The 2013 Australian Nationals was a huge success, as once again Ballarat put on a splendid display for spectators and racers alike.
The new course arguably helped the race come down to a bunch sprint for second place, but unfortunately it did dull down the excitement.
The cherry on top of the cake was having a young talent like Luke Durbridge win in such an emphatic style!
It wasn’t long after the peloton left the start line on a typical cold Ballarat morning that the winning break away was formed.
Durbridge got away in a group of six riders including Drapac’s Bernie Sulzberger, Huon-Genesys’ Pat Shaw, Budget Forklifts’ Blair Windsor, Search2Retain’s Cameron Bayly as well as James Mowatt and James Szollosi.
The break managed to get a lead of over seven minutes before officials threatened to pull out the peloton if the gap got over ten minutes.
With six laps to go riders started to lose contact with the leaders and before long it was just Durbridge, Shaw and Sulzberger left at the front of the race.
Knowing the he would likely be rolled in the sprint by Shaw and Sulzberger, Durbridge knew the time had come to get rid of the domestic duo as the Orica-Greenedge rider put in a series of attacks which dislodged Shaw first and then later Sulzberger.
Durbridge then soloed his way to victory over the last one and half laps without even a possibility of being caught.
The only downside the event was the poor condition of the roads. This was first shown embarrassingly when the future dual champion was felled by a pothole on the way to a photo shoot with the local newspaper.
The second issue was that the roads on the course are in such a poor condition that the SBS cameramen couldn’t hold their cameras still!
If the Ballarat Council wants to really make itself the capital of Australian cycling it needs to upgrade not only the roads used in the races but also all the roads under its control to the highest standard.
Apart from that, the Nationals were a huge success once again and will surely be held in Ballarat for years to come.
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