Bloch earns first U23 cycling race win in Europe
After coming close several times, Sydney’s Brayden Bloch won his first European road cycling race last Sunday.
Sydney’s Brayden Bloch won his first U23 men’s road cycling European season race last Sunday – a huge milestone for the rising 20-year-old.
After coming close a few times in his injury-affected debut season last year in Spain for team Bocar Ale, Bloch got his 2025 season for his new Spanish team, Fundacion Ciclismo Benicadell, off to a flyer, by winning outright the 48km criterium race in the Murcia region, in a sprint finish.
The next day, he backed up by placing third in the U23 category and eighth out of all 120 riders, in the 167km Murcia road race.
Reflecting on his criterium win, Bloch revealed he felt “super calm, but focused” at the start line, “knowing what I had to do and that I could do it”.
Selected for the criterium as his team’s leader, Bloch credited some of his teammates for being in every attacking move and others for chipping in to take the workload of him in key sections.
Well-positioned in the sprint finish, Bloch grabbed his chance around a corner with 450m to go, when spotting a gap.
“I said to myself, don’t hesitate, just go.
“It was probably the longest sprint of my life, but I made it work.
“The crowd was a blur of colour and noise as I crossed the finish line.
“My teammates swarmed me … we had done it together, executing our plan flawlessly.
“The months of training – the early mornings, the sacrifices – all of it crystallised in that perfect moment.”
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