Linfield takes out dramatic win for Australian U-23 criterium title

Western Australian Bradley Linfield has won the under-23 Australian criterium title after a dramatic finish to the 30-lap race. Linfield beat Josh Taylor from the GPM-Data#3 team to the line while Andrew Martin (WA) took the final spot on the podium.

Linfield has his eyes on Saturday's under-23 road race but was clearly happy with the end result.

"I just came here for a bit of a hit-out and to have some fun," said Linfield. "I wanted to do well and it worked out really well for me. I just went on the last straight and got a bit of a gap. I'm really happy.

Second-place Taylor looked comfortable throughout the near 50-minute race and while he timed his sprint perfectly, it was just a little too late to catch the early attack of Linfield.

"Coming so close to the win is a bit disappointing but I'm stoked to get a medal at the national championships," said Taylor. "That was my aim and I got it. I've got to be happy with that."

The final spot on the podium was filled by another Western Australian with Andrew Martin getting the bronze. Martin has been specifically training for the road race but was satisfied with the result.

"Today was really just about staying near the front," explained Martin. "I noticed a few of the main guys get away and I followed them.

"I was able to sit back and watch the other teams work. That really played into my advantage. I'll be lining up for the road race and the form is pretty good. I've been really training for the road race so this is a great bonus.

It was a fast and furious start to the 30-lap race in the under-23 criterium championships as the SASI team looked to stretch the bunch out immediately from the moment the gun was fired. Bradley Linfield (WA) was part of an initial move that gained a small gap over the field led by the Budget Forklifts squad.

Harry Carpenter (SA) was one of the early aggressors with recently-crowned national time trial champion Damien Howson stating his intentions to look for a solo move later in the race.

The small-group breakaway contained Sam Davis (WA0, Linfield, and Sam Spokes (NSW) didn't last long off the front and were brought back into the main group with 25-laps remaining of the hotdog course.

The team of GPM-Data#3 had a number of cards to play with last year's criterium champion Scott Law (NSW) in the race but that didn't prevent Josh Taylor (NSW) giving it a go. Taylor is known for his solo attacks during the criteriums in the National Road Series and gained a small advantage with Sun Tour stage winner and second overall Aaron Donnelly.

With seven laps quickly ticked off Donnelly and Taylor had a 10-second gap over the field. The blistering heat of Ballarat's afternoon sun was too much for some as the field battled to contain the gap to the leading duo.

Coming into the intermediate sprint it was Donnelly and Taylor still off the front as a number of riders attempted to join the front of the race on the back straight of the circuit.

Taylor was first across the line ahead of Howson who had joined a lap earlier with around 10 other riders.

With a number of teams represented at the front, the peloton finally eased its pace. The Flakemore, Linfield, Donnelly, Taylor, Julian Hamill (NSW) and Davis began to work effectively together. Sam Spokes (NSW) was keen to make an impact on the race before heading to Europe to join his new Omega Pharma Development team and bridged across the join the front group.

Race favourite Caleb Ewan (NSW), coming off his overall win at the Mitchelton Bay Classic decided to chase the group down and formed another split in the bunch. He was however, heavily marked and refused to do all the work himself.

The group splintered on and off before finalling getting themselves organised with a little over 10 laps remaining. The main peloton was over thirty seconds in arrears with Ewan the biggest contender to miss the move. The GPM-Data#3 team had two riders represented at the front leaving Law to simply wait for the bunch to react.

With 10 laps to go it was Donnelly who decided to make the race more difficult but he was overtaken by three others in the form of Flakemore, Davis, Taylor and and the u-23 national TT champion Howson. They had less than 10 seconds over the next group as Flakemore took the final intermediate sprint.

Davis was looking fatigued along with Howson while Taylor has his game-face on. The young rider from Sydney wasn't giving anything away as six laps remained.

Spokes tried his own move but once he was caught it was Howson who really applied the pressure with a lap to go. Coming into the finish Linfield attacked his breakaway group early and finish with a clear margin to the rest. The bunch was well out of contention, coming in nearly one-minute behind. 

