Max Teague's September of Nationals: 4th in the Time Trial and Bronze at MTB Marathon Nationals

Max Teague's September of Nationals

Mackay Cycles ambassador Max Teague had a massive September school holidays. He raced for Queensland at the AusCycling Junior & Masters Road National Championships on the Sunshine Coast (17 to 20 September), then headed to Canberra for the AusCycling MTB Marathon National Championships at Stromlo Forest Park (27 September), clocking up around 5,000 km of driving along the way.

Road Nationals: Three Tough Days

Max was selected in the Queensland team for the U15 men's road events and raced all three, the time trial, criterium and road race, on his SCOTT Foil RC Pro.

Time Trial. The championships opened on Thursday with a 9.4 km out-and-back time trial north of Yandina, in the Sunshine Coast hinterland, on a hilly course in sunny, mild conditions. Riding with a SCOTT Split MIPS aero helmet, Max did a great job to finish 4th, just off the podium in a race won by Lincoln Johns (NSW). All his practice paid off, and his time trial has improved a lot.

Criterium. Friday's crit at the Girraween Sports Complex in Noosa Heads was fast and technical, with plenty of crashes in the U17 men's race just before Max's. He positioned himself well throughout but mistimed the final sprint and finished 5th, with Sam Byrne (NSW) taking the title.

Road Race. Saturday's road race was held on a flat but testing 5.3 km circuit at Corbould Park, in hot conditions. There were attacks straight off the start line, and the eventual winner got away in an early break. Max decided it was time to do something and put in a huge turn to tow the peloton back to the breakaway. A small, strong group countered straight away, and after that effort Max couldn't go with them. Five riders went clear in the decisive move, and Austen Decker (VIC) won the sprint from that group.

He dug deep and kept chasing, trying to tow his bunch back to the leaders. His tank was empty for the final sprint, but he put in a great effort to finish 10th.

Max was naturally disappointed to miss the podium, but it was a great experience, and he learnt a lot about strategy and tactics in road racing.

Bronze at MTB Marathon Nationals

A week later, Max lined up at UC Stromlo Forest Park in Canberra for the AusCycling MTB Marathon National Championships, run by Rocky Trail Entertainment, with 320 riders across all categories. Race day started crisp and overcast, and it averaged just 8°C for Max's race. The course was a fun mix of singletrack, a couple of technical sections and fast fire roads, and Max raced it on his Specialized Epic 8 Expert.

Max put in an awesome effort to finish 3rd in the U15 Men in a time of 1 hour 21 minutes, behind national champion Hugo Wawrzonek (Hunter MTB).

Training at the AIS

The holidays didn't slow down after that. Max headed back to Brisbane for the Queensland MTB Development Academy, then spent 10 days at the AIS in Canberra with the Australian junior MTB development team. The team did solid rides of 3 to 6 hours, and Max set power records most days. They worked him hard, but he had a great time riding all the tracks around Canberra and trying out the AIS equipment.

September Results

• 🥉 3rd: U15 Men, MTB Marathon National Championships
• 4th: Time Trial, Road National Championships
• 5th: Criterium, Road National Championships
• 10th: Road Race, Road National Championships

Well done Max. We're proud to have you representing Mackay Cycles!