Winning an Australian title is a defining moment for many amateur riders. Standing atop the podium in the green-and-gold jersey: it's the stuff of dreams.
Backing up to win all three races at the AusCycling Junior and Masters Road National Championships – road race, time trial, and criterium – is a remarkable achievement.
But doing it two years in a row in one of the most hotly contested age categories? That’s something else entirely.
One person to do just that is Sydney's Chris Ling, who claimed a clean sweep of the road race, criterium and time trial in the masters 5 men’s category in 2023 in Shepparton, and then again last year in Loxton.
Chris Ling after winning his 2024 criterium national title. Photo: James Raison.
A latecomer to the sport, Ling only took up cycling in his mid-40s when a wrist injury sidelined him from rock climbing, his primary passion for over two decades.
It quickly became a serious pursuit for the New South Welshman, leading to club racing and eventually, state and national competition.
Within just a few years, the Dulwich Hill Bicycle Club rider was standing atop podiums at the highest level of masters racing in Australia.
“I went to my first national masters road champs in 2019. The following year I was surprised to win the road race and the overall jersey. Since then I've given some other cycling disciplines a go, including winning my age group at gravel nationals, and a national record and world title on the track [in the individual pursuit] last year,” Ling says.
“I wasn't a sporty kid, so being an age group national champion for the first time in my late 40s was unexpected and still feels a bit odd, to be honest.”
Chris Ling won his 2024 road race title with a 55km solo breakaway. Photo: James Raison
Among the six titles, one stands out in Ling’s memory: the 2024 road race, where he executed what he calls his best-ever long-range solo effort.
“That was a special one,” Ling says.
“It was an unusually short and flat road race, even for masters champs. But there were strong winds, and the course involved laps of a rectangular circuit, so my plan was to try to split the bunch on one of the crosswind legs.
“As it turned out, I got a gap on the first headwind leg, with 55km to go. Earlier than planned, but the dynamics of a bunch of individual riders worked in my favour. No-one would commit to closing the gap and tiring themselves out before an expected sprint finish, so they rode stop-start while I rode steady, and pretty soon I was out of sight.”
It contrasts with his most difficult victory: the 2023 road race, which came down to a bunch sprint, something he readily admits is not his strength.
Chris Ling wins the bunch sprint for the 2023 road race title. Photo: Matt Rousu
The secret to Ling’s success, he says, is consistent racing, smart tactics, and a rigorous training load built around back-to-back riding days on weekends.
Living in a major city allows him to race frequently, even multiple times a week in summer.
“For me, just hanging on in club A-grade is great training in terms of fitness, skills and tactics. The main thing I try to do is build volume,” the professor of chemistry at the University of Sydney says, admitting that balancing ideal training cycles with the realities of work and life isn’t always easy.
With the 2025 nationals in Wagga Wagga fast approaching, Chris is realistic. Now in the older half of the masters 5 age group, he's expecting stiff competition.
“I expect it to be hard. There are very strong guys coming up who I used to race in M4, plus other heavy hitters who are new to masters because they only raced elite until now. I'm looking forward to it, it's a great cohort and we all get along well,” he says.
And Ling also has a message for anyone considering their first crack at Masters Nationals: just go for it.
“You’ll never be too old to be competitive. And you might surprise yourself first time out.”
The 2025 AusCycling Junior and Masters Road National Championships brings together Australia’s best under-15, under-17 and Masters 30+ road cyclists as they race for the green-and-gold jerseys of national champions.
The event is supported by Wagga Wagga City Council and will take place from September 18-21. Entries are open at AusCycling’s event page.