'I have a renewed sense of wanting to race' – Brodie Chapman carves out path forward after long-held goal of Kigali World Championships

For some, it may be hard to line up the version of Brodie Chapman that rode the Tour of Bright in 2016 with today's consummate professional who loves racing so much she was pining on a number at the event in her off-season and helping add some WorldTour lustre to the club-run race in the high country of Victoria.

'I don't know if I like road racing' had been the words echoing through Chapman's head as she rode the Tour of Bright for the first time, nearly a decade ago.

The 34-year-old, who is now heading toward her ninth season as a professional cyclist and seventh as a WorldTour rider, didn't exactly carve a traditional path into the sport, starting with BMX when she was young, then having her head turned by downhill mountain biking. All the while using the bike as a tool to get around, right from working as a bike courier to tearing around the streets of Germany on a fixie when she was studying there.

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And if jumping on the bike sounded like fun, Chapman would do it, even if it meant an enduro mountain bike event or a mid-summer singlespeed cyclocross race with a surfboard trophy. She'd routinely prove every step of the way how much raw talent was there – of course she won that full-size pink surfboard trophy and she may have also lapped some of the slower competitors out on course (i.e. me) twice in the process.

While the enjoyment and prowess was clear, the disciplined focus may not have been evident to some. Her domestic road team from those early cycling days may even have at one stage questioned whether she was taking it seriously enough – "they weren't wrong" quipped Chapman in her typical tell-it-as-it-is style when the story was told in the relaxed brewery based presentation at the Tour of Bright earlier this month.

Chapman may not have been the picture perfect example of the up-and-coming rider when she first raced the Tour of Bright, but that has certainly changed going into 2026.

"I really do like road racing now," the UAE Team ADQ rider chuckled, before going on to sweep up victory overall with two strong days on the climbs and a time trial masterclass.

Chapman pulled on the skin suit of an Australian champion and rolled out on her time trial bike in Victoria's high country to deliver a smooth and speedy 18km effort with an average that fell just shy of 47kph in wet conditions, to deliver a time of 22:59, well over a minute ahead of her nearest rival.

She may have been just coming off her off-season and only just be stepping back on the time trial bike (which arrived last-minute on the eve of the race) but she was the picture of a rider at the top of her game – perfectly positioned and focussed as she took on the discipline where she rose to fourth in the world in Kigali just months before and also claimed a rainbow jersey as part of Australia's mixed team time trial squad.

That also came in her first season with UAE Team ADQ, where while racing with her trade team she got to celebrate a stage victory at Tour Féminin International des Pyrénées, supported teammate Elisa Longo Borghini to victory at the Giro d'Italia for a second year and lined up for her first Tour de France Femmes.

"I think I'm the most content I might have ever been on a team," Chapman told Cyclingnews as she looked back on the season while recovering from her effort in the Tour of Bright pre-race criterium in the centre of town.

"Coupled with the fact that the Women's WorldTour is so professional now, so every team has a really high standard of operating, but on UAE we're really well resourced.

"They've really built a team based off good personalities and different strengths and I feel like I miss my teammates when I'm not with them, you know, I just love going to races and hanging out with them and going on team camps. Everybody who's working at UAE has such an ambition to build the team and one thing they really do is respect the individual and their goals, their strengths, even their quirks and personalities, which I really appreciate. I feel very like I can be myself there."

That helps explains why even though her one-time early career target of keeping riding to the Kigali World Championships has been and gone, Chapman's passion for the sport and determination to make the most of the career she started carving out with her first professional contract at 26 in 2018 well and truly remains.

An extended twilight

"I think that I'm probably in the twilight years of my career," said the 34-year-old, who before going pro as a cyclist was working as a digital content editor in cycling. "I mean, it was always going to be quite a short career based on my starting age."

Though not as short as she may have originally anticipated given her Kigali goal.

"I thought maybe by then I would have, you know, wanted to do something else, but I almost have such a renewed sense of wanting to race more," said Chapman, "Like, if I didn't love racing, I wouldn't come and volunteer to put myself in the hole in a crit in early December. I still, obviously, really enjoy it and it's just such a cool job."

A job where her commitment to the goals of her team as a valued domestique, but also individual targets, are working hand in hand. The time trial prowess brings the prestige of a national jersey and strong performances at championships as well as the hope of victories in stage races which feature a race against the clock, but an expert in putting down the power in a perfectly-measured turn of pace on the front of the peloton or group is also a considerable asset for a domestique.

It's a mix that Chapman hopes will keep her in the peloton beyond her current contract, when ends at the conclusion of the 2026 season.

"In an ideal world, if I'm still loving it, I'd like to race until 2028," Chapman said.

After all, Australia has one Olympic time trial gold medallist in Grace Brown, why not try and make it two in a row in Los Angeles?

The Australian season

Before getting too far ahead, there are some clear goals much closer. The first obvious one being to keep that Australian time trial jersey on her back at Nationals in the new year.

Chapman clearly stepped into the void left by Brown when she retired claimed the national title in January with a 33 second margin to her nearest rival Amber Pate (Liv AlUla Jayco). Then, it was her first time pinning on a number with her new team on her new Colnago on a new course. This time, though its all far more familiar and the target for the 29.4km race against the clock is clear.

"I definitely go into the time trial with the intention to win," said Chapman. "I think it's one of the hardest races of the year, to do an all-out time trial early in the season, but I really like racing in Perth."

While the form might not be where it is at for the key season goals, like the World Championships, the UAE Team ADQ rider still believes that with the right mindset and equipment she can still be competitive but she is all to aware that there are plenty waiting in the wings with potential to challenge. One in particular that Chapman marked out was 2023 junior time trial world champion and former Lidl-Trek teammate Felicity Wilson-Haffenden, who is still firmly in the under-23 category but of course younger riders can choose to step up early.

"I was training with her before Worlds and, especially on a course like Perth, I'm afraid, I'm scared of her," said Chapman of her teammate in the world title winning Australian Mixed Relay team time trial squad. "But at a time trial, you just do your race."

After that time trial on January 8, Chapman will then take on the road race on January 11 and while the 2023 national champion doesn't have any teammates alongside her it doesn't mean she'll be giving up as "every race you do you've got you've got to race for something."

Once she has "tried to set the legs up for the season" and "tested some different tactics" at the road race in Perth Chapman will this year be heading to the Santos Tour Down Under after missing out on the event in 2025 as she turned her attention to other later goals.

This year should be an extremely competitive edition of the South Australian race from January 17 to 19, as this year for the first time it will host a full contingent of Women's WorldTour squads.

"We have a really, really strong team, so I think it'll be a matter of playing to basically whoever's legs show up," said Chapman. "And as we know, the Europeans are always prepared for the Tour Down Under now, it's no longer just an Aussie game, but together as a team our goal is certainly to win the GC."

Beyond the Australian season, there are plenty more targets but one clearly stands out for the rider who only just missed the individual time trial podium at the World Championships this year.

"Next year's Worlds are a really big goal with the Australian cycling team. It's a really long time trial, which will suit me. The less variation in my watts, the better," Chapman said with a laugh.

Then of course wherever other longer time trials crop up on the calendar, Chapman will be hoping to capitalise, as well as leaning into her regular season role of helping Longo Borghini defend her Giro title.

And of course there is also one more simple goal. "I'd like to win a race again," said Chapman, because while racing is still clearly enjoyable, crossing the line with the hands in the air is something else again.

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