Two for two: Alyssa Polites wins second national title of 2025 TrackNats in elimination race

Alyssa Polites' triumphant return to the track has continued at the 2025 AusCycling Track National Championships after collecting her second national title in as many nights in the elite women's elimination race.

Polites showed no signs of fatigue off the back of winning the individual pursuit crown 24 hours earlier and outsprinted South Australian Alli Anderson to be the last woman rolling around Anna Meares Velodrome.

With the elimination race always full of tactics, Polites employed her own patient approach and chose to bide her time in the middle of the 15 starters at the beginning, which can often lead to disaster due to the washing machine effect of the race.

The 22-year-old's plan proved to be a masterstroke on this occasion and she continued to follow wheels until five riders remained in contention for the national championship jersey.

Anderson led out the final sprint as the bell rang for the last lap, but Polites was quick to latch on to the attack and made her move around the outside of her rival in the final straight.

"I used my track smarts and learned a few things from Less (Alessia McCaig), watching her do a sprint, and lined her and pipped her on the line. It worked out well," Polites said.

"I kind of like to run it in the muck of the middle and then when it comes down to select riders from five to 10 then I start looking, which you should be doing the whole race but I've kind of got enough awareness to know.

"I don't like going from the back in a race, pipping them. I do like to ride the front, that's probably my best strength.

"We have a really good camaraderie between us (Alli) and on the road we battle it out and on the track we battle it out too, it's good competition."

New South Wales' Nicole Duncan finished third, winning her second bronze medal of the week.

Feature picture: Mackenzie Sweetnam