Tilly Field, Josh Harris defend esports national titles

Tilly Field and Josh Harris have confirmed their place at the top of cycling esports, defending their elite titles at the 2026 AusCycling Esports National Championships in Brisbane.

Field (Club MUD Ballarat) and Harris (Launceston City CC) lay down commanding rides in the live final at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT), shrugging off the pressure of their favourite status to deliver clinical victories.

Five women and five men contested the final at The Cube, the QUT's state-of-the-art interactive learning venue, having qualified two weeks ago in the online qualifiers.

The final was contested over two stages on MyWhoosh. First was the "Puncher's Playground", a 12km course featuring sharp climbs, with points awarded at four intermediate points and at the finish line.

Second was the "Sprinter's Paradise", taking place over 8 laps of a 1.5km flat circuit, with points awarded at the end of each lap.

In the elite women's event, while Katie Banerjee proved the best climber on the opening stage, Field claimed consistent points behind her to finish the stage on top of the leaderboard, four points ahead of Banerjee.

The flat circuit of stage two played firmly in Field's favour, and the Victorian was able to win sprint after sprint to extend her advantage, eventually clinching the title by 13 points.

"It's really cool. I think I invest a lot of my life and my energy into esports, it's something that I want to grow, so to win it gives me another year of promoting and being and ambassador for the sport," Field said.

In the men's event, Josh Harris dominated both stages, breaking away from his rivals early on to soak up maximum points. At the end of the second stage, Harris cruised across the finish line with his arm raised, celebrating his second consecutive esports national title.

"It feels great to retain the title. I did want to come here and win, so to do it was fantastic," Harris said. "Given the type of rider that was here, I knew that I had to make the race, and I didn't know whether I could, so, to get it done in those circumstances was awesome.

"I'm pretty satisfied with what I've accomplished in esports, but while I'm having fun I don't see any reason to not keep coming come back to these events."

Harris said he enjoyed racing at the Cube with his friend and clubmate Marc Gates.

"It's great to be in Brisbane with Gatesy. We race together all the time on a Discord call, so to be side-by-side with him is awesome."

In addition to the green-and-gold jersey of national champion, each of the winners took home a Jetblack Victory smart trainer.

The 2026 AusCycling Esports National Championships is part of the Brisbane Cycling Festival, which concludes this weekend with the Active Lifestyle Expo and Tour de Brisbane.

Results

Elite Women

1. Matilda Field − 374pts
2. Katie Banerjee − 357pts
3. Brianna Samuhel − 341pts
4. Peta Antonello − 330pts
5. Dayna Davidson − 308pts

Elite Men

1. Joshua Harris − 373pts
2. Mitchell Stewart − 356pts
3. Marc Gates − 347 pts
4. Jude Dodd − 319pts
5. Connor Vickers − 315pts

The Brisbane Cycling Festival is proudly supported by Brisbane City Council through Brisbane Economic Development Agency and the Queensland Government through Tourism and Events Queensland. 

Photos: Media Queensland