Michael Freiberg has predicted one of the most intriguing road national championships on record as he prepares to defend the title he won 12 months ago.
Freiberg stunned an outstanding field in January last year to claim the coveted green and gold jersey.
Freiberg will head to Ballarat for the Federation University Road National Championships, which start on January 8.
Ahead of the race, Freiberg provided an extensive insight into his 2019 on the PouwerPlay Podcast.
The 29-year-old said it had been a fantastic year, with plenty of highlights.
“It’s surreal,” Freiberg told Rob Pouw as he reflected on his massive achievement to start the year.
“You’re just over the moon. Nobody goes to that sort of race and expects to win it. It is (a feeling of) absolute elation.
“I think it’s in these last few months it’s when you really realise just how cool it is to wear the national champ jersey.
“Unfortunately, it’s all a bit of blur.”
Freiberg said it was always tough to predict what would happen in such a grueling race.
But he believed the depth would make it a race to remember.
“I reckon it’s going to be one of the most interesting nationals on record,” Freiberg said.
“I watch a lot of what the guys on the East Coast are doing and a lot of the guys are training the house down.
“They are the type of guys who will fight and go early just to test their legs and see what they’ve got.
“Cam (Meyer) is going to be super fit again, as always. It’s going to be really interesting to see just how it all plays out with that real depth in the mid-range there.”
And the reigning champion won’t be putting too much pressure on himself.
“I will just try and finish,” he said. “I’ll be top 25 if I finish, so that’s a good start.”