Brendan Johnston
Regarded as the most well-rounded off-road racer in Australia, Brendan Johnston has six XC marathon national championship titles to his name, as well as the hallowed Aussie triple crown of Port to Port, Reef to Reef and Cape to Cape. Brendan has also had success on the road, winning the prestigious Melbourne to Warnambool and landing on the podium at the national road championships. In 2023 Brendan turned his attention to gravel racing, traveling to the U.S. to contest the Life Time Grand Prix, where he immediately made an impact, scoring two podium finishes (second at Big Sugar in Arkansas, and third at The Rad in Colorado) and finishing seventh overall in the series. With that momentum, plus a win and a second-place finish in the Belgian Waffle Ride series, Johnston returned to the U.S. in 2024 to again battle the best gravel racers in the world in the Life Time Grand Prix.
| Team | Gravel |
|---|---|
| Hometown | Moruya, New South Wales, Australia |
| Where you live now | Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia |
| Career highlights |
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| Sponsors/team affiliations | Giant Australia Off Road Team |
| Main cycling disciplines | MTB, Gravel, Road |
| Favorite bike | Giant Revolt |
| Current favorite cycling gear | Has to be the chamois. |
| Favorite place to ride | Probably here at home in Canberra. |
| Dream destination | Boulder, Colorado |
| What are you carrying on a long ride? | Mars Bar |
| Tips for new riders | Obviously enjoy riding! But I think don’t get caught up with training plans and structure too early. Get out on your bike as often as you can and in the early stages that will help more than anything else. Also try to ride in groups that are stronger than you. No better training than that. And focus on the minutes not the seconds. |
| If you could ride with one person, living or dead, it would be | Australian comedian Hamish Blake |
| Words to live by | You can learn something from everyone in every room. |
