Blake Quick wins men's criterium at Santos Festival of Cycling

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Blake Quick (InForm TMX Make)  won the men's criterium at the Santos Festival of Cycling with none of his rivals able to take on the perfect lead out from his teammates.

The Under 23 national road race champion and Lexus of Blackburn Bay Crits winner made sure he was on the wheel of experienced teammate Brenton Jones into the final corner. He then let his rivals jump first before opening his own sprint.

Jensen Plowright, riding for composite squad Team Westpac but wearing his Equipe Groupama FDJ colours, was second with Cameron Scott (ARA Pro racing Sunshine Coast) taking third. Race officials reviewed the video of the final lap after some shoulder charges but the results were confirmed.

"If you watched it you'd know why I won. Every time I get up here I've got everyone to thank, especially my team. I've got a team full of hitters who can win this on their own and they put it on the line for me and that's why we win," Quick said after the podium ceremony and after he'd fitted in a quick excited chat on the phone to mum.

"I've obviously put in a lot of work for this summer and it's nice to have the hard work pay off. It takes a lot of time and it's not an easy sport so it's extra special when it pays off."

Wednesdays criterium, run over a 1.35km circuit in the heart of the city, signals the start of the men's racing.

The National Road Series event replaces the cancelled Tour Down Under. The road racing will begin with the first of three road stages in Stirling, with Luke Durbridge (BikeExchange-Jayco) lining up to try and defend his title against the likes of fellow WorldTour riders Richie Porte and Rohan Dennis as well as a strong contingent of domestic teams. 

How it unfolded

The field was stretched from the start as riders tried to push off the front early in the 45 minute, plus one lap, twilight criterium that flew past the event village in Victoria Square / Tarntanyangga. 

It was Steven Robb (Cycle House Racing) who scooped up the first sprint at five laps in and then it was the 2021 men’s U19 road race winner Dylan George (Team Garmin Australia) who was off the front for the second sprint at ten laps before Brendon Davids (Olivers Racing) scooped up  the next intermediate sprint with a big gap.

Then the pace came grinding to a halt as there was a crash in the field, with more than a dozen riders down and the racing paused. When the restart came the pace was calm for but only for a moment. A group of three took off out the front and there was no hope of the 20 lap sprint going to anyone outside that trio, with Ben HIll (CCS Cycling) catching the points. 

As the laps hit three to go, the rider driving the pace out the front switched over from Carter Turnbull (Inform TMX MAKE)  to Rohan Dennis in his Jumbo-Visma colours but racing with a team from his hometown, Villawood. 

Then James Whelan (Team BridgeLane), who had plenty of practice flying off the front solo at Road Nationals recently, jumped but Inform TMX MAKE weren’t going to let the final lap slip out of their control. 

The reason for the work by Inform TMX MAKE on the front was always pretty clear, with Quick accelerating hard in the final 150 metres to live up to his name and recent performance history. 

It was one more addition to his recent string of results as the 21-year-old’s meticulous preparation for a summer that he hopes will take him to a cycling career continued to pay off.