Except it didn't come in the time trial - it came in the road race.

Cowra's Ryan claimed Saturday's road race gold at Singleton on the back of a breakaway effort with Penrith rider Bob Brace, streaking away in the final kilometre to claim an unexpected victory and his first state masters crown.

As a time trial specialist Ryan had his eye on a top three result in the solo discipline but he missed out in Friday's event.

He returned the next day looking to see if an opportunity would arise in the road race - an event he'd won bronze in at the 2018 and 2019 championships.

And indeed it did.

Ryan fared brilliantly over the hilly course to break away with Brace inside the last 15 kilometres of the race and no one would have the stamina to catch the pair.

"I was definitely targeting the time trial but a couple of guys there are slightly out of my league at the moment," Ryan said

"You just do your own thing in the time trial but the road race has lots of variables.

"I certainly didn't think I was going to be a huge chance of winning but I always go out there giving it 100 per cent."

What made the win all the more satisfying for Ryan was that he won the gold against riders with plenty of support.

"Because I race in a small country club, for a lot of years I've been out there by myself. You go into a race where some riders have two or three club mates. I show up to these events with no help and you just have to chase everything," Ryan said.

"If you keep putting yourself at the front - and this is what happened on Saturday - you can find yourself getting away at the right time. I got away with a rider from Penrith and no-one was able to chase us.

"We gave it everything we have and we were able to get home."

Ryan had the edge over Brace in the run towards the finish.

The Penrith rider had done everything he could to try and keep himself clear of the pack and he even conceded the gold to Ryan before they'd reached the finish line.

"He had two teammates and they took it in turns to attack, so I was either chasing him or his mates all day. He didn't have much left and I was very determined to get to the finish so I wasn't worried too much about what he was doing," Ryan said.

"He said to me with less than 10 kilometres to go that he wasn't going to contest the sprint, because I had been doing all the work, and he said he'd pull in behind me.

"He was very honest and he appreciated what I was doing, so he was very happy with second."

Meanwhile, other Bathurst Cycling Club members also found success at the Road Masters.

Mark Windsor took out silver in the Men's Masters 7 road race while Laura Renshaw was also the runner-up in her Women's Masters 1 road race.