One of the first major sporting events in Australia next year will be the road cycling national championships in Buninyong, Victoria. Today AusCycling announced the dates for the next #RoadNats and racing returns to the traditional January spot on the calendar.

 

We’ve come to know the course and we understand the buzz that the ‘Summer of Cycling’ can bring, especially when the #RoadNats, as they’ve come to be known, are held during the summer school holidays. With live TV coverage for the final weekend, it’s a chance for cycling to get some mainstream airtime and for form to be put to the test on demanding criterium, time trial and road race circuits.

 

If all goes according to plan, next year’s road cycling national championships will be contest in Ballarat / Buninyong from 12-16 January 2022. Of course, as we’ve also come to expect in recent years, there is always a chance that effects of the pandemic will be felt and amendments might need to be made. For now, however, the CEO of AusCycling is confident that racing will return to January after the temporary move to February in 2021.

 

“We are excited that the AusCycling Federation University Road National Championships will be one of Australia’s first major sporting events of 2022,” says Marne Fechner in the official release.

“As the country emerges from COVID lockdowns, it is events like these that bring the community back together and importantly support our economic recovery. The opportunity for our elite to get back to racing and showcase not only the depth of our talent, but the great sport of road cycling will be a welcome start to the year.”

 

There’s a full schedule of events with AusCycling explaining that there will be “more than 100 national champions will be crowned” over the course of the five-day program that includes criteriums, road races and time trials “in the categories of elite, para-cycling, under-23, under-19, intellectually impaired and deaf in addition to Gran Fondo, club teams and masters national championship events”.

 

Over 100 national champions in five days? That’s a lot of medals and, of course, the hope is that there will also be a lot of competitors… and, that the dates will remain in place all the way through to until the middle of next January.

 

In 2021 adjustments needed to be made to account for travel restrictions because of the pandemic and although it wasn’t an ideal scenario, the racing was first-class. Even if you couldn’t make it to the circuit in and around Buninyong, it is likely that you will still be able to follow the action live on TV with prime time viewing on SBS.

 

RIDE Media has attempted to confirm if SBS will again be broadcasting the racing in January 2022, what network will be responsible, and what the programming will look like. (No answer was forthcoming prior to publishing but we’ll update this page when details are confirmed.)

 

 

Flashback to 2021 #RoadNats: criterium gallery (elite men) • criterium gallery (elite women)
• time trial gallery (elite women)
• Cameron Meyer interview (road race national champion) • Kelland O’Brien interview (road race runner-up)

 

 

Photos: Jean-Pierre Ronco

“[The] road nationals will bring thousands of members, cyclists, fans, event staff and volunteers from across the country to regional Victoria for what will be one of the biggest championships in history,” concluded Fechner in today’s release.

 

The City of Ballarat has been a big supporter of cycling and the Mayor, Daniel Moloney, is excited about racing returning to a more visitor-friendly slot on the calendar, when children are still on summer holidays and plans for travel can be a little more certain than 12 months earlier.

 

“The City of Ballarat has a fantastic relationship with AusCycling that has prospered since 2007,” says Moloney. “I would also like to thank Ballarat residents and business owners who have always provided terrific support to this event, which will no doubt kickstart a fantastic 2022 for the region.”

 

 

For more, visit: AusCycling.org.au