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Bentley Niquet-Olden took out the men’s Grafton to Inverell, the 63rd edition of the race a rarity in that it came down to a reduced bunch sprint finish in Inverell.
The remnants of the peloton that had been whittled down over the 228-kilometre race that traversed the imposing climb of Gibraltar Range and over 3000 metres of climbing, caught a two-man break containing Ryan Schilt of CCACHE-Par Kup and Tynan Shannon, with Schilt the last one caught.
Niquet-Olden came to the fore in the sprint in the centre of Inverell, building on his stage win from the recent Tour de Taiwan for a purple patch in the purple colours of CCACHE-Par Kup.
“I don’t know what it is, but it feels like this year everything has really fallen into place,” said Niquet-Olden. “I’m fit and all that, but I think it’s been the confidence and the team that have really brought it up.
CCACHE-Par Kup has been in good form of late, and Niquet-Olden spoke of the confidence that the team has took into Grafton to Inverell.
“The team’s roster is great this year and we’ve got great support, we rocked up to the race with great confidence after Graeme (Frislie) won Tour de Brisbane,” said Niquet-Olden. “We had plenty of options, there wasn’t a lot of pressure on my, or anyone’s shoulders, we knew what we had to do and got it done.
“For me personally, I’m quick, but not as quick as Graeme, so I was a bit of a back-up plan. We caught Ryan (teammate Ryan Schilt) with five kilometres to go on that final climb and Graeme had already let me know that he was no good and starting to cramp. After that, I knew I was going to have to do the sprinting.
“After CJ (Alastair Christie-Johnston) had a go on the downhill, we were committed for the sprint and I had three or four boys pealing off going into that final corner. Pretty long sprint from that corner, but yeah, stoked.”
The Grafton to Inverell started back in 1960 and was run for the majority of its history as a handicap, before a bunch start came in. It has a mixed group of winners from climbers to sprinters, but mostly it’s tough riders who shine at ‘the Grafton’ with Niquet-Olden no exception.
“I really enjoy the history behind these races, I thought Melbourne to Warrnambool might be the one I’d win being a bit of a bigger guy and it being flatter,” said Niquet-Olden. “I think it was the 63rd edition of the race, and looking down the honour roll, there are a lot of guys I’ve looked up to and gotten good advice from across the years. It’s pretty awesome to have my name on there, it doesn’t feel real yet.”
Katelyn Nicholson won the first stage of the women’s event, named the Sapphire Tour this year. The Mt Mitchell to Inverell road stage that mirrors past women’s classics courses will almost certainly be the decisive stage of the race, with a criterium to close out proceedings tomorrow. Nicholson powered clear on the run-in to Inverell to claim a convincing win, finishing 1’26 clear of her teammates who would fill the podium behind her.
“We went into this one as a team effort, not with any particular personal goals as we knew that we’d have to work really hard as a team to make it a hard race,” said Nicholson to SBS Sport. “We wanted to make the moves work and stick to the end.”
Nicholson was the first of a 1-2-3-4 for Team Bridgelane, jumping clear of a five woman move that contained three of teammates; Keely Bennett, Talia Appleton and Lilee Pollock, as well as the lonely figure of Savannah Coupland (Cycling Development Foundation). Pollock was second, Appleton third, Bennett fourth, with Coupland fifith, and then more Team Bridgelane domination in the bunch sprint from the peloton, with Gina Ricardo and Amanda Poulsen next in line for sixth and seventh, respectively.
“It couldn’t have gone more perfectly really, and it was almost like I was the lucky one to get away at the end,” said Nicholson. “We got myself Talia and Savannah up the road for a while before the other two bridged across, and we knew from there that we had to try really hard from there to keep it away and secure the win. I went with 8 kilometres to go, it’s my first NRS road race win, I was absolutely stoked.
Nicholson, 24, is a relative newcomer to the sport, already achieving good results last year, 2nd at the Tour of Gippsland and winning the TT stage of the Tour of Bright, before progressing to a big win in recent weeks at the Oceania Championships in the road race, as well 2nd in the time trial.
“I started cycling in 2022 and almost immediately in the NRS,” said Nicholson. “I’ve absolutely loved it so far. I think coming from another sport, it feels like I’ve got a second opportunity here, and I’m throwing absolutely everything at it.”
“It probably wasn’t quite as good as Oceanias, but a very close second and an exciting day out for the team.”
Nicholson and Team Bridgelane are off on their European mid-year trip soon, with Nicholson looking to emulate the likes of Felicity Wilson-Haffenden and Emily Watts, both of whom stepped up to racing top-tier events in 2024 after racing with the squad in 2023. The young squad is taking a lot of confidence out of the recent racing, with the 1-2-3-4 only precedented because they achieved the same impressive feat last year at the same event.
“Everyone is absolutely ecstatic, also to come away with all the jerseys,” said Nicholson. “There’s an amazing feeling within the team, and with our recent results we’re really looking forward to our trip to Europe and what we can achieve over there.”
