Venue: Gunning, NSW
Despite the extraordinarily windy conditions that battered competitors on the exposed Gunning course, some tenacious performances by the #DhuezRacing riders made the NSW Road Championships at weekend to remember.
Individual Time Trial Championships
The Individual Time Trial Championships were held on Saturday and saw Simone Grounds take an all important win in the Elite Women’s event which also moved her to equal first in the NSW Women’s Road Premiership. Nadia Younan was also strong in the wind and battled hard for a podium result (3rd) in her favoured discipline.
Having recently returned from South Korea with the NSW Development Team, any concerns that Luke Deasey might be a little low on petrol were quickly dispelled after a gritty performance to capture 2nd in the U19 Men’s ITT.
To round out the day, Johnathan Millington and Ben Neppl were also able to showcase their versatility by finishing 1st and 3rd in their respective divisions despite spending the majority of their recent training on the track (where they are preparing for the International Masters Games later this year).
NSW Road Races and Goulburn Great Divide Race
The gusts eased a little on Sunday but the crosswinds continued to provide a challenge and ensure that the racing was hard.
An unfortunately timed illness to Georgia Whitehouse (Syd Uni Staminade) also meant that the much anticipated race with Simone Grounds to decide the NSW Womens Premiership did not eventuate but a result was still required with several other riders in the field able to take the points lead.
Nadia Younan put in a huge shift throughout the race and drove the peloton for long periods to set a fast tempo in the blustery conditions. This ensured the bunch stayed together and she then lead out teammate Simone Grounds who finished 2nd behind Chloe Heffernan (Illawarra CC) but scored enough points to take home the Roadwoman of the Year title🏆.
In the Div 1 Goulburn Great Divide Masters event, Jordan Ross was able to recover from the initial hiccup of leaving his racing license at home 🤦♂️ to win the race and also the title of Masters Roadman of the Year 🏆.
A big congratulations to both Simone and Jordan but also to all the Dhuez riders who have contributed to these wins during the season #StrongerAsOne #tricolours
📸 credit to Ryan Miu
2019 NSW ROAD ITT – RESULTS
Elite Women ITT – Simone Grounds – 1st
Masters 2 ITT – Johnathan Millington – 1st
U-19 Men ITT – Luke Deasey – 2nd
Elite Women ITT – Nadia Younan – 3rd
Masters 3 ITT – Ben Neppl – 3rd
2019 NSW ROAD RACE – RESULTS
Masters (Division 1) – Jordan Ross – 1st
Elite Women – Simone Grounds – 2nd