Drapac Professional Cycling took the forward momentum of the Mitchelton Bay Cycling Classic to Ballarat for the Mars Cycling Australia National Championships this past week, with Brenton Jones taking silver in the criterium and Sam Spokes powering to 7th in the road race.

Jones showed his run of seconds to Caleb Ewan was no fluke as he powered to yet another second place to Ewan in the national criterium race.

“Jones has been one of the standout riders of the early season. And his silver medal at the criterium was a just reward for his commitment through the off-season, and shows his improvement in 2016. I was pleased with the team on Wednesday as they all rode hard to give us the best chance at the finish,” Tom Southam, Sports Director, said.

Jones was satisfied with the week and the cohesive team effort during the Nationals.

“The team is working well together and all set for a big year ahead. In less than one week, we will be tackling our first UCI tours for the year. I am looking forward to the results we will achieve. At Nationals, I felt good and my form is where I want it to be so these early results set up nicely for the year. The last time I had a good start to the season was in 2014, when I had a very good year. Here’s to a sinker pattern in 2016,” Jones said.

In the weekend’s national road race Spokes charged 7th with teammates Brendan Canty, 11th and Timothy Roe, 14th. Jack Bobridge was the day’s winner with an early attack that saw him ride solo for the majority of the race to close out for the victory.

“Sunday was a pretty different day, and Bobridge was simply exceptional. Bernie (Sulzberger) did the right thing and went with Jack when he attacked but started to cramp a bit.We wanted the race to be hard behind so we used up a number of guys to hit the climb mid-race to avoid the usual dawdle around until the final four laps. Sam proved once again that he is well suited to a hard race and I think he should have a great year ahead of him,” Southam added.

Spokes, who finished 5th in last year’s national road race, shared that the team effort on a challenging day.

“The first 5 laps were quite easy then we set out with a plan to make the race hard on the climb. The boys executed the plan perfectly. Bobridge got away in the first break on lap one and no one saw him again. The last lap after Brendan had rode so strong on the front I tried to launch over the top of the climb. A few guys came back and I had to settle for 4th in the bunch kick. It was a hard day with the heat so I’m happy with how I rode and how the boys put it on the line for me today,” Spokes said of the day.

Brendan Canty finished a solid 11th in the road race and believes that these races are setting a good tone for the tours coming up.

“The team has a big emphasis on the summer racing in Australia and our team worked well this past week. Drapac had some good numbers later in the road race as the size of the field dropped and the physical demands got to most riders in the field. Sam had a fantastic effort for running 7th for us. Personally, I think there are plenty of positives to take away from the day. I know my form is there and there will be plenty more opportunities this year to come, including the Tour de San Luis in Argentina next week.”

Drapac Cycling splits up its roster and heads next to Tour de San Luis for its first ever start in South America and to Adelaide for its third start at the UCI WorldTour event Santos Tour Down Under.