On the final lap of the 2021 All-Japan Collegiate Championships Elite Men's Road Race, Cameron Meyer (Team BikeExchange), and the entire team, appeared to have lost any chance of winning the title, but after a dramatic comeback, the 33-year-old rider was on top of the podium with a picture-perfect display of persistence He stood on the top step of the podium, a picture of persistence.

When 20-year-old Luke Plapp (Inform TMX Make), who won the time trial title, moved in front, Meyer hung back and it looked like the race was over for Australia's only WorldTour team, Inform TMX Make. I thought we had a hard race and set up well," Meyer said, "but then it didn't work out. But it didn't work out, and then the riders rode for me." [I didn't know if Plapp would come back or not, and I didn't know if I could catch him having done 16 laps for the first time. Somehow I made it back and kept fighting on the climb. I just had the attitude that I couldn't die. I just had to keep working hard. This race creates a special story every year.

A large part of the recovery was due to the reappearance of Meyer's teammate, the mighty Luke Durbridge.

"When I came back, I didn't even know if I could win with 100 meters to go. He [Meyer] is a classy rider, I love riding for him, and the guys rode really well.

In a perfectly timed sprint from a group of seven, Meyer narrowly edged out Kelland O'Brien (Inform TMX Makeup) for his second title. Meyer said his long experience of losing the final race in the small town of Bunyony in central Victoria was one of the reasons he knew how to time it for 2021; the two-time winner had finished in the top six at Nationals five times before finally taking the win last year, including two He was on the podium on two of those occasions.

"I actually sent a message to Cale O'Brien a few days ago. We're good friends, and he asked me for advice, and I said, 'A bad lap is just as important as a good lap.

O'Brien, competing in the elite category for the first time this year, was also as relentless as Meyer. The 22-year-old entered the breakaway time and time again, and even after his efforts were rewarded, he continued to fight until the final sprint.

Third-place finisher Scott Bowden also had to fight to get to the start line. The 25-year-old rider made a last-minute decision to enter the race a week ago, and he was able to make his way through the field to the finish line, where he was able to take the lead in the final sprint.

"This time last year I missed the race because I was sleeping 12-6 hours a day with glandular fever. Plus I had a hip injury and a knee injury at the end of last year. I wasn't planning on coming here, and I was practicing a lot with Richie Porte at Tassie, so I figured I'd be fine."

"I hadn't raced a bike in over 12 months and I just wanted to come and give it a go. I'm glad I did."