Watch all the action from 4:50pm (AEDT) on SBS On Demand, with the Elite and Under 23 women’s race starting at 5:00pm and the Elite Men’s race 6:30pm.
The course is called a 'hot dog crit' because the course outline resembles a sausage shape, but it's a nice, plump German-style sausage in this case, with the wide boulevard of Sturt Street providing less of a hairpin at either end, so the constant attrition caused by braking and re-acceleration is less dramatic than a course like the recent final stage of the Bay Crits.
At 1.1 kilometres, the course does have a distinct uphill and downhill side, with the home straight on the uphill a false flat incline to catch any out that launch their sprint too soon. The weather is also set to be pleasant and mild.
Plenty of fast men and women are on the startlist ready to challenge for the victory, only really Maeve Plouffe (Team DSM), Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Georgia Baker (Jayco-AlUla) and the recently retired Brenton Jones are missing out of the names that you would consider potential winners.
This should probably lead to enough teams committed to bringing both races together for a bunch sprint, and make it slightly less likely that we see a situation like last year where Cameron Ivory (St George Continental) took a last lap flyer to claim a famous win.
Elite Men’s Criterium Contenders
Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) is back for the first time in years and he’s making the most of it by competing in the race he’s won three times previously from 2016-2018. He hasn’t lined up since then, mostly due to his absence from Australia, but perhaps also due to his switch away from Greenedge in 2019 that meant he wasn’t racing with the strongest team in the race. This year, he’ll be at the start with teammates Jarrad Drizners and Harry Sweeny, and at less of a disadvantage than being one out.
He has raced a few of the local crits in Sydney, where he’s looked good but not great, opting not to sprint when he’s been in good positions to let the locals take the prizes.
Blake Quick (Jayco AlUla) is the new rider recruited to fill the void left by Ewan at the Australian WorldTour team, and he has some similar characteristics, if not quite the prolific set of results. He’ll have a strong team backing him up with another contender in Kell O’Brien, who has podiumed here before, as an option for a result depending on how the race plays out.
ARA Skip Capital brings only a small contingent of riders, but it is a trio of great quality with National Road Series winner Kane Richards accompanied by sprinters Myles Stewart and Craig Wiggins. Both Stewart and Wiggins are riders that could develop into the level of sprinters they face here, and it’s a good time for either of them to show that they have what it takes to mix it with the best.
I’m not sure if one will be working for the other, Wiggins looked the stronger at Bay Crits, but Stewart had a very impressive 2022, admittedly at a time during which Wiggins was recovering from being struck by a car. Either would be a great story as a surprise winner, and in modern sprinting the leadout rider is nearly as important as the sprinter who finishes it off.
Matthew Rice (CCACHE-Par Kup) and Jensen Plowright (Alpecin-Deceuninck) are other sprinters looking to make their impact on the elite scene. Rice has a lot more to gain than Plowright in a team dedicated to bringing him into a good position for the sprint, while WorldTour neo-pro Plowright will be looking after himself. Both have the horsepower if they’re in the right position come the finish.
Taj Jones (Israel Premier Tech) is another who definitely has the physical capability of winning the sprint, it’s just about putting it all together on the day for the young sprinter entering his third season in the pro ranks.
It looks likely to end in a bunch sprint, but if not, expect to see names like defending champion Cameron Ivory (St George Continental), Alastair Christie-Johnston (Bridgelane), Brendan Johnston, Cyrus Monk and the Team Bridgelane contingent mixing it up off the front in dangerous breakaways.
A previous version of this story had Sam Welsford as starting, but he will not be taking part.
Elite and Under 23 Women’s Contenders
Ruby Roseman-Gannon is the defending champion and is coming off hot form at the recent Bay Crits. The 24-year-old sprinter is more versatile and could win this race in other ways or even challenge for the road race.
Roseman-Gannon comes in with former winner Jessica Allen and potential contender Alex Manly, along with neo-pros Georgie Howe, Amber Pate and Alyssa Polites, who will be keen to show their formidable abilities on the bike. It’s hard to see a situation where Roseman-Gannon isn’t in a position to contest the win in the finale, and then from there, who will be stronger than her?
One that will definitely have an experience edge on Roseman-Gannon is Australian great Chloe Hosking, racing for Roxsolt Liv SRAM as she attempts to find her way back to the WorldTour after the B&B Hotels team imploded before the season. That crash and burn was at such a late stage that it might not have offered Hosking a chance to get back to full fitness for the Australian summer, though she has a pretty high level regardless.
Whether that will be enough to win here remains to be seen, but she’ll certainly be better for hit-outs at the Bay Crits where she was off the pace of the best despite being put into good positions by her leadout.
Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Sarah Roy (Canyon-SRAM) is a versatile rider who won this event back in 2014. I wouldn’t back her in the sprint against the fastest riders, but she’s got the race smarts and the toughness to find herself in the right move and make the most of it.
Josie Talbot (Cofidis) is very talented and a hard worker on the bike, and that hustle has seen her return to the top level with Cofidis for 2023. This won’t be a priority objective for her, but she has the quality to mix it up with the best and if she doesn’t have to exert herself too much during the race, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see her sprint to the podium.
The revelation of the recent Bay Crits was Keely Bennett, the Bridgelane rider who flashed home on the punchy, uphill sprint on Stage 2 of the race to push Roseman-Gannon close.
The 20-year-old is very green at this level and will find this race a step up again from the Bay Crits, so it will be interesting to watch how she goes rather than lumping a heap of expectation on her at this stage. She will be a contender for the race-within-the-race of the Under 23 women’s title along with Polites, Lucy Stewart (ARA Skip Capital) and Darcie Richards.
I believe this will be a race for the sprinters unless a group with either Roseman-Gannon or Manly gets clear, in which case more attacking-focused riders like Lauretta Hanson (Trek-Segafredo), Matilda Raynolds (Black Sheep Cycling) and Peta Mullens (Roxsolt Liv SRAM) will come into play.
Note that the Under 23 men’s race won’t be shown on the live stream, but SBS Sport will be on the ground to glean any insights from the race leading into the Under 23s road race, which will be livestreamed on Saturday from 2:30pm (AEDT).
Watch all the action from 4:50pm (AEDT) on SBS On Demand, with the Elite and Under 23 women’s race starting at 5:00pm and the Elite Men’s race 6:30pm.
