The chase for Australia’s national titles at the Westbridge Funds Road National Championships is opening up the summer block of racing. Competitors from the WorldTour are coming back home from Europe and lining up with the best of the domestic scene in Western Australia to see who will get the honour of wearing the green and gold striped jerseys of a title holder for the rest of 2026.

The competition opens with the time trials, the U23 men among the opening acts as they set out to take on the race against the clock on Wednesday January 7, with the U23 and elite women’s and elite men’s time trials unfolding on Thursday January 8.

Then it is onto the criteriums on the fast but technical Northbridge circuit on Friday January 9, when the weather is expected to cool from its 30°C+ temperatures and there is potential for rain. Saturday, with its cool summer forecasts of temperatures in the low 20s, is when the road races begin to unfold, with the U23 men’s battle among the schedule. Sunday is the final day of competition through Kings Park, with the prize of the U23 women’s and elite women’s title up for grabs in the middle of the day, and the elite men’s race into the evening to decide the final battle in Perth.

You may like

singled out as one of her greatest threats in Perth, with the 2023 Junior World Time Trial champion, Felicity Wilson-Haffenden (Lidl-Trek), stepping up into the elite ranks this year. The 2025 U23 champion Alli Anderson (Liv-AlUla-Jayco Continental) will also be moving up to the elite category, and it’s never wise to rule out Amber Pate (Liv-AlUla-Jayco), runner-up in last year’s title chase and the only other rider in the field within a minute of Chapman in the 29km race against the clock.

Elite Men

Just like in the women’s individual time trial, there are two key favourites that are hard to go past, defending champion and three-time title winner Luke Plapp (Jayco-AlUla) and 2023 victor Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates-XRG). Last year, Plapp was eight seconds ahead of Vine as the race played out on the new 38.5km time trial course in Bold Park, but Vine is looking to step it up this year. He told Cyclingnews late last year, when reflecting on 2025, that ‘I just went into Australia a bit underdone, so I’m trying to fix that’. With such a small margin between the top two, any improvement from Vine could provide a significant challenge. However, Plapp has a reputation for being the master of finding January form, given he has both three elite road and time trial titles to his name already at just 25. As far as the lower spots on the podium go, Kelland O’Brien (Jayco-AlUla) has rarely been off them, finishing third in the elite time trial in three of his last four appearances, with fourth-place being as far away from the podium as he has been. The Australian team also have Ben O’Connor on the time trial start list this year. Still, a new potential podium challenger that could help reduce the chances of Jayco-AlUla sweeping up so many of the top spots is emerging with the appearance of 2023 Junior World Time Trial champion Oscar Chamberlain (Decathlon CMA CGM) on the start list.

U23 Men

You may like

In the U23 men’s race of truth, Julian Baudry (Team Brennan) was last year’s surprise road race winner in his first year in the category after getting away early in the break, but knowing he won’t be let get away easily this time, the focus has turned to the time trial in 2026. This was evident when he took third in the race against the clock at the Tour of Bright in December as the first of the U23 riders behind elite national champion Plapp and his Jayco-AlUla teammate O’Brien. Still, Baudry will also have to contend with plenty of rivals stepping up from the U19 category, including those who claimed the podium spots in the junior division last year, including the 18-year-old Max Goold (NSN Development Team), Lucas Stevenson (Team Brennan) and Fletcher Medway (Ineos Grenadiers Racing Academy). It will also be interesting to see what a bit of time with a time trial bike at Lidl-Trek Future may have done for multi-discipline cyclist Jack Ward.

U23 Women

In the U23 women’s event, the riders from the top two steps of the podium in 2025, Anderson and Wilson-Haffenden, have shifted up to the elites this year, leaving Sophia Sammons, who was third last year, as a key rider to watch. The local, who last year also took fifth in the combined U23 and elite women’s road race, will be happy if her favoured hot conditions remain at least until the race against the clock is finished. Sophie Marr also appears to have stepped it up a level, coming third in the Tour of Bright time trial, won by Chapman. Then there are also last year’s fifth and sixth-placed riders, Kiera Will and Mackenzie Coupland, the latter of whom is stepping up from the development squad to the WorldTour team of Liv AlUla Jayco this season.

last year swept up both the elite and U23 titles when she crossed the line first after finding her way into the lasting early break. Between the two squads, they have nine riders on the start list, and that includes the last two winners in Stewart and Ruby Roseman-Gannon. The 2024 winner looks like a rider who could well be a top card on the course with punchy climbs, should it come down to a group battle, and Georgia Baker would be a powerful sprint force if she can hang in over the climbs at the front of the race. Still, with so many options for the team and so many tactics that could unfold, it’s a long list of options across both the top tier and development team to choose from that also includes Amber Pate, along with Talia Appleton and Sophie Marr, who are both eligible for the U23 title. However, the Lidl-Trek trio of Amanda Spratt – a three-time winner who is retiring at the end of the season – Felicity Wilson-Haffenden and Lauretta Hanson aren’t ones to concede defeat easily, and there is also the powerful combination of Neve Bradbury, Tiffany Cromwell and Emily Dixon – who will be eligible for the U23 title – from Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto. Several domestic teams also have solid numbers, from Continental squad Meridian Bikebug to Butterfields Ziptrack and will be trying to boost a rider onto the podium. There are also some dangerous lone rangers, including two former winners, Brodie Chapman, plus Nicole Frain (Factor Racing), who is hoping to make the most of her gravel form.