Eight Commonwealth Games Australia Alumni have been named in Australia’s team for the road world championships to be held from 18-26 September in the Flanders region of Belgium.
Headlining the squad is Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Chloe Hosking who has only just recently returned to the tour after a six-month hiatus due to the effects of COVID-19.
Hosking picked up where she left off by claiming Stage 4 of the Ladies Tour of Norway just over a week ago.
She is included as part of a seven-rider women’s squad that features fellow Commonwealth Games Australia Alumni Tiffany Cromwell and Sarah Roy.
On the men’s side of things, CGA Alumni and Tour de France stage winners Caleb Ewan and Michael Matthews headline an eight-man squad featuring Delhi 2010 bronze medallist Luke Durbridge and Glasgow 2014 team members Nathan Haas and Miles Scotson.
The 20-member team will compete across four events that will provide critical international exposure and experience ahead of next year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and the Road World Championships in Wollongong.
Australia’s elite teams in Belgium will compete in the 268-kilometre men’s and 156-kilometre women’s road races which begin in Antwerp before taking in multiple passes of several tricky circuits around the town of Leuven.
While the courses will not include the region’s most famous climbs, they will feature 42 climbs and 2,562 vertical metres in the men’s, and 20 climbs for 1,047m of climbing in the women’s race.
Lucas Plapp and Carter Turnbull feature in the Under-23 team selections as the duo who will vie for the rainbow stripes over a 30.30-kilometre ITT course from Knokke-Heist to Bruges.
2020 Under-23 Road National Champion Jarrad Drizners, promising sprinter Jensen Plowright, and rising Sunshine Coast talent Alastair MacKellar will compete in the Under-23 Men’s Road Race.
The Under-23 Men’s Road Race trio will race over a 160.90-kilometre course from Antwerp to Leuven, which will finish on the slightly sloping Geldenaaksevest.
“The World Championship course in the Flanders region of Belgium will provide for a challenging and exciting race,” said Rory Sutherland, Australian Cycling Team’s Elite Road Coordinator.
“The 2021 Australian team is a unique combination of experienced veterans and debutant athletes from the rising generation, and we feel confident this combination will lead to a positive outcome.
“We are excited our talented U23 riders will now have the opportunity to compete on the world stage after a year pause due to COVID-19. It’s incredibly important to the future of AusCycling and the development of our next crop of Australian riders.”
As announced in June, due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, AusCycling will not send Junior (Under-19) National Teams to any 2021 UCI World Championships.
In replacement of the Championships, nine athletes will participate in an Australian-based National Team Road Camp later in 2021.
Men’s Road Race
| Name | State |
|---|---|
| Michael Matthews | ACT |
| Caleb Ewan | NSW |
| Luke Durbridge | WA |
| Miles Scotson | SA |
| Nicholas Schultz | QLD |
| Harry Sweeny | QLD |
| Robert Stannard | NSW |
| Nathan Haas | ACT |
Women’s Road Race
| Name | State |
|---|---|
| Chloe Hosking | ACT |
| Tiffany Cromwell | SA |
| Amanda Spratt | NSW |
| Sarah Roy | NSW |
| Lauretta Hanson | VIC |
| Brodie Chapman | VIC |
| Jess Allen | WA |
U23 Men’s Road Race
| Name | State |
|---|---|
| Jarrad Drizners | SA |
| Jensen Plowright | VIC |
| Alastair MacKellar | QLD |
U23 Men’s Time Trial
| Name | State |
|---|---|
| Lucas Plapp | VIC |
| Carter Turnbull | VIC |
With thanks AusCycling.
