Grace Brown (FDJ-SUEZ) successfully defended her elite women's time trial at the AusCycling Road National Championships on Tuesday, but was accurate with her prediction earlier this week that it would be no easy victory.
The gap between the World Championship silver medallist and her rivals narrowed compared to 2022 when Brown took the title with more than a minute up her sleeve.
This year Georgie Howe (Jayco AlUla) stepped up two spots on the results table, claiming the runner's-up position with a time that was just 38 seconds back from Brown.
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Brodie Chapman (Trek-Segafredo) took third, just a little over a minute back from Brown's time of 40:58 on the 28.6km course at Federation University.
Isabelle Carnes (ARA Skip Capital) was the first U23 rider over the line in the combined women's elite/U23 event, coming seventh overall and claiming the U23 national title ahead of teammate Lucinda Stewart, ninth overall.
“I’m really impressed with the Aussies at the moment," Brown said after claiming her third elite time trial title. "I think Georgie Howe is going to continue to get better and better and I’d better improve next year 'cause otherwise she’ll have me if she improves by the same amount since last year.
"She is a real threat and it is awesome to see Brodie have a go at the time trial and I think she has a lot of improvement up her sleeve as well," said Brown. "I’m happy that there are people around pushing me to be better and better, this is what we need in Australian cycling.”
Howe has only just seriously launched into cycling when the former rower took fourth in the time trial at the 2022 Australian National Championships, then 1:17 back from Brown. But since then she has taken out the Oceania time trial title, raced in Europe – taking fifth at the stage 4 time trial at the Baloise Ladies Tour – and secured a professional contract with Jayco AlUla.
"I was really happy with the pace this year," Howe said. "Last year I got a bit over excited in the first lap and I know I cooked myself. Whereas this year I felt way more in control."
The time trials were the last event at the Australian Road National Championships this year, but the competition between the top Australian riders will grow to include international rivals this weekend at the women's Santos Tour Down Under.
Brown, who also came second in the Australian Championships road race, will be lining up as one of the favourites, along with her podium companion Chapman and Chapman's new Trek-Segafredo teammate Amanda Spratt, who has won the Santos Tour Down Under three times.
"We’ve got mainly Aussie competitors," said Brown. "I think the international teams that are coming over are built around the Aussie riders so I think you’ll see the usual suspects fighting it out each stage."
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