The Australian summer time spells alternative for budding home cyclists who’re attempting to work their means onto the world stage, or within the case of some others, discover their means again.
The possibilities to make a mark abound, proper from the native however highly-regarded races just like the Tour of Bright, Melbourne to Warrnambool and Warrnambool Women’s Cycling Classic by to the largest occasion on the nationwide calendar, the AusCycling Road National Championships.
Then there are additionally the Tour Down Under and Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, the place Australian riders vie for the a lot sought-after nationwide workforce spots so, because the underdogs among the many world’s prime groups, they’ll battle for no matter moments within the highlight they’ll get. As the ARA Australian Cycling workforce sports activities director on the Tour Down Under, Martin Barras, advised Cyclingnews: “We’re not the belle of the ball right here, we are the little sister that will get invited on the final minute and she or he’s attempting to make an impression”.
Many succeeded in making that impression each on the world stage and within the smaller races surrounding them. At Cyclingnews we have spent the final two months protecting these Australian occasions and speaking to riders and groups on the sidelines, so now we have a look again at a few of those that managed to face out within the crowd.
Jack Ward
When Luke Plapp (Jayco-AlUla) was charging up Tawonga Gap on stage 1 of the Tour of Bright, he left a scattered path of riders from the break down the climb – many had tried to stay to his wheel however couldn’t. There was, nonetheless, one exception and that was Jack Ward.
It was an much more surprising consequence when the 19-year-old mountain bike rider didn’t simply sit on his wheel however in a savvy transfer shot out from behind Plapp’s wheel to take the stage win. What’s extra, he then went on to take victory on stage 3 on the difficult climb of Mount Buffalo and completed second on the general behind Plapp.
That was additionally not Ward’s solely robust displaying of the summer time with the rider to date taking part in his hand to perfection within the new six-round ProVelo Super League. After two rounds, SA Kick It and the Powercor Melbourne to Warrnambool, the Team Brennan p/b TP32 rider sits second total and comfortably on the prime the U23 leaderboard. This means he’s at present in prime place to safe that stagiaire contract with Jayco-AlUla that’s up for grabs for the underneath 23 sequence winner.
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Talia Appleton
Talia Appleton additionally jumped to prominence on the Tour of Bright, first claiming the pre-event criterium with a protracted solo effort after which on stage 1 to the highest of Tawonga Gap she jumped out of the group at 1.5km to go and by no means regarded again. To proceed carving out her development up the ranks she then had two choices for the brand new yr. The first was a spot within the Australian nationwide workforce for the Tour Down Under, one other was racing spherical 1 of the ProVelo Super League, SA Kick It, to give attention to the chase for the Liv-AlUla-Jayco Continental workforce contract up for grabs for the under-23 winner of the sequence. That second choice was the one she took.
“It’s a very good alternative, there’s a improvement pathway which I feel is a very good option to get into the WorldTour,” Appleton advised Cyclingnews at spherical 2 of the ProVelo Super League in Warrnambool.
The Praties rider, who after two rounds is sitting on the prime of the each the general and under-23 chief board for the sequence, added that having regarded on the factors calculations along with her workforce administration and coach she determined it was essential to show up for each race. Plus the tight block and contract on provide delivered loads of coaching motivation by the interval.
“Knowing that there’s such a giant reward on the finish of it and having a condensed block of racing of three months means you possibly can actually carry out in all of the rounds,” mentioned Appleton.
Julian Baudry
Perth delivered an additional factor of the unknown to the AusCycling Road National Championships in 2025, with a change from the favored however well-worn course of Buninyong to a unique circuit punctuated by a number of climbs. As such, the U23 males’s race was an actual litmus check. Would the course open the best way for a lowered bunch dash or would the break riders have their day?
When the 18-year-old Julian Baudry flew solo from the main group on the second-to-last lap of 10, he answered that query. With a tenacious effort from the first-year under-23 rider he held the chase at bay and crossed the road to say the Australian title, the victor sounding simply as stunned as anybody else that he had discovered the highest step of the rostrum. It’s a debut within the under-23 class that can actually minimize quick the times of flying underneath the radar for the Team Brennan p/b TP32 rider.
Alyssa Polites
Alyssa Polites has lengthy stood out in Australia, dominating the junior ranks on the National Championship when she claimed time trial gold and highway race silver in 2020 after which upping the ante in 2021 to take each titles. She then moved to the U23 class and instantly discovered her means onto the rostrum on the mixed ladies’s elite and U23 highway race.
However, issues didn’t go to plan when she stepped onto the world stage with LIv-AlUla-Jayco. After two years the place sickness and harm stymied her run, in 2025 she had no contract and one thing to show. There was no time wasted as Polites made essentially the most of her spot on the ARA Australian Cycling nationwide workforce