Photography by Con Chronis

Photo gallery: 2015 Australian National Road Championships – men’s road race

by CyclingTips

On the final day of the Mars Cycling Australia Road National Championships yesterday, the elite men took to the now-famous 10.2km circuit around Buninyong to decide who would wear the green and gold bands for the next 12 months.

After an action-packed race it was Heinrich Haussler (IAM Cycling) who sprinted to victory from a six-rider leading group, with 20-year-old Caleb Ewan (Orica-GreenEdge) second and Neil van der Ploeg (Avanti) third.

Photographer Con Chronis was out on course following all the action and sent over the photo gallery you can see below.

Race results

1.	HAUSSLER Heinrich IAM Cycling	04:47:24
2.	EWAN Caleb Orica GreenEDGE	-
3.	VAN DER PLOEG Neil Avanti Racing Team	-

Click here for a full report from the elite men’s road race at the 2015 Mars Cycling Australia Road National Championships. Click here to see a gallery from the elite women’s race.

: In his last national championships Cadel Evans was one of the pre-race favourites.

: As too was Richie Porte, who won gold in the time trial earlier in the week.

: The elite men’s road race was contested over 18 laps of a 10.2km circuit that started and finished in Buninyong.

: It’s often hard to tell whether Richie Porte is smiling or grimacing. That said, he looked very comfortable in the peloton all day and only really hit out in the closing laps, when the race was more or less over.

: Cam Wurf (centre, grey and white chequered kit) rode for Cannondale last year but it’s not yet clear who the Tasmanian is riding for in 2015.

: The peloton descends Fiskin Road towards Buninyong for the start of another lap.

: Caleb Ewan (Orica-GreenEdge) is in good company on the descent back into Buninyong early in the race.

: The peloton climbs the upper reaches of the 3km Mount Buninyong climb. It’s worth noting that the actual summit of Mount Buninyong is a further few kilometres up the road, and the views from the summit are incredible.

: Brendan Canty (Budget Forklifts) did much of the pacemaking in the day’s first major breakaway, riding in support of his team leader Jack Bobridge, who was also in the break. Their teammate Josh Berry was also there, in a group of 15 riders that came together on lap 5.

: Avanti missed the first of the day’s major breakaways and spent much of the race trying to close down the gap.

: Robin Tiffany: a familiar face at the Aussie Road Nationals.

: The peloton begins the top section of the course before descending back towards Buninyong.

: Luke Durbridge was aggressive on the Mount Buninyong climb in the breakaway, opening up a short-lived lead with Brendan Canty on lap 9.

: The 10.2km circuit gave fans roughly 16 minutes between passes of the peloton, just enough time to read through the local paper, The Courier.

: Damian Howson hit out from the lead group on lap 10 and would lead the race solo for a lap.

: Will Clarke (Drapac) punched out of the lead group on lap 11 after Howson had been caught. He was followed by Pat Lane a few laps later with the two making contact just after the KOM on lap 14 of 18.

: On the 15th time up Mount Buninyong Pat Lane broke clear of Will Clarke and led the race solo for a lap.

: Angus (front) and Lachlan Morton had a great race in the colours of their new Jelly Belly squad. Angus made it into the winning breakaway and finished an impressive seventh.

: Former Victorian Premier and keen cyclist Steve Bracks (left) with Australian cycling legend Phil Anderson.

: Support for Cadel Evans was strong on Sunday but the 2011 Tour de France winner was unable to take victory in what will be his final Road Nationals.

: Jack Bobridge (Budget Forklifts) looked dangerous in the day’s two main breakaways, and Sam Spokes (Drapac) and Pat Lane (African Wildlife Safaris) both animated the race.

: Michael Hepburn offers his teammate Caleb Ewan a helping hand in the lead group in the closing laps.

: The elite selection of seven riders was made on the final two laps. Michael Hepburn attacked on the penultimate lap, reducing the lead group to seven, with eventual winner Heinrich Haussler distanced. He’d catch back on (with a couple others), only to be dropped again on the final time up the climb.

: Campbell Flakemore attacks from the elite lead group on the final climb, and is marked by Caleb Ewan. Ewan would make the catch then attack on his own, opening up a small gap before being caught by Jack Bobridge and another four riders.

: Haussler couldn’t stay with the pure climbers on the last two ascents of Mount Buninyong, but each time he managed to catch back on. He rejoined the lead group of six with little more than 3km to go.

: Haussler did enough to beat Caleb Ewan and Neil van der Ploeg in the final sprint …

: … despite dropping his chain just before the line. (Image: Troy Upfield)

: Haussler couldn’t hide his delight after crossing the line to take out the Australian title.

