Malseed earned automatic selection for her Commonwealth Games debut after taking out a sensational sprint finish in the FedUni Cycling Australia National Road Championships.

The 23-year-old rode a tactically faultless race, chasing down defending champion Katrin Garfoot in the shadows of the line after 104.4km, while keeping Lauren Kitchen (NSW) and Grace Brown (Victoria) at bay.

Garfoot backed her time trialing expertise and jumped away to what looked like potentially being a race-winning break inside the last 4km.

However, just as she had been throughout the nine laps of the relentless circuit, the pint-sized Malseed gritted her teeth when the moment came and was rewarded with the ultimate prize in Australian cycling.

Although Malseed does not regard herself as a strong sprinter, she said it had been all about mental strength – convincing herself she could get the job done after riding a “sneaky” race.

Malseed was not surprisingly highly emotional after crossing the line – screaming at the top her voice in excitement.

However, there were no tears, with her saying although she wanted to dehydration did not allow it.

Malseed, who was the under-23 road race champion in 2015, is originally from Portland and gave a shout-out to the town where she grew up and cut her teeth in cycling in post-race interviews.

She moved to Ballarat three years ago and said was proud to be now called a “local”.

Malseed, who has this year joined United States-based TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank - the longest running professional women's cycling team in North America – said living in Ballarat and being able to ride the circuit many times had been a key factor in her preparation.

Kate Perry, Jessica Allen and Kitchen dictated the race from the start, forming a three-strong breakaway which led by as much as four minutes.

Malseed was prominent throughout near the front of the peloton, never being too far away from the wheel of Garfoot and consistently marking moves which threatened to break up the main bunch.

Ultimately she was part of a seven-strong group which did break off the front of peloton to close down the leaders.

It grew to 10 for a short while in the last lap before the breakaway was caught and the race set up for a grandstand finish.

Malseed said she had to be patient when Garfoot burst off the front.

She said she did not have the legs to make the chase alone and it had been the work of Shara Gillow working for teammate Kitchen, which had taken on that responsibility.

Malseed, who will meet her new teammates on Tuesday, said riding at the Commonwealth Games was an exciting prospect.

She said believed that despite winning the title she would play a support role on the Gold Coast.