Alastair Mackellar (Israel Cycling Academy) was again by far the best at the National Championships among the Under 23s, this time in the time trial after his road race success a few days prior.
The Queenslander looked smooth and powerful throughout his effort against the clock, posting a time of 36'49, the fastest over the distance in the three years the course has been in use. He easily won over Oliver Bleddyn (ARA Skip Capital) by 1'25, with Zac Marriage 1'35 behind.
Mackellar, 20, has simply been dominant in the past few days as he looks to continue his development as a rider. He was asked post-race if he had thought he would be quite so substantial a winner and whether the performance numbers were in line with what he hoped for.
"I honestly didn't come here with those intentions, so to pull it off is pretty special." said Mackellar. "Yeah, it was exactly what I was targetting, so to be able to execute on the day is perfect, it's what I aimed for."
Mackellar is tall but without the powerful build of a classics specialist, though clearly with a massive engine contained within his frame. With plenty of options open to him in this early stage of his career, Mackellar said he was still finding out what sort of cyclist he was.
"Still working that out," said Mackellar. "Never have I really targetted a TT this much. I did a couple as a junior but I really went all-in for this time trial with the training and the equipment. I'll start doing a few more time trials and targetting that.
"Otherwise it's a bit of climbing, not a pure climber, I get dropped by the skinny guys in Europe. A bit of an allrounder I'd say, still working it out."
Bleddyn, 20, and Marriage, 19, still have plenty of time to build on their podium results, with the hot climbing prospect Marriage's attentions turning immediately towards the Tour Down Under, where he'll race for the national team.
