'I plan to defend the jersey with all I have': Justine Barrow ahead of the Gravel National Championships

The past 12 months has been a rollercoaster for Justine Barrow who has felt the highs and lows of her sport.

The Victorian, who last year clinched her first elite gravel national championship, was racing in the USA for four months when her international season was cut short in August due to a severe AC joint dislocation.

“I have done the rehab drill before (I am also a physio, and this was my fifth shoulder surgery) and my transition back to cycling and racing has always been straightforward,” Barrow reflected.

“Things were going in the same positive direction for the first couple of months, but then I suffered a complication that caused me to go backwards and resulted in a second surgery three and a half months ago.

“I wish I could say that I was on the improve after that, but unfortunately the shoulder is still having quite a big impact on cycling and life - so the vast majority of my time in the national jersey has been spent on the sidelines.”

That also meant her goal to compete at the 2023 UCI Gravel World Championships was sidelined.

With the defence of her title on the horizon, Barrow has been showcasing the green and gold jersey on top of the podium.

Most notably, Barrow won the Seven Gravel Race in Western Australia before she headed back to the USA and claimed her first ever win in the 200km Gravel Locos in Texas.

Her next race is perhaps one of the toughest - the grueling 320km Unbound.

“My training has been pitched at these endurance events which can come at the detriment of the shorter length of the National Championships (106km),” she said.

“The level of women's cycling and women's gravel cycling in Australia continues to improve and I never underestimate my competition.

“I love the course in Derby, and I plan to defend the jersey with all I have.”

You can still enter the Gravel National Championships here.

Photo Credit: KIPhotoMedia/Daniela Tommasi