Meyer Wins Silver at Open Road Champs

WAIS athlete Cameron Meyer has heralded his first week as a senior elite cyclist with a silver medal in the men’s individual time trial at the Open Road Championships in Ballarat today.

In a ride described by WAIS head cycling coach Darryl Benson as “awesome” Meyer completed the challenging 39km course in tricky winds in a time of 49:05.56mins, just six seconds shy of three time world champion Michael Rogers (48:59.69mins).

For Rogers it was an elusive win, the 29 year-old last won an Australian time trial in 1996, and had missed a string of others due to professional team commitments in Europe. Despite the emotion of his win, Rogers was full of praise for 20 year-old Meyer.

“He is a classy rider and to already be riding well in his first event as a senior (means) if he keeps everything together he will be a class act for years to come,” said Rogers.

Meyer himself, admitted to being slightly disappointed at having missed out on gold by such a narrow margin but revealed his delight at making such a big impact in his first professional season.

“It’s all a bit surreal, I really didn’t know what to expect being only 20 so to be on the podium and be only six seconds off the win, I have to be happy,” said Meyer. “Part of me is like you just missed it, but when you have the three time world champion standing next to you, you just have to be happy.

“It’s all happening very quickly,” said Meyer. “This is my first week racing the big boys and to start with a silver medal gives me great hope for the rest of the year.”

The Garmin-Chipotle rider will now switch his attention to Saturday’s 163km elite men’s road race, where he is again expected to feature prominently.