This year’s Australian University Games were an absolute treat, with the Gold Coast hardly seeing a cloud in the sky all week. The race occurred shortly after Battle Recharge, a National Road Series event based in the same area, and this year’s field was probably the strongest in the history of AUG, with around 15 NRS riders in the men’s field. RMIT, Sydney and Queensland had multiple NRS riders each, so I had a job on my hands getting the best possible result without teammates strong enough to counter moves.
In the Road Race on Tuesday, I did my best to be aggressive and follow the break, but was luckless and finished 11th. In the Pairs Time Trial on Wednesday, Brodie and I gave it everything and came home 7th, in the points, while in Thursday’s Individual Time Trial, I had an off day and missed the points in 13th. On Friday, the crit was a super-exciting affair and I managed to ride to 6th in a breakaway group, a great feeling (a full replay of the race from my bike camera is at http://bit.ly/2xSqWeK). We were very pleased to finish in 2nd in the overall standings, thanks to Ruby and Emma’s dominant performances in the women’s events.
author, David Randall, Elite Athelete Program Melbourne University