We may be just two weeks into the 2026 season and Brady Gilmore’s neo pro year, but the young Australian has already proved his place in the WorldTour by wrapping up an impressive stint on home soil to sprint to third place at the Cadel Road Race today.
Gilmore rounded out the podium behind Tobias Lund Andersen (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) and Matthew Brennan (Team Visma I Lease A Bike), beating 2024 winner Mauro Schmidt to third place in a photo finish, after a 20-rider group went clear over the top of the Challambra climb on the final lap.
“It’s not a win, but a podium in my first one-day WorldTour race, so I can’t complain,” said Gilmore. “It was a really good day. The boys did an amazing job setting us up on the final climb. I got over the top with the front group, but unfortunately Corbin had a mechanical problem. After that, I just heard I had to race from the front, and that’s what I did. I put myself in position and did the best I could.”
After sprinting to fourth place on two occasions at the Tour Down Under, Gilmore dug deep and played his card well in the final kilometer to score his first WorldTour podium.
“I surprised myself at the Tour Down Under last week, just missing the podium twice,” added Gilmore. “That gave me confidence today. I knew that if I was at the pointy end, I’d be competitive. But this is the top level. Everyone’s on their game and knows exactly what they’re doing. To win, you really have to get everything right. I felt like I raced smarter today and used what I learned last week. In the end, there were just two guys who could sprint better.”
It was somewhat fitting that Gilmore’s success came on the day his roommate and mentor Simon Clarke celebrated his retirement.
“Clarkey’s taught me most of what I know about bike racing, everything from staying seated out of corners to race craft,” explained Gilmore. “We’ve been teammates for almost two years, and we’ve been roommates full-time since November. I’m always picking his brain. He’s probably the smartest guy in the peloton, so it’s been a privilege to learn from him. I really take it on board and try to apply it in races, and it works.”
