Brendan Johnston and Courtney Sherwell took victory at the 2024 AusCycling Gravel National Championships, winning at the Devils Cardigan race in Tasmania on Saturday, both doubling up on national titles after the pair also claimed wins at the Mountain Bike Marathon Championships earlier this year.
It was a first national gravel title for Sherwell, who claimed the green and gold jersey, plus the traditional Devils Cardigan prize of a sack of potatoes and ceremonial wool cardigan, in a tight battle to the line with last year's victor Justine Barrow. Ella Bloor was just over 12 minutes back in third place while Cassia Boglio was fourth.
The top four riders escaped early in the women's race, which set out ahead of the men, with Boglio the first dropped due to a puncture. Bloor fell away on the second major climb of the 106km race with 2,300m of vertical elevation and at the top of the third and final major climb Barrow got a gap, which left Sherwell fearing that the title was rising away. However, ultimately the Bendigo rider rejoined last year's winner and claimed the victory in Branxholm by launching from behind in the sprint to the line.
“I am so happy with this one,” Sherwell, who also raced a successful US gravel block earlier this year, told Cyclingnews. “It’s just been such a whirlwind three months, being in the US and then coming home and getting my first national jersey [in MTB Marathon] and now my second. I can’t believe it.”
For Johnston it may have been the first time he had raced the Devils Cardigan but it was his second gravel title, winning the last in 2022 in Queensland. The Giant rider who has delivered a strong start to his second year in the Life Time Grand Prix Series came across the line solo, with Melbourne to Warrnambool and Sutton Grange winner Mark O'Brien two-and-a-half minutes back in second while Seven UCI Gravel World Series runner up Mark Chong was third.
"I knew I was in good shape but I was concerned about the amount of climbing and the way the climbing happens – the climbs are quite long," said Johnston who in May claimed his sixth MTB Marathon title, victory at the SEVEN UCI Gravel World Series race and then returned to the US to race Unbound on June 1, where he was hindered by punctures but still finished 15th and moved up to fifth in the Life Time Grand Prix series.
"I knew there were some good guys that could climb better than me but my plan was just to follow them till the later stages and move in the final section," Johnston told Cyclingnews. "But it actually worked out really well that after the first long climb and the rough descent Adam Blazevic and I were out of sight."
On the second Johnston dropped Blazevic – who ultimately came fifth – in the steep section and then rode solo to the line, keeping the gap through the final major ascent and then taking advantage of the rolling terrain and descent to take him home.
The race played out on a crisp but fine winter day in Tasmania on a dry fast course from Derby, with winning times around ten minutes quicker than last year. The route looped out via three major climbs – Mutual Valley, Ralph Falls and the unnamed climb of hell – with a bonus kicker within 10km of the Branxholm finish line.
It is the second year that the national title was decided at the Tasmanian event, with last year's winners being Barrow and Connor Sens, who in this edition finished 20th after being hindered by an early crash. Australia first ran a national gravel championships in 2018 alongside the popular Victorian road event, Amy's Gran Fondo, although there was a two year hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic making 2024 the fifth edition of the national title race.
To keep up to date with the latest gravel title news see the 2024 Gravel National Champions index and you can find a full list of all the Australian gravel champions here.