Tags: 2015 Australian Road Nationals

jules

great photos. it says Avanti missed the move, but Neil VdP was in the decisive one?
- http://cyclingtips.com.au Matt de Neef
  
  Ah, quite right. They missed the first move; the one with Canty, Bobridge et al.
Beau

Awesome photos where is the infocus head on photo of Heino celebrating across the line
dropped my chain

how did Rogers manage to get a flat battery, when SAXO are on Sram? assuming he was referring to his groupset!
- RayG
  
  Shimano/FSA.
  http://inrng.com/2015/01/2015-pro-team-bikes/
  
  Maybe SRAM last year?
- https://twitter.com/#!/BPriestie Priestie
  
  Rogers broke his chain. Saxo are on Shimano in 2015, not many in the pro peloton using SRAM in 2015 (2 or 3 teams I think). Quickstep rumoured to be contracted possibly using a FSA electronic groupset yet to be released. SRAM have moved to title sponsorship of Velocio-SRAM replacing Specialized lululemon in 2015 so perhaps reduced sponsorship in 2015, Shimano Di2 possibly a clear winner with the pro peloton or possibly Shimano liked the idea of a podium story in its advertising for 2015.
  - jules
    
    Shimano seems to be the widely preferred choice, but where sponsorship is available the question seems to be: “how bad can it be?” groupsets (SRAM Red, Campag SR), so long as they are reliable and light, are almost a commodity. i dunno about the FSA one though :)
    - Andy B
      
      Di2 is pretty hard to beat, the energy that can be saved by accurate and instant gear shifting in a sport where tiny percentages can be the difference shouldn’t be underrated
      Saying that when it fails it can have quite the opposite effect but this is pretty rare
      - jules
        
        i agree. it can fail though, just like mechanical components. i’ve had a couple of rapid discharges that led to impromptu strength sessions for the rest of my ride..
- fletch
  
  I believe Roger’s battery died during the crit race. His chain broke on the last lap yesterday.
mattb

Hepburn chasing down Lapthorne after his initial attack, straight after Hepburn exploded was amazing. Talk about stepping up to throw one last punch!
Gaz

Congrats to Rapha..no sponsorship but ambush marketing (judging by coverage alone) secured their logo/caps on more images than title sponsors. Would they do it an ASO event or be fearful of legal action? Or was it all legit?
- jules
  
  and the Eastern Vets. those wily vets
- Andy
  
  I think you’ll find majority of this is just the fans doing
BK

Great pics as usual, but definitely time to look at a new venue! It’s sad that in this diverse country we hold the National Champs on the same circuit each year. What’s more, irrespective of how good it is for spectators (I’ve been quite a few times and had a go one year), it looks bloody boring on tv!! Hardly a way to capture the non-cycling-public’s interest by running a climb up a bland highway and dead straight ‘nothing’ country road.
- Jimmy
  
  Boring?? those final few laps yesterday were awesome!!
  Watch the racing not the grass
  - BK
    
    Re-read my comment. To a non-cycling viewer it’s a dead-straight highway that looks bland.
    NASCAR has interesting racing but is still held on a boring oval.
    I didn’t suggest the racing wasn’t boring (my palms were sweating watching the last few laps!), just the circuit.
- echidna_sg
  
  All cycling is boring on TV unless you are a fan… or want to watch the landscapes and cooking segments (ala TdF coverage).
  
  What location would be better for your TV viewing pleasure? national titles are typically held on a circuit course, just as the world titles are and have a varied parcourse that suits no particular style of rider and doesn’t exclude anyone except for the biggest sprinters riding solo or in a small team… oh wait… N VdP came third this year, scratch that it excludes Mark Renshaw…
  - BK
    
    I agree with circuit course. Nope, cycling is not ‘boring unless you are a fan’. Many of my family watch TdF for example coz of the scenery and course! Just as you said with landscapes.
    
    As for other location, pmph there’s a million places… Here’s one as an example if you know the Melbourne-region. Check out Google StreetView, this would look fantastic.
    https://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Kallista-Emerald+Rd&daddr=Emerald-Monbulk+Rd/C406+to:Emerald-Monbulk+Rd/C406+to:Priors+Rd&hl=en&sll=-37.89863,145.418043&sspn=0.043888,0.087633&geocode=FWXIvf0d3bGqCA;FQS8vf0dbEerCA;Ffj0vf0dDcaqCA;FfbTvf0dmrSqCA&mra=mi&mrsp=3&sz=14&t=m&z=14&output=classic&dg=oo
    
    Basically anything with a curvy climb and a curvy descent where you can actually get cameras into and get a sensation of speed…(not Liggett repetitively telling us “the riders do 80kph down here…”
    And a climb where you can ‘see’ a nice visual attack, thru some curves.
    - echidna_sg
      
      link no good… but that said, the race being a bit closer to a capital city would be good for bigger crowds, but would that make for a better race? or better viewing? maybe, maybe not… the point is, change for change’s sake is not necessarily a good thing when the current location and organizers don’t do anything badly.
      
