Four-some! Cyclists claim repeat wins at Road Race Championships

The National Road Race Championship saw repeat champions in all four  categories — Male Open, Female Open, Junior Male and Junior Female — from last week’s time trial championship.  

Shannon Lawrence, Nicole Mitchell, Daniel Oatley and Gabriella Arnold doubled their results by topping their respective races.

Lawrence powered away on the final lap of his 100 kilometre event after main rival Dominique Mayho flatted at the start of the last circuit.

A flat also eliminated Zoenique Williams on the last lap of the women’s 60 kilometre race, leaving Mitchell to out-duel defending champion Karen Bordage and April Galda-Joyce. 

The junior male race saw the Oatley brothers gang up on Justin Ferreira and successfully spring Daniel to take the title.

Arnold won her 15th consecutive national title as the strongest of the junior female group, leaving Victoria Davis and Tristan Narraway to battle it out for the remaining podium spots.

The high humidity took its toll on the rest of the participants, with more than half of the riders abandoning the course before completing the appointed distance.

But in the Junior Male category, Zion Dowling, Malik Joell and Ben Edwards all outdid themselves by finishing their race, by far their hardest cycling effort to date.

The BBA’s season will be quieter during the months of July and August with just two time trials scheduled in early July before resuming at the end of August.