In one of her first appearances for the WorldTour team, 20-year-old Mackenzie Coupland (Liv AlUla Jayco) has won the elite and under-23 women's road race at the Westbridge Funds Road National Championships.
On the final lap in Kings Park in Perth, Coupland broke clear from the peloton and overtook her teammate, Josie Talbot, who had been in the early breakaway.
Hold her own tempo, Coupland fended off a group of three chasing from behind − Neve Bradbury (CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto), Katelyn Nicholson (Butterfields Ziptrack Racing), who was in the early breakaway with Talbot, and teammate Ruby Roseman-Gannon.
After 108km of racing, the West Australian crossed the line in just under three hours to become the new local hero.
Thirty seconds later, Roseman-Gannon outsprinted Bradbury for the silver medal.
"I was very hesitant when I caught Josie and she told me to go, but it wasn’t until I saw one of our staff on the side of the road about 500 metres after that, they told me to go. That’s when I switched and decided to start," Coupland explained about the decision to leave Talbot behind.
"The thought was to dig deep and I knew I had really strong teammates behind me. I knew even if I did get caught, we had a lot of strong teammates to back it up."
Coupland’s legs held strong over the final kilometres to finish off perfect team tactics from the favourites, Liv AlUla Jayco. After establishing Talbot in an early breakaway of three, they marked every dangerous move and was eventually able to send Coupland, unmarked, across the gap.
"The team definitely had a lot of pressure, but the team had a lot of confidence in each other. I felt like we were one team, how well we worked together, we showed it in the crit, and I think that helped my confidence," Coupland said.
The Kalamunda local rode the wave of support from friends, family and teammates all the way to the line.
"I think I heard my name on almost every corner, so I definitely felt a lot of support out there," she said.
Coupland will now wear the green-and-gold bands of Australian champion for the remainder of the 2026 season, starting with the Tour Down Under and Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race later this month.
"Honestly, it's the biggest privilege ever. There's no words to really describe it. It's such a huge achievement and I'm proud to just bring it to Liv AlUla Jayco.
In the same way as Lucinda Stewart last year, Coupland also won the under-23 title. Emily Dixon and Sophie Marr rounded out the medals in the sprint from the main peloton, 47 seconds behind.
- Mackenzie COUPLAND (Liv AlUla Jayco)* 2h48:58
- Ruby ROSEMAN-GANNON (Liv Alula Jayco) +32
- Neve BRADBURY (Canyon // SRAM Zondacrypto) +36
- Katelyn NICHOLSON (Butterfields Ziptrack Racing) +44
- Sophie EDWARDS (Butterfields Ziptrack Racing) +47
- Emily DIXON (Canyon // SRAM Zondacrypto)* +47
- Sophie MARR (Liv AlUla Jayco Women's Continental Team)* +47
- Talia APPLETON (Liv AlUla Jayco Women's Continental Team)* +48
- Sarah TUCKNOTT (Perth MTB) +50
- Tully SCHWEITZER (Team Redcat)* +50
*Denotes under-23 rider.
Photos: Zac Williams and Chris Auld