It was a tight battle for the victory in the U23 men's time trial at the Federation University Road National Championships, with just 15 seconds separating the top three, and the rider who came out on the top step was a newcomer to the course, triathlete Jackson Medway.
The Team BridgeLane rider had to face up to some fierce competition, with second-placed rider Hamish McKenzie (Hagens Berman Jayco) having stood on the U23 men's time trial podium at the Road World Championships in 2023 and third placed Oscar Chamberlain (Decathlon AG2R La Mondial) stepping up into the category after having claimed the junior world title last year.
"I definitely was the underdog," Medway told reporters after claiming the green and gold jersey.
"In triathlon you’re time-trialling for about the same distance and cross-country is that sort of threshold effort as well. So, it’s not really a surprise that I would specialise in this sort of an event, but I didn’t think I’d go so well. It’s a big surprise to me."
Medway covered the 28.6km Australian championships event at Mount Helen near Ballarat, which wound its way twice around a circuit with 180m of elevation gain, in 36:59.97. McKenzie was just five seconds back and Chamberlain 14 seconds in arrears.
"I was told by my coach to keep a lid on it and I think I did that pretty well and he supported me the whole way through in my ear," said Medway. "I was able to lift somehow and found those last couple of seconds in the end."
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