champion, Plapp set the fastest time through each of the intermediate splits over the 38.4km course, usually around 20 seconds. Despite the time gap to rival Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) shrinking as the finish line approached, Plapp had more than enough in the tank to bring home the title, winning by 8 seconds. In his first major time trial since crashing out of the Olympic Games last year, Plapp averaged 50kph to record a winning time of 46 minutes and 33 seconds.

"I went out pretty hard. I wanted to make sure I was in the race early," Plapp said. "It's been a while since a good TT, especially since after the Games, so I wanted to get out early and get ahead of the race. I knew it would be better for my head if I was ahead of the race, and then it was just a matter of holding on. I was super stoked to get it done in the end."

The 24-year-old Plapp was joined on the podium by O’Brien, who took a strong third-place finish, while Harper and Hepburn made it four Team Jayco AlUla riders in the top five places, finishing fourth and fifth respectively.

In the elite women’s three-lap, 28.8km time trial, Pate flew through the first intermediate time check in first position, seven seconds ahead of her nearest competitor. As the kilometers ticked down and the finish approached, Brodie Chapman (UAE Team ADQ) clawed her way back to better the Liv AlUla Jayco rider’s time and claim the national title, with Pate settling for an admirable second-place finish over the challenging 28km course, 33 seconds off the winning time.

“I am very happy with second place,” Pate said. “It has been a really nice block leading into the event. I haven’t been on the time trial bike, focusing on it, for the past two or three years, so to come in second against Brodie and not too far off her, I am really proud. Hopefully next year for the team I can finish one place higher.”

Pate nearly laps the field in criterium

In between the time trial and the road race, Pate put on a demonstration in the women’s criterium championship, soloing to her second national title in the event—and her second medal in two days.

Liv AlUla Jayco headed into the race as the team to watch, boasting a strong line-up that included two former winners in Pate and defending champion Roseman-Gannon. It was a typically cagey start to the action until Pate shook things up with an early counterattack. Only U23 rider Keira Will (Lidcombe Auburn Cycle Club) reacted to the move, with the pair quickly opening up a sizeable gap as they worked together to build their advantage.

The duo began to edge closer to lapping the field as the peloton failed to organize a significant chase, with Pate’s teammates patrolling the attacks behind, happy to let the 2023 winner stay away. With the rear of the bunch almost in her sights, Pate attacked her younger companion on the back straight and quickly opened a gap, also coming within touching distance of the back of the pack.

With the catch inevitable, the race organizers made the decision to shorten the race, and as the peloton sprinted for the minor places, Pate was able to savor the moment on the final lap. The victory means the criterium title stays within the team for another year with Pate and Roseman-Gannon sharing the spoils over the last four seasons.

“I’m just glad to pull it off,” Pate said. “I knew I could go long, but I didn’t know how long I could go for. I’m a bit tired from the time trial, but I knew I had a long attack in me and I just thought, ‘Let’s get fighting, corner well and recover in the corners.’ I’m really proud to pull it off for the team. We all went in with the right mindset, anyone of us could have won today."

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