Jelly Belly p/b Kenda rider Will Dickeson took first place in the individual time trial at the Oceania Championships in Shepparton, Victoria, Australia.
Dickeson blew away the field Thursday, posting a time 2:15 faster than the second-place finisher.
The Oceania Championships bring riders from Australia, New Zealand and several Pacific islands together in competition. Dickeson’s victory could land him a spot in the world time trial championships representing his home country of Australia.
“The race went well for me as I was feeling strong for most of it, with only a couple of spots where I got bogged down, but was able to push through,” Dickeson said. “It was a definite goal to win it and I have been training specifically for it for the last few weeks since the Jelly Belly training camp in February.”
Dickeson, 27, won on an undulating, 41.2km course. He also planned to compete in the 165km road race.
“This was only the second time trial I have really trained for, the first being our national championships in January where I was a bit disappointed with how I went,” he said. “This time around I have changed some things in my training and bike position and I definitely felt different during the race.”
Jelly Belly p/b Kenda team director Danny Van Haute said he was proud of his rider.
“Will, last year, struggled a bit with his fitness, and he wanted to improve that this year. This last winter he was thinking and training hard for this in mind — winning the Oceania games, which he did,” Van Haute said. “Will is a team player for the Jelly Belly p/b Kenda cycling team and this is a good accomplishment for him.
“And for me it looks like we have another time trial guy on the team.”
It will be up to Australian selectors to decide whether to take Dickeson to the world championships in Copenhagen, Denmark, in September.
“Basically I now have to prove myself in races throughout the year,” Dickeson said. “Until then, I am just focusing on coming to the Tour of Korea in top form and then hopefully the Tour of California.”
