The Mars Cycling Australia Road National Championships continues to grow in popularity and quality which is reflected in the change to the schedule which sees evening criteriums kicking off the championships in Ballarat's CBD.
A new time trial course promising to test the experts against the clock with a parcours that features very little flat. Orica-GreenEdge have dominated the men's event in recent years but Rohan Dennis and Campbell Flakemore (BMC) will both start as favourites to win their first elite green and gold jersey. The high-quality field also sees Michael Rogers (Tinkoff-Saxo), Richie Porte (Team Sky) and Orica-GreenEdge trio Michael Hepburn, Damien Howson and Luke Durbridge lining up for a tilt at victory.
The men's road race will be a special occasion as Cadel Evans (BMC) will make one final appearance at the championships before he retires in February. Defending champion Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEdge) got the better of Evans in 2014 but will miss the race due to a broken collarbone. GreenEdge are set to field its smallest squad yet in the road race and an upset win could be on the cards with a world class field lining up in Buninyong.