      The bit in all this that surprises me is the complete and total lack of any bigtime cycling events in NSW during this little peak season… everything is in Vic/SA….
      - Robert Merkel
        
        It’s almost entirely down to government.
        
        The SA and VIC governments are actively supportive, both to get permits and for the big events they kick in cash to support the running of the event. By contrast, the NSW government and police are rather unhelpful, as this article explains:
        
        http://bicyclingaustralia.com.au/2014/07/roadside-assistance
        
        echidna_sg
        
        well at least its all sport and not just cycling left in the cold for NSW then ;-)
        
        bring back the 1956 olympic road race course I say!
      - Sean
        
        Its much harder to get permits up there.
    - Robert Merkel
      
      You’re never, ever going to get a permit to run a national championships on that course.
Andy B

As much as there are some sceptics of the race always being held at Buninyong I must say it always delivers with some of the most exciting racing on TV all year, There are few races I get as excited about watching and it often creates a surprise as it did yesterday
- ab
  
  any idea where a replay can be found?
  - http://cyclingtips.com.au Matt de Neef
    
    It will be on the Cycling Australia YouTube channel on the next day or two.
    - ab
      
      Thanks Matt!
    - Voltizie
      
      Matt, no sign of the video yet. Hope Ch 9 isn’t obstructing.
Choco

Out of interest, what was the total ascent for the men’s race at the end of the day?
- Neil
  
  I think it was Around 3000m, saw that on a pioneer head unit from one of the Avanti riders
  - jules
    
    bit over that, according to Canty’s strava http://www.strava.com/activities/239453299
    - Ralph
      
      Great shapes - cycing is art
  - BK
    
    Yes some more stats from the Host Broadcaster would have been nice!!!! (well, any decent stats really…)
Neil

I believe Pat Shaw from Avanti actually started the first move that Bobridge later joined with Canty. I think they were chasing to ensure the gap did not blow out, which would have put all their eggs in Pat Shaws basket!
echidna_sg

needs more cowbell!
Michele

Cam Wurf’s Knicks are fantastic. I initially thought an intruder had joined the peloton.
- Gaz
  
  Agree…I thought a dude on his MTB had joined the group, had to do a double take.
Gary Miller

C9 have no real affinity with cycling, just more sport content for advertising revenue. SBS may not have offered as big a deal, however they are committed to the sport and would be able to provide more involved and informed coverage. It’s time for on bike stats, front and rear cameras live during event. It’s easy with very light equipment available.
- echidna_sg
  
  and not UCI legal, which is sorta necessary for a UCI sanctioned event.
  - Gary Miller
    
    Of course it needs to be UCI approved, then used in all major event across the cycling world. Nothing is ever advanced by using existing rule to stall innovation that will deliver a more exciting insight and attract a wide new audience for cycling.
    Motor racing was very boring vision until the advent of in car coverage.
Allez Rouleur

Nice set of photos.
Wow the Budget Forklifts kit is…budget looking. Are those cut-off knickers? Bobridge looks like he needs a shower, a shave, a diet, and some decent bibs.

The gap between the PRO looking Euro pros and the continental guys is immense. Looks like PROs versus local club racers.

And wow! HH stepped away from the hair styling mirror long enough to win something. Consider me amazed.
Bleary

God there really are a lot of tour heavy hitters in there aren’t there! Great shots.
Ralph

The Ballarat Courier, what a good local rag
Gus Gollings

Dat reflection in the first photo!
Humphrey B. Bear

Are we finally seeing an end to the trend amongst some spectators of dressing up in stupid costumes in order to get on the coverage? Speaking of the coverage, the amount of (very long) ad breaks in the last 20km was excruciating and poorly timed.
- ed
  
  yeah - although he may be a nice guy telly tubby man is an attention seeker.
  correct euro spectactor wear is short shorts (possible speedos), socks and sandles & useless hat - check out some of the spectactors on bigringriding.
http://www.littlepeople.id.au Chris Little

Porte ‘s sleeve flag looks to be the Tassie state flag, rather than Australian. It’s a bit small, but do I see that correctly?