A silver medal in the Australian under 23 Criterium on Wednesday, January 3 has Dylan Sunderland confident as he prepares to take on the under 23 Road National Championship this Saturday.
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The Inverell cyclist came second after being outsprinted by rising star Cameron Scott.
Despite being outnumbered by several strong teams, Sunderland showed his racing nous throughout the race.
“Being a solo rider up against several teams, I knew I had to play a conservative role – sit back and watch for the first half of the race,” he told Cycling Australia.
“I threw a test attack mid-race to see who would react, and sure enough the Australian Cycling Academy was straight onto it.”
Sunderland attacked again in the second half of the criterium, with Scott, Aidan Kampers and Armidale’s Samuel Munday (NSW – Team Novo Nordisk) following to establish a potent breakaway. Sunderland and Scott were the only members remaining by the final lap, setting up an exciting finish.
“I had to be willing to lose it to try and get a victory,” Sunderland said.
“I knew it would be a hard task to beat Cam in a sprint – even with him leading out, he is super quick. I had a crack and stepped off the wheel – I just did not have the speed at the finish. That’s racing.”
He was though pretty happy to pick up the silver.
“Super happy with how my nationals campaign started coming away from the U23 Australian criterium championships with a silver medal. Motivated for the next few days,” he posted on Instagram.
Munday finished back in 46th, while Inverell’s Callum Dolby was 33rd.
All three will join Armidale’s Sam Jenner on the starting line for the road race along with Sunderland’s brother Zak.
Competing in the elite category, Ryan Thomas was meanwhile sixth in the criterium.
Following his own silver in the time trial, Jenner is confident as he prepares to defend his crown in Buninyong on Saturday.
He launched a courageous and stunning solo attack to claim a breakthrough national title last year, and is excited by the possibility of a repeat this year.
“I feel stronger on the road bike than on the time trial bike and obviously I proved today that I am in a good position to win it again,” the 20-year old told Cycling Australia after his time trial podium finish.
Riding for his Mitchelton-BikeExchange team, Jenner’s 39 minutes 28.88 seconds put him in the lead, before team-mate and race favourite Callum Scotson secured his third straight national time trial title with a sizzling time of 39 minutes 21.84 seconds.
“I am pretty happy actually. I came here for a top five result being modest but to come away with a second – I am stoked,” Jenner said.
Reflecting on last years road race victory, Jenner told U23 Cycling Zone it was a result that really saved his 2017 season.
“I went into nationals with no real plans for the 2017 season and that made the lead up to Nationals a really nervous and anxious time,” he said.
“Going into the race without a contract meant I just had to put all my eggs in one basket and had nothing to lose.”
“A lot went into that, with training during the lead into the race and with the mentality that a good performance could secure a contract definitely gave me that extra push in the closing km’s.”
“The win was overwhelming and a huge relief for me, plus it gave me the contract I was chasing for.”
