Tasmanian Nicole Frain has scored the biggest win of her career, taking out the elite women's road race at the Australian road cycling championships.

The 29-year-old launched a perfectly-timed solo attack with 3km left and stayed clear to the finish at Buninyong, near Ballarat.

Pre-race favourite Grace Brown won the reduced bunch sprint four seconds later to finish runner-up for the second-straight year.

Alyssa Polites finished third to also win the under-23 category.

Matilda Reynolds and Frain's Roxsolt teammate Tilly Field led the 104.4km race at the start of the last of nine laps on the testing 11.6km Buninyong circuit.

After Reynolds dropped Field on the Mt Buninyong climb, the reduced peloton caught Reynolds after her impressive ride and she finished 55 seconds behind in 14th.

The race came down to 13 riders, with former world road champion Rachel Neylan making two unsuccessful attacks in the closing kilometres.

Ruby Roseman-Gannon, who won the criterium title on Friday night, had BikeExchange-Jayco teammate Alex Manly for support if it came down to a bunch sprint.

But Frain capped an outstanding day for the Roxsalt team when she made the decisive move.

AAP

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