Neve Bradbury had an outstanding Australian national road championship this weekend in Ballarat, twice stepping onto the podium. Though separate classifications, U23 and elite women competed together in the same race for the criterium and road events. Neve sprinted to a bronze medal in the U23 criterium on Friday evening, placing her seventh in the elite women.
Earlier today, Neve made it two podiums from two races in the team’s new season colours, when the 2020 CANYON//SRAM Zwift Academy winner earned a silver medal in the U23 road race and was sixth in the elite women’s category.“I don’t consider myself a criterium rider, so after finishing third in the U23 criterium on Friday evening and getting seventh against the elite women, I had some confidence going into the road race today. I was hoping for a different coloured medal in the U23 race than bronze,” admitted Neve.
“I knew I was going into the road race as an individual rider, so I really had to be patient and just see how the race turned out. I was feeling quite good each lap, but the ninth and final time up the Mt Buninyong climb hurt a lot!” laughed Neve. After being part of an early breakaway Sarah Roy (GEC) took her first national road title with a solo win, while Neve was one of only a handful of riders who was able to come from the peloton, bridging a three-minute gap, to contend for the remaining podium places.“After the final time up the climb, I was chasing to get back into contention. I was able to catch Sarah (Gigante) but we couldn’t make it to the three riders ahead, which is where the eventual U23 winner (Emily Watts) was.
Coming into the final kilometre it was between Sarah and me for the U23 silver medal. I knew it’s quite a quick finish and we had a headwind so I thought my best bet was to force Sarah to the front, and for me to be on her wheel and sprint from there. That worked out.”Neve added, “I’m really happy with the U23 silver medal, and getting sixth overall is pretty cool. It’s been a nice start to wearing the CANYON//SRAM colours.”
After winning the 2020 CANYON//SRAM Zwift Academy, Neve earned a professional contract with CANYON//SRAM Racing for the 2021 season. The 19 year old from Melbourne raced for the Australian national team in the Santos Festival of Cycling in January, finishing sixth in the general classification and second in the youth classification. After her two podium performances at the national championships, Neve will now have a short training break before preparing to join her CANYON//SRAM Racing teammates for the spring races in Europe.
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