Patrick Eddy (Team Brennan) has surprised the favourites to claim the elite road race title on a dramatic afternoon at the Westbridge Funds Road National Championships in Perth.
Staring down the might of Team Jayco AlUla, Eddy stormed home in a dramatic final lap to chase down the solo leader, Luke Durbridge, before beating Lucas Plapp in a one-on-one sprint finish.
After his professional contract was not renewed at the end of 2025, the 23-year-old Bendigo rider has reminded the world of his talents and delivered the biggest victory of Continental-level Team Brennan.
“This means everything, I have pretty much won nothing since I won junior nationals. I lost myself as a rider for the last few years. I think I’ve found myself again," Eddy said.
“I haven’t won anything since 2019, I started to forget what it was like to win a bike race, this is what I fell in love with. It’s good to be back, it means everything.
“I feel like most of the cycling world gave up on me, there was just a handful of people around me, kept believing in me and told me to keep hustling. This is for them.”
For most of the 176-kilometre race around Kings Park and the Perth CBD, the victory looked certain to go to a large breakaway of 12 riders, including Durbridge and O'Connor, whose gap grew out to over five minutes at one stage.
Under scorching temperatures of up to 35 degrees, a concerted chase led by Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates XRG) brought the peloton back into contention for an unlikely victory.
In the final two laps, Durbridge dangled at the front of the race as the remaining survivor of the breakaway, looking set to repeat last year's heroics with almost a carbon-copy performance.
But Team Brennan had other ideas: Eddy set off to close the gap, accompanied by Plapp, who surprisingly contributed to the chase while his own teammate was off the front. Oliver Bleddyn (Team Brennan) also set off in pursuit, marked by Ben O'Connor.
On the final climb of Pedal Mafia Mountain, Plapp accelerated, ostensibly to distance his Team Brennan rivals, but serving only to catch his teammate Durbridge, for whom he had sacrificed his chance of victory in 2025.
Eddy was able to hold the wheel of Plapp over the top of the climb and into the finishing straight in Kings Park. From there, Eddy led out the two-man sprint and secured a shock victory.
Oscar Chamberlain (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) finished in third place, attacking out of the peloton behind.
“I don’t believe that,” Eddy said. “When that break got away, I thought we were done. It all just came back together in the final 40 minutes and I thought I was cooked being outnumbered by the Jayco boys, but it hasn’t sunk in.
“I thought they had us, I thought Durbo was going to do it again. I think we are definitely the new kids on the block."
- Patrick EDDY (Team Brennan) 3h55:25
- Lucas PLAPP (Team Jayco AlUla) +0
- Oscar CHAMBERLAIN (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) +9
- Leighton COOK (Falcons Pedal Mafia Racing) +9
- Matthew DINHAM (Team Picnic Post-NL) +9
- Brady GILMORE (NSN Cycling Team) +9
- Alastair CHRISTIE-JOHNSTON (CCACHE X BODYWRAP) +12
- Carter BETTLES (Roojai Insurance Winspace) +15
- Alastair MACKELLAR (EF Education) +22
- Kane RICHARDS (Roojai Insurance Winspace) +26
Photos: Zac Williams and Chris Auld