Luke Durbridge won his fourth career Australian Elite National title on Wednesday, saying the presence of time trial world champion Rohan Dennis forced him to raise his level.

Durbridge, with the same result as the 2019 championship, dominated Dennis, who, like last year, moved from Bahrain-Merida to Team Ineos over the winter and started the race in his new team colors.

It looked as if the time trial world champion would reclaim the title he last won in 2018, but after holding a slight lead at the intermediate checkpoint, Durbridge came into his own in the second half of the 37km test, eventually finishing 18 seconds ahead of Dennis.

"It was a really good day and I am proud to be back in Europe again this year wearing Australian colors," Durbridge said at the finish.

"It's always a great indicator when a world champion wins a national title.

"I'm really, really happy I was able to do it again, and I have a lot of work ahead of me for this tournament in December. I have a lot of support from my hometown, my family, my wife Lara, my coach Ben, and my team. We've all put in a lot of hard work in the off-season to train hard, and I'm really happy to be here.

Durbridge will compete in next week's Tour Down Under, where Mitchelton Scott will be looking for its third straight win. The team was won by Daryl Impey in 2018 and 2019.

The 28-year-old is going for the Classic after a crash ruined his campaign last year when he broke his collarbone. But the Tokyo Olympics are central to Durbridge's 2020 ambitions. If the time trial gives Australia two slots, it is no surprise that Dennis and Durbridge are the leading contenders.

"Winning the national title would be really special for me, and I think it would be a really good indicator for the Olympics this year that maybe there are two slots available and both Rohan and I could win it.

The Australian Championships will be held throughout the week, starting with an elite road race this weekend.