Frantic finish delivers surprise
Title has Freiberg in race for Tour Down Under spot
MICHAEL Freiberg’s entire career has been built on a never-say-die attitude so as the gold medal appeared to slip away in the final kilometres of yesterday’s national championship road race it was no surprise he had one last kick left in him.
As Cameron Meyer and Chris Harper dropped him on the final climb, Freiberg rode his own race behind them and as they played cat-and-mouse he attacked from behind, caught them by surprise and produced a win for the ages.
The 28-year-old who walked away from cycling in 2012 a world and Commonwealth Games champion on the track but shattered at missing out on the London Olympics, Freiberg did not touch a bike for 18 months and didn’t race for three years.
Instead, he built a business – a resistance training tool for cyclists – but came back to the sport, chased the dream and is now national champion.
“This is right up there, it’s the ones you have to fight for the hardest which mean the most and it’s been about 8-10 years since I was on a podium at the world level so it’s really special,” Freiberg said.
“It’s a pay-off for five or six years of work, I went away and knew what needed to be done – to develop my training system – and if you put in the work and get the power down it delivers.”
Freiberg, who rides for Pro Racing Sunshine Coast, beat Harper (Team BridgeLane) and Meyer (Mitchelton-Scott) after 185km meaning the Australian WorldTour team claimed neither men’s nor women’s national champions jersey on a dramatic day.
Freiberg and Harper were in the breakaway all day and the chasing group eliminated pre-race favourites Caleb Ewan, Jay McCarthy and Nathan Haas. TRIUMPHANT: (From left) Freiberg celebrates; and second placegetter Chris Harper rounds the bend.
As Meyer bridged across with 37km to go, he appeared to take control before Freiberg launched his final attack.
“Going up the climb, I was cramping and thought maybe if I ride the front they will think I’m going OK, and I thought I was doing serious damage to my legs because my right quad was cramping real bad,” Freiberg said.
“But I came good over the top and had all but given up but managed to chase back on.
“Coming across that line there is something you wouldn’t dream of.
“On the last lap, I was just hoping for a podium, that would be fantastic, but to catch them in that home straight was something special.”
His win puts him right under the nose of national selectors for the final spot on the UniSA team for Tour Down Under but a decision won’t be made until today.
Meyer, who has finished on the podium before, fought back tears post-race as he rued a missed opportunity.
“I don’t know if I’m more upset at myself or letting my teammates down,” Meyer said.