Sophie Edwards powers to 2023 Oceania road race title
NATA rollercoaster three weeks at the Brisbane Cycling Festival for ARA Skip Capital’s Sophie Edwards has been closed out with a bang, winning the 2023 elite women’s Oceania Road Race Championship.
Edwards’ ARA Skip Capital team played the closing moments of the race perfectly, launching the Commonwealth Games track gold medallist to her second noteworthy road victory in Australia this year.
“It was a hard day out there, so I am so glad to finish it off for the team,” Edwards said.
“We had quite a few different cards to play. We have some strong climbers and some girls that are strong time triallists that could have got into a breakaway, and a couple of us are good sprinters.
“We just worked really well together to communicate with a lap to go and work out how we would manage the finish.”
Matilda Raynolds finished close behind Edwards in second, followed by former national champion Ruth Corset in third.
Fourth-place finisher Keely Bennett (Team BridgeLane) won the under-23 title, ahead of ARA Skip Capital duo Isabelle Carnes and Sophie Marr.
Edwards tackled a jampacked schedule of racing over the Brisbane Cycling Festival period and won the first event she contested of that block at the 2023 Track Nationals.
However, a minor off-bike injury sidelined the 23-year-old for the remainder of TrackNats.
Several days of “intense rest” and recovery had Edwards back on the bike for the Oceania Track Championships, where she went on to win a gold medal in the team pursuit.
“It’s definitely been a big few weeks,” Edwards said.
“I’m very grateful for all the support I’ve had from the medical team at AusCycling and Queensland Academy of Sport, which allowed me to get on top of the injury very quickly and return to racing.
“I’m so excited now to wear the Oceania jersey this year and have the chance to show it to the world while we’re in Europe.
“I’m lucky that my male teammate Brady Gilmore was the U23 champion up until the weekend, so I’ve already got a jersey ready to go for my next road race!”
That next road race will likely be in Europe with the ARA Skip Capital team, and may come after the final UCI Track Nations Cup of the season in Milton, Canada, should Edwards be included in the Australian team.
Climbing talent Talia Appleton (Team BridgeLane) left nothing to chance in the junior women’s road race, smashing the field to win by two minutes and 15 seconds.
Appleton was Australia’s best finisher in 21st in the junior women’s road race at the 2022 UCI Road World Championships and will undoubtedly be a name to watch for the remainder of 2023.
“Really proud of myself and the way the BridgeLane girls rode today,” Appleton said.
“I’m super happy.”
Behind Appleton, it was more Team BridgeLane dominance, sweeping the junior women’s podium.
Felicity Wilson-Haffenden finished in second and Nicole Duncan in third.
2023 Oceania Road Race Championships medallists
Elite Men Road Race
Gold: Liam Walsh (AUS)
Silver: Brady Gilmore (AUS)
Bronze: Tom Sexton (NZL)
Elite Women Road Race
Gold: Sophie Edwards (AUS)
Silver: Matilda Raynolds (AUS)
Bronze: Ruth Corset (AUS)
U23 Men Road Race
Gold: Liam Walsh (AUS)
Silver: Brady Gilmore (AUS)
Bronze: Declan Trezise (AUS)
U23 Women Road Race
Gold: Keely Bennett (AUS)
Silver: Isabelle Carnes (AUS)
Bronze: Sophie Marr (AUS)
Junior Men Road Race
Gold: Will Heath (AUS)
Silver: Levi Hone (AUS)
Bronze: Josiah Grierson (AUS)
Junior Women Road Race
Gold: Talia Appleton (AUS)
Silver: Felicity Wilson-Haffenden (AUS)
Bronze: Nicole Duncan (AUS)
Para-cycling Road Races
Men C2: Darren Hicks (AUS)
Men C3: David Nicholas (AUS)
Men T2: Declan Hart (AUS)
Men H3: Alex Welsh (AUS)
Men H4: Jono Nelson (NZL)
Men Tandem: Steven Kemp (AUS)
Women C1: Kaitlyn Schurmann (AUS)
Women C3: Paige Greco (AUS)
Women C4: Meg Lemon (AUS)
Women C5: Julie Hooper (AUS)
Women H3: Lauren Parker (AUS)
Women Tandem: Candice Kennedy (AUS)
Feature picture: RCPix
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