First look at 2023 Masters and Junior Road Nationals routes, Shepparton 

All roads lead to Shepparton in northern Victoria for the 2023 AusCycling Masters and Junior Road National Championships on September 21-24.

Between 600 to 700 Masters and juniors will battle it out on fully closed roads across three events - road race, individual time trial and criterium.

Entries are now open for the championships, which are contested in age groups for under-15s, under-17s, and masters, who are aged 30 and above.

Masters categories are divided into five-year increments: 30-34 years (Masters 1), 35-39 years (Masters 2), and so on.

Read on to get a closer look at the courses.

ROAD RACE

Starting and finishing in Dookie, a small agricultural village 29km east of Shepparton, the road race is a rolling course through farmland offering all types of riders a chance for the win.

All categories will set off from Dookie and ride for about 3km before making a sharp right-hand turn onto the 15km circuit where they will complete multiple laps depending on their age category.

While there aren’t any overly long or steep climbs, this is a thinking rider’s course, offering plenty of opportunities for a breakaway, if you have the legs. Could there be a move where the road narrows to a single lane on Major Plains Road? Or perhaps an attack on the sweeping bends on Dookie-Devenish Rd?

But if the bunch sticks together, riders will want to keep something left in the tank for the slightly uphill finish.

See the course profiles below:

Road Race - 38km (2 Laps) - JW15, JM15

Road Race - 52km (3 Laps) - WMAS 6-9, MMAS 6-10

Road Race - 68km (4 Laps) - JW17, JM17, WMAS 1-5, MMAS 3-5

Road Race - 83km (5 Laps) - MMAS 1-2

INDIVIDUAL TIME TRIAL

Once again starting in Dookie, the rolling out-and-back course heads east on a long straight road, with a sweeping right hand bend about 500m before the turnaround point at 7.7km.

While not overly technical, the turnaround will be tight and test riders’ handling.

The lumpy course has 134m of elevation gain across 15.5km for Masters and under-17 riders. In order to win, competitors will need to power over the risers and maintain speed on the downhills.

Under-15 riders will also start and finish in Dookie, tackling a shorter 10km course and 89m of elevation.

CRITERIUM

Positioning and bike handling will be key on the technical criterium course that will see riders race around the centre of Shepparton. It’s a rare opportunity to race a closed-road circuit in the heart of town.

The 1.23km circuit starts and finishes in Welsford Street nears Queen’s Gardens.

Although it is a technical course, the streets are wide and offer plenty of room for riders.

The route takes riders south past the council chambers and right onto Marungi Street, where we could see some attacks.

Riders will want to be in a good position as they negotiate a right-hand turn around a roundabout onto Nixon Street, followed quickly by a left back onto Welsford Street.

The U-turn at the northern end of Welsford Street will be crucial in the approach to the finish.

The duration of each race will vary from 20 minutes (for the under-15s) up to 35 minutes (for some Masters fields).

Photos: John Veage