'It's not crazy to aim for the World Championship stripes' – Brodie Chapman picks up Australia’s time trial baton

Grace Brown is a hard act to follow in the time trial, having bowed out with an Olympic Gold medal and world title in the discipline, but the nation with a long history of powerful riders in the race against the clock has a clear heir apparent in new Australian champion Brodie Chapman (UAE Team ADQ).

The 33-year-old, who has so far carved out an eight-year career in professional cycling as a valued domestique, started out her career alongside Brown with the duo crossing over at domestic squad Holden Team Gusto before they both launched into the world of professional cycling. They lined up for their first World Championships together in 2018 and were also roommates for Brown’s last, where she became the first Australian woman to capture the elite time trial rainbow stripes, but in the coming years, there is hope another could be added.

Chapman may have been in the shadow of Brown in the past but now she’s stepped into the full glare of the spotlight, walking into the Perth time trial at the AusCycling Road National Championships as the favourite despite a bout of bronchitis in the run-in. 

"It's a pretty cool feeling," Chapman told Cyclingnews. "I suppose you could definitely take it one of two ways. Be like, ‘Oh no, the pressure's on’. I think a younger me might have felt that way, but I just see it as such a privilege – how cool to go into the national championships, something that I looked up to for so long, and to be actually targeted as the favourite."

"You feel like you want to strut around a little bit," said Chapman, firmly tongue in cheek and laughing as she chatted over the phone on Thursday evening after laying it all out on the line on the 38.4km course around Bold Park.

That favourite status was vindicated, as Chapman sealed her progression up the time trial ranks in Australia, moving from third on her first attempt in 2023, to second in 2024 – just seven seconds behind Brown despite some gear issues along the way – and finally, first in 2025 

Goal achieved, as the rider now adds the time trial title to her 2023 road race win, but it feels far more of a beginning than an end for Chapman, who set her sights on working her way into the discipline a few years ago.

"Certainly you're like, 'Okay, I've done that, now I just want to get better, what's next?' And obviously, the European competition is a whole extra massive level, and you've got time trials in stage races, and you've got the World Championships where every single person at the time trial there is in their top form," said Chapman.

"So I think that the next step is trying to be consistent with my time trial in Europe, in order to be selected for the World Championships and then prove that I can be a contender there."

The trident of experience, equipment and opportunity

The last Road World Championships were an important step in that journey. Chapman got a taste of what it was like to wear a rainbow jersey as a key part of Australia’s winning Team Time Trial Mixed Relay squad and as Brown’s roommate she got to see at close range what it takes to reach the top step at the individual time trial – "she's just such a down to earth person, and so willingly shares her experience and advice."

Still, it wasn’t all smooth sailing with 11th place not the result Chapman was hoping for in the individual contest. 

"Obviously, it left a bit of a bit of a bittersweet taste in my mouth that individual time trial last year, just because I had technological issues – I didn't have a computer and my radio dropped out and then I also let that get to me mentally a bit," she said, speaking from Perth.

"I still think I executed a really good race, but now I know I have superior equipment and a whole other year of experience going into it as well."

The time trial leaning was indeed a factor in Chapman’s decision to switch to her new team, UAE Team ADQ, this season. 

One reason was continuing to work in support of reigning Giro winner Elisa Longo Borghini – "she's an absolute pleasure to ride for, and she makes everybody around her a better rider as well" – another was her respect for the way the team races and then, importantly, was the fact that they also not only supported her personal ambition to pursue the time trial but clearly could offer her the equipment and know-how she needed to take it up another level.

"I have to say that it made a huge difference, the fact that almost directly after I'd finished my season in October they took me straight to Agile in Switzerland and spent a whole day doing bike fitting, aero testing, equipment testing," said Chapman.

"I already felt so confident to have them be like, 'yep, we really believe that you can do this' so then I was able to train on superior equipment, essentially, all the way leading into the race."

Chapman instantly repaid the effort by claiming the green and gold jersey on her very first outing with the team, just as Jay Vine did on his first National Championships time trial foray after he switched to the men’s UAE Team Emirates squad in 2023.

"It is certainly a good start to the year," said Chapman. "I think it inspires the whole team to start off with the win, it just makes me more excited to continue the trajectory with my teammates, knowing there's a big season ahead. There has been so much invested in the women's team this year that it's genuinely really exciting to be like, ‘What can we do?’"

In the short term, Chapman will be heading back to Europe, foregoing the rest of the Australian season and focussing on key goals a little later in the year, from Strade Bianche to that Rwanda Road World Championships. The race for the rainbow stripes in Africa has long been on her radar, so much so that once upon a time it was quietly marked as the point where she wanted to race onto, but her eye is set further on the horizon now as there are still plenty of challenges to chase in the seasons ahead and goals which may well be starting to look increasingly within reach.

"I'd like to win a World Tour race or stage I mean I've only been on one WorldTour podium, and that was the Giro time trial last year, so that's something that would feel really good," said Chapman. 

"Also, I think it's not crazy to aim for the World Championship stripes – if I can execute as best I can. You don't want to put it out of your mind and think it's not possible.

"And then I have, obviously thought about what if I could make it to the LA 2028 Olympics? I mean, I'm not going to force myself to push on if I don't want to just for that particular reason, but it's certainly kind of a little fleck floating around up there."