'I couldn't quite believe it': Rohan Haydon-Smith delivers special performance to become points race national champion

Rohan Haydon-Smith has delivered one of the biggest surprises of the 2025 AusCycling Track National Championships with authority by winning the elite men's points race national title.

Haydon-Smith, a recent Queensland convert after relocating from Sydney, had never won an individual elite national title before Saturday and was both emotional and overjoyed after his impressive performance, as was the majority of the Anna Meares Velodrome infield.

The 24-year-old laid down a stunning ride throughout the 160-lap points race, gaining three laps and winning six of the 16 sprints, including the final finish, to put the icing on the cake of a special night.

"I couldn't believe how good I was going, it's just unbelievable," Haydon-Smith said.

"I couldn't quite describe it (the moment) to be honest. It was kind of weird because I got to 20 to go and I felt like I'd won but I didn't want to think it.

"It got to four to go and I still didn't want to think it was done.

"But the last two laps after the finish were pretty special – I couldn't quite believe it.

"It's just been such an incredible journey to get here. I've been coming to Track Nationals for 10 years and I've had a lot of second and third places on my own.

"It's actually been quite a hard year for my family and we've been through a lot. I think my parents deserve this as much as I do, nothing would happen without them."

Haydon-Smith, 98 points, was the kingpin of a dominant Queensland performance that swept the podium via Declan Trezise in second, 13 points behind his teammate, and James Moriarty in third, 15 points behind Haydon-Smith.

A massive 41-point gap separated bronze medallist Moriarty from New South Wales' Kurt Eather in fourth, emphasising Queensland's dominance.

"To be honest, it was a bit odd because we knew the Queensland boys were in form and it got to the point where it looked like we were going to go one-two-three, not to be disrespectful to the other boys but because I was in the position I was, I didn't want to lose," Haydon-Smith said.

"So, once we got to the point where we were one-two-three I was like, 'okay, well all I have to do is follow Jimmy, make sure the boys keep their good position but don't sneak away from me'.

"For the first 60 laps, I was the same for everyone because I felt like I was probably one of the best out there and I had a good position the whole time, so it was more about just commanding the race and riding how I wanted to.

"From there, it was just following moves, trying not to be too excited about where I was."

Haydon-Smith added that his stellar form at this year's TrackNats was not all down to one factor.

"It's been a couple of things. At TrackNats last year, I had a bit of a bad intro with coming back from a broken arm two weeks before and since then I've just been building steadily," he said.

"It's just been a bit of a process thing. I managed to get my discipline back and I was working really hard for a long period there and to see it all pay off and all the actual work I put into it, I can't quite believe it. I can't feel much better."

Feature picture: Mackenzie Sweetnam