Alex Edmondson has surprised a world-class field at the Australian Championships to claim the coveted green and gold jersey for the season ahead in Europe with Mitchelton-Scott.
Edmondson found himself in a winning position when he followed a move with just over three laps remaining.
Edmonson attacked with 20 kilometres to go and was joined by fellow South Australian and training partner, Chris Harper (Bennelong SwissWellness).
The pair held off a select peloton until the final few hundred metres, where a galloping Jay McCarthy (Bora-hansgrohe) finished in between the two mates to steal silver off Harper.
“I’m absolutely speechless. This means a hell of a lot to me, I just want to thank the team for all their work, my family and my coach. It’s a magical day that I’m not going to forget for a long time”, said Edmondson.
“I came here just to do what I could for the guys and to come away with the green and gold is a dream come true. I think every cyclist grows up wanting to wear the green and gold and this isn’t going to sink in for a while.”
Results:
| 1 | Alexander Edmondson (Mitchelton-Scott) | 4:54:27 |
| 2 | Jay McCarthy (Bora-hansgrohe) | +01” |
| 3 | Chris Harper (Bennelong SwissWellness) | ,, |
| 4 | Caleb Ewan (Mitchelton-Scott) | ,, |
| 5 | Nathan Haas (Katusha-Alpecin) | ,, |
| 6 | Chris Hamilton (Team Sunweb) | ,, |
| 7 | Sam Crome (Bennelong SwissWellness) | ,, |
| 8 | Simon Clarke (EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale) | ,, |
| 9 | Brendan Canty (EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale) | ,, |
| 10 | Nathan Earle (Israel-Cycling Academy) | ,, |
