Michael Hepburn is low in the saddle en route to winning the Australian national time trial. Source: Colleen Petch / News Limited
MICHAEL Hepburn started his full-time road cycling career in the most emphatic way possible by storming to victory in the national time trial championship today.
The 22-year-old world champion and Olympic silver medallist on the track ended Luke Durbridge's two-year grip on the title by 11 seconds over the 45km course at Burrumbeet.
The race was filled with drama when one of the early favourites Rohan Dennis was picked up by a whirly-wind and dumped off his bike and had to abandon, while Hepburn came from 30 seconds behind Durbridge at the half-way point to claim victory in 56mins 25secs.
In an Orica-GreenEDGE clean sweep of the podium, rookie professional Damien Howson was third, just over two minutes behind Durbidge.
"To be honest this is pretty special," said Hepburn, who is the current team and individual pursuit world champion on the track.
"It hasn't been the easiest two years for me on the road trying to fit in the track stuff as well and I've been through some tough times.
"So to start the year, my first year when I'm really going to focus on the road like this, it's pretty huge for me.
"I think I've only ever won one time trial before and that was a prologue, and this is one of the areas I want to improve on so I'm pretty happy to come out in the start of January and get a result when it wasn't something I was really focusing on in December."
Hepburn (right) with the winner's trophy as runner-up Luke Durbridge looks on. Source: News Limited
Hepburn said it was also a reward for his team, Orica-GreenEDGE, which last year handed him a contract extension until the end of 2015.
"I haven't raced a lot with the team the last two years and they've been really patient with me," the Queenslander said.
"And to be honest my progression hasn't happened as quickly as I would have liked.
"So for the team to have the faith in me and give me another couple of years, it's a really good way to start the year."
Durbridge said he would have liked more than just one time check out on the road, but took nothing away from Hepburn's win.
"I knew I was 30 seconds up but he obviously closed in and I had no idea coming into the line where he was," Durbridge said.
"But that's time trialling, you've got to go as hard as you can to the line and I was going as hard as I can. I wasn't sitting back on my laurels.
"Full credit to Hepburn, he's a great time triallist, back in under-23s we were always one or two seconds apart during the season and good on him, I'm really proud of the guy. He's one of my best friends so all I can be is happy for him."
Durbridge said his sore throat in the days before the race had no impact on the result.
"I had good form, I can't really question anything, I gave it as hard as I can out there," he said.
"I'll have to go back and have a look at where I went wrong, analyse a few of the files and see if I can improve on that."
Marc Williams (left) is overtaken about 500 metres from the finish line by Hepburn. Source: News Limited
Hepburn went into the race hoping to land on the podium but the further it went and as he passed some nine riders who had started before him, the better he felt.
"In the last couple of days since the Bay Crits I've been a little bit flat then this morning on the ergo I could feel the legs were coming around," he said.
"I had one time check out there about halfway and I was 30 seconds down on Luke and I know he tends to go out a little bit faster than I do and I can sometimes come home quite strong.
"I just tried to keep on the power and I felt really good out there."
Hepburn will open his season-proper at the Tour of Qatar in February and will ride the semi-classics in Belgium en route to what he hopes will be selection to ride his first Paris-Roubaix.
"They're (classics) something that motivate me," he said.
"I've got a lot of learning to do and those races take a long time to gain experience in but it's something I want to start out now so in a few years down the track I can be competitive."
Earlier today, Queenslander Jordan Kirby gave Australia's new Pro Continental team, Drapac Professional Cycling, the perfect start to its season by winning the men's under-23 time trial crown.
Hepburn drinks up to toast his victiry as Durbridge laughs alongside him. Source: News Limited
Kirby was quickest around the 28km course in 34mins 56.44secs to beat South Australian Harry Carpenter by an agonising two one-hundredths of a second, while fellow Croweater Miles Scotson was third.
It means Kirby now has both under-23 time trial and road race crowns after he won last year's road race.
The MARS Cycling Australia Road National Championships continue on Thursday with men's and women's criterium races in Ballarat.
TOP 10 MEN'S INDIVIDUAL TIME TRIAL
1. Michael Hepburn 56:25
2. Luke Durbridge 56:37
3. Damien Howson 58:32
4. Ben Dyball 59:01
5. Will Clarke 59:17
6. Tim Roe 59:36
7. Marc Williams 1:00:27
8. Matthew Clark 1:43:58
9. Jack Anderson 1:54:48
10. Jacob Kauffmann 1:01:06
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