‘I think I’ve found myself again’ – Patrick Eddy bounces back from WorldTour contract non-renewal to emotional Australian title

After his contract with Picnic PostNL wasn’t renewed for 2026, Patrick Eddy made the decision to step down from the WorldTour and join Australian Continental outfit Team Brennan for 2026, pausing his European pro career at just 23.

But only 11 days into the new year of racing back at home, Eddy powered to his first win in six years – and not just any win, but the men’s elite Australian road race title, beating Luke Plapp and all of Jayco AlUla in the process.

When a 14-rider breakaway got five minutes up the road in Perth on Sunday – without Eddy in it, though two of his teammates were – the 23-year-old thought it was over for the peloton, but a dramatic fightback and then an offensive ride from Team Brennan saw Eddy and Plapp catch solo leader Luke Durbridge, before battling it out for the line, with the underdog taking the win.

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Coming just months after Eddy lost his place in the WorldTour, this is his first since he became junior national champion in 2019. Despite attracting the attention of Picnic PostNL – he rode for their development team and then WorldTour squad between 2022 and 2025 – his European career highlights only include a few top-fives in lower-level races.

“This means everything. I have pretty much won nothing since I won junior nationals. I lost myself as a rider for the last few years. I think I’ve found myself again,” he said after the race, with the victory still sinking in.

“I haven’t won anything since 2019. I started to forget what it was like to win a bike race; this is what I fell in love with. It’s good to be back, it means everything.”

Eddy raced a full season in Europe in 2025, competing in most of the cobbled Classics for Picnic PostNL and even making his Grand Tour debut at the Vuelta a España, but a lack of major results left him without a contract going into 2026.

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He returned to Australia and found a spot with Team Brennan, and has almost immediately shown why he was in the WorldTour in the first place, making his new green and gold jersey extra meaningful.

“I feel like most of the cycling world gave up on me; there was just a handful of people around me [who] kept believing in me and told me to keep hustling,” he said. “This is for them.”

Eddy also paid tribute to his teammates Oliver Bleddyn and Tristan Saunders, who were in the early break with Bleddyn, then helping Eddy all the way into the final 5km, as well as praising the setup that Team Brennan founder Tim Decker has created.

“We’re definitely the new kids on the block,” he said.

It certainly was a huge day and a huge win for Team Brennan, beating out tens of WorldTour riders to take the title, but whether Patrick Eddy stays as part of that team remains to be seen. A disrupted transfer season means there is space for some late moves, and it’s possible that Eddy’s win on Sunday could earn him a lifeline back into the European peloton.