The story of Australian champ Eddy is one that many will know: 'I was told I wasn’t getting renewed in october'

What a bizarre way to start the new year. The Australian National Road Championships turned into a true rollercoaster, with riders from Jayco AlUla effectively ruining their own chances. Instead, it was Patrick Eddy, riding for continental Team Brennan, who claimed the title. It is an extraordinary story, especially considering that he was still riding in the WorldTour last season.

Eddy made his debut at the highest level in 2024 after two years with the development team of Picnic PostNL. He spent two seasons in the WorldTour and even completed the Vuelta a España last year, where he played an important role in the sprint train of Casper van Uden. Still, it was not enough: after two WorldTour seasons, his contract was not renewed.

The team only informed him very late. “it was just so late in the year with the merger between Lotto and Intermarché happening, and with the official announcement that Arkea were folding, it meant that other teams made their decision on contracts quite late, and that made it a super stressful time for riders on expiring deals,” the 23-year-old Australian told Daniel Benson.

"I was told between Langkawi and the Tour of Guangxi that I wasn’t getting renewed, which is obviously a week into October", he continued. "It is what it is, and it was a tough spot for a lot of riders. I just looked at the situation as a chance to reinvent myself a bit and get back to racing."

On 11 January, Eddy took revenge in the most beautiful way possible: he defeated Luke Plapp in a head-to-head battle for the national title. It was his first professional victory, and afterwards Eddy did not hold back when speaking about Picnic PostNL and Rudi Kemna. "I even told Rudi Kemna I'd embarrass him when he showed me the door. This one's for you, mate." Now, he remains calm and realistic.

At the Tour Down Under, he hopes to put himself on the radar once again. "one result at nationals probably won’t be enough to get a contract but now I have a chance to get another big results or show some consistency with the form that I have, and I’m feeling quite lucky to have this opportunity, because after what happened on the transfer market at the end of last year, there were quite a few riders in my situation who were left with nothing."

Teams such as Jayco AlUla, Visma | Lease a Bike, Bahrain Victorious, and others still have open roster spots. Could Eddy still secure a last-minute dream move? "it’s only mid-January, and there’s not a whole lot going on in the transfer market. A few teams do have one or two spots left on their roster, and I guess there’s a chance that I might get picked up for one of those spots, but the main goal is to return to the WorldTour in 2027."