Results

Swipe to scroll horizontally
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Bradley Linfield (WA)0:46:36
2Joshua Taylor (NSW)Row 1 - Cell 2
3Andrew Martin (WA)Row 2 - Cell 2
4Jack Beckinsale (NSW)Row 3 - Cell 2
5Shaun O'Callaghan (SA)Row 4 - Cell 2
6Damien Howson (SA)Row 5 - Cell 2
7Harry Carpenter (SA)0:00:03
8Samuel Spokes (NSW)0:00:08
9Julian Hamill (NSW)0:00:14
10Aaron Donnelly (NSW)0:00:27
11Campbell Flakemore (TAS)0:00:32
12Scott Law (NSW)0:00:59
13Jesse Kerrison (Qld)Row 12 - Cell 2
14William Heath (WA)Row 13 - Cell 2
15Craig Hutton (NSW)Row 14 - Cell 2
16Samuel Davis (WA)Row 15 - Cell 2
17Nicholas Graham-Dawson (WA)Row 16 - Cell 2
18Samuel Nelson (NSW)0:01:03
19Sam Sautelle (ACT)Row 18 - Cell 2
20Sam Crome (VIC)Row 19 - Cell 2
21Brenton Jones (VIC)Row 20 - Cell 2
22Mitchell Lovelock-Fay (ACT)Row 21 - Cell 2
23Scott Mcphee (SA)Row 22 - Cell 2
24Michael Phelan (ACT)Row 23 - Cell 2
25Jack Haig (VIC)0:01:10
26Nicholas Schultz (Qld)0:01:14
27Ryan MaCanally (Qld)0:01:56
28James Butler (VIC)0:01:58
29Alex Wohler (Qld)0:02:32
30Joshua Prete (Qld)Row 29 - Cell 2
DNFCaleb Ewan (NSW)Row 30 - Cell 2
DNFLuke Ockerby (TAS)Row 31 - Cell 2
DNFAlex Clements (TAS)Row 32 - Cell 2
DNFIvan Michelin-Beard (ACT)Row 33 - Cell 2
DNFFraser Northey (SA)Row 34 - Cell 2
DNFJoshua Cornish (NSW)Row 35 - Cell 2
DNFJesse Ewart (NSW)Row 36 - Cell 2
DNFRylee Field (NSW)Row 37 - Cell 2
DNFDouglas Freeburn (Qld)Row 38 - Cell 2
DNFJake Mcmahon (TAS)Row 39 - Cell 2
DNFJustin Vanstone (Qld)Row 40 - Cell 2
DNFShaun Baxter (WA)Row 41 - Cell 2
DNFNicholas Bien (VIC)Row 42 - Cell 2
DNFCamden Bush (VIC)Row 43 - Cell 2
DNFJeremy Cameron (VIC)Row 44 - Cell 2
DNFAndrew Clarkson (SA)Row 45 - Cell 2
DNFJames Cummings (VIC)Row 46 - Cell 2
DNFChris Filiatrault (ACT)Row 47 - Cell 2
DNFMichael Hale (VIC)Row 48 - Cell 2
DNFZane Hunter (VIC)Row 49 - Cell 2
DNFJarryd Jones (VIC)Row 50 - Cell 2
DNFNicholas Katsonis (VIC)Row 51 - Cell 2
DNFMatthew Leonard (VIC)Row 52 - Cell 2
DNFJack Matthews (TAS)Row 53 - Cell 2
DNFSam Mccallum (VIC)Row 54 - Cell 2
DNFRobert-Jon McCarthy (SA)Row 55 - Cell 2
DNFLiam Melville (NSW)Row 56 - Cell 2
DNFStuart Mulhern (Qld)Row 57 - Cell 2
DNFConor Murtagh (VIC)Row 58 - Cell 2
DNFMatthew Nicholson (TAS)Row 59 - Cell 2
DNFCameron Parlevliet (VIC)Row 60 - Cell 2
DNFPatrick Sharpe (NSW)Row 61 - Cell 2
DNFClive Silcock (VIC)Row 62 - Cell 2
DNFJoel Stearnes (TAS)Row 63 - Cell 2
DNFAndrew Stephan (Qld)Row 64 - Cell 2
DNFJared Triggs (NSW)Row 65 - Cell 2
DNFLiam White (VIC)Row 66 - Cell 2
DNFAlexander Woff (VIC)Row 67 - Cell 2
DNSPeter Loft (TAS)Row 68 - Cell 2
DNSAdam Phelan (ACT)Row 69 - Cell 2
DNSMatthew Clark (VIC)Row 70 - Cell 2
DNSDimitry Makeev (VIC)Row 71 - Cell 2
DNSLuke Parker (VIC)Row 72 - Cell 2
DNSTrevor Spencer (VIC)Row 73 - Cell 2

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