Dulwich Hill native Bolton, who has based himself out of Bathurst over the past few years, beat former teammate Will Hodges and Ben Hill to the state road race prize at Gunning.

It was a wonderful early birthday present for Bolton, who turned 23 on Saturday.

Now the Oliver's Real Food Racing rider will now eye off a strong performance at the upcoming AusCycling Road Nats at Ballarat over January 12 to 16.

Bolton and fellow regular Bathurst Cycling Club rider Will Hodges have enjoyed some great battles over their career, and their recent one might have been one of their best.

Hodges went into the race as the defending champion but Bolton had his measure.

"It's been a great rivalry between us and he's managed to get the better of me more times than I've managed to get the better of him so it feels nice to get one up on him finally," he laughed.

"But it was such a fun race and it just feels so good to be back racing.

"Those other two guys I raced with have proven themselves to be excellent bike riders, and it's awesome racing alongside them."

The past few seasons have delivered some memorable moments for Bolton.

After questioning whether he'd be able to rediscover his form after a bout of glandular fever Bolton would bounce back to be named 2020's NSW Under 23s Cyclist of the Year.

He then won the NSW Criterium Championships in October of 2020 and timed his run to the line perfectly to take out the 2021 Bathurst Classic Cycling Criterium in March.

It's no surprise that the high-speed criterium format will be what Bolton will be putting most of his focus towards at nationals after such a run of success.

"We're lucky to have a lot of guys in our team who are going well at the moment but I'll definitely be looking to take on a leadership role in the sprint finishes coming up at the beginning of next year," Bolton said.

"At nationals there will be a big focus for me on the crit - something that's not normally been the focus for me before. I'd love to give that a real crack, while still preparing for the road race as best as I can.

"It's usually a bit too hard and a bit too hilly for me."

Bolton would like to find some time to get back among Bathurst club racing in the lead up to the new year's big events.

"I'm moving between Bathurst and Sydney but hopefully I'll be back for a couple of club races before the end of the year," he said.

"I'll definitely be doing some training out at Bathurst but I'll be in Sydney for a while on placement."

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