Harris nails first Grand Prix win in big week for Australian cycling Esports

The 33-year-old former world championship marathon runner took out his maiden Zwift Grand Prix on Friday ahead of a major period for the sport in Australia.

Battling against the world's top verified riders, Harris took out a 70-kilometre race full of mountainous climbs.

"I honestly didn't feel like I was having the best day, I only just made it over the top of the final climb with the leaders - there was about 25 of us in the lead pack," he said.

"In a lot of the other races I've been around the 10-15 mark but I honestly felt like today I was a 20-25^th placed rider but I hung in there.

"The finish was a flatter one and made an all-or-nothing move with about a kilometre to go and no-one reacted, so I grabbed a five-or-six-second lead and they couldn't close it down in the sprint.

"I was super pumped and wasn't expecting to win but it was awesome."

Harris turned his attention to cycling Esports following a flare-up to an ongoing foot injury which put his running career on hold.

He had previously completed in the 2019 Tour of Tasmania, as well as the Tour de Sigkarak in Indonesia, but found he didn't have the technical skills for on-road competition.

That is where Esports came in, finishing 40^th at last year's world championships, with Auscycling announcing this week that Australia will host its first national titles for the discipline.

The event will be held in-person in Queensland during March, with eight males and females going through a qualifying process alongside several wildcard riders.

"It's a really good step forward to helping grow the sport to have the event in-person and broadcast for everyone to see," he said.

"A lot of other countries have already been doing stuff like this for a while, so I'm really looking forward to hopefully having the opportunity.

"Australia's got a really good history in Esports so I think that this event will really be a great event to hopefully bring all of those people together.

"A lot of those people that are really good in Australia are doing a lot more in-real-life races at the moment so I'm not sure if it will attract everyone but I'm looking forward to being there."

The qualifiers mark a busy time for Harris, who will also be competing in the Zwift Games at a similar time but should he reach the in-person component of the race, he fancies his chances.

"With the depth that Australia have at their best, it will be a tough event to qualify for and if I make it, I think the format of the finals suits me, so it should be good."