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He Thought He Had Won the Championships, but There Was Still One Lap to Go

By Monica Buck

Brendan Canty rode brilliantly in the Australian cycling championships road race. He helped to catch the breakaway group and then, inside the last 20 kilometres, Canty managed to get away from the peloton himself. Everything looked great for the Australian when he pushed down the Buniyong in the 17th lap. He crossed the finish line pumping his hands, thinking he clinched the victory. Unfortunately, there were 18 laps in the 183.6km race.

Canty’s moments of joy soon changed into pain, and the peloton caught up to the 24-year-old. Miles Scotson eventually made his move, attacked, and took the win. However, the thing everyone will remember is Brendan’s mishap.

“It’s a long, hot day, but with a couple of laps to go you get a bit excited and things get out of hand a bit. The feeling of thinking you might stay away is super-exciting. Then ‘you have another lap to go’ – the high and low of that, I can’t really articulate that right now. It’s going to be a little bit disappointing for me. There’s nothing to be ashamed of and I’m really proud of the way I rode today,” said Canty for the Daily Mail.

The 22-year-old Miles Scotson started his senior professional career in a very impressive manner. Beating the race favourite Simon Gerrans, he soloed to the finish line, and we’re certain to hear about him again in the future.