Kaden Hopkins and Caitlin Conyers completed an impressive clean sweep of National Championships honours after coming away victorious in the men’s and women’s road race on Sunday.

The pair led every lap on the way to winning their respective divisions with their victories arriving fresh on the heels of clinching the national time-trial men’s and women titles three days earlier.

Hopkins cut a lonely figure for most of the 60-mile men’s event before crossing the line in 2hr 14min 55sec, more than two minutes ahead of second place finisher Conor White (2:16:49). Nicholas Narraway (2:17:08) rounded off the podium finishers in third.

While thrilled to have secured top spot on the podium, Hopkins admitted the race did not go exactly as planned.

“It feels good to win my first national road race but not the way it was expected,” the 23-year-old told The Royal Gazette.

“I was trying to race it more patiently this year, but a few kilometres into the race, I put in a little acceleration and got the gap, and when I looked back everybody was looking at each other to work, and so I tried to push on a bit.

“I was pushing on about 80-90 per cent to see if it would stick, and when I realised I had the gap it was all or nothing. I just committed everything I had to it and if I had gotten caught I for sure would have been finished afterwards.

“Every time I came around the gap was extending, and I just left everything out there.”

Hopkins was forced to play catch up after Che’quan Richardson and Stephen Ryan opened up an early gap out front coming off the start.

Sandwiched between the leaders and the peloton behind him, Hopkins eventually passed Richardson and Ryan on the fifth mile heading up Wilkinson Avenue.

Richardson and Ryan offered no resistance to Hopkins’s attack, leaving him to go it all alone the rest of way to the finish line.

“Going from that far out knowing you have more than two hours ahead of you by yourself, you always question it a little bit,” Hopkins added. “However, I know I am a capable time trialist, so doing an individual effort isn’t something that scares me.”

Also celebrating was Conyers (1:46:41) after winning the 40-mile women’s road race in even more dominant fashion to complete the double for the second straight year.

The Winners Edge rider’s race went according to plan as she took early control on the first lap of the 40- mile race and never looked back to finish thirteen minutes ahead of second place Liana Medeiros (1:59:30). Panzy Olander (1:59:38) rounded off the podium finishers in third.

“I am glad everything went to plan and the biggest thing for a race like this is mechanical or crashes and you just want to have a safe, uneventful ride,” she said.

Like Hopkins, Conyers also made the decisive break on Wilkinson Avenue.

“I attacked on the first lap, which was my plan,” she added. “I wanted to attack early but they made the first part neutral, so I couldn’t attack up St Mark’s Church but I went up Wilkinson Avenue.

“The juniors were out in front and I thought I’ll just let them sit on my wheel. But then at Flatts I went on my own and held the power I knew I could hold, put my head down and kept riding.

‘“I did the last 30 miles solo and just praying nothing goes wrong. You want to give yourself as much leeway so if something does go wrong at least you have some time to fix it.

“I am glad everything went like clockwork and I just want to congratulate the other girls that raced.”

Steven Smith retained his title with victory in the 40-mile men’s masters event after leading the field across the line in 1hr 43min 41sec.

“It feels good, it was a good race,” said the VT Construction rider, who also achieve an impressive double for the second successive year having retained his national time-trial title three days earlier.

“It was quite animated with people trying their luck, which makes it a more interesting race.”

Former top distance runner Kavin Smith (1:44:17) finished second and former footballer Clifford Roberts (1:44:22) third.

Cameron Morris (1:46:22) claimed a maiden national junior men’s road race title after pipping Jake Smith and Jackson Langley in an exciting three-man uphill sprint to the finish line of the 40-mile event.

“The last lap was very cat and mouse and stop and start because we all knew it was going to come down to a sprint,” Morris said.

“Coming up Flatts Hill the pace was real high. I just attacked going up the hill and was able to stick with it.”

Smith finished second, five-tenths of a second behind Morris, with Langley (1:46:42) taking third.

In stark contrast to her male counterparts, Annabelle Miller (1:26:53) won the 30-mile junior women’s road race more comfortably.

“I was solo from the end of the first lap, so I did 20 miles by myself, which was not part of the plan,” said Miller, who also achieved an impressive double having also won this year’s national time-trial junior women’s title. “I was definitely planning on sticking with people for longer.”

Charlotte Millington (1:30:35) crossed in second with Skye Ferguson (1:42:11) securing the final spot on the podium in third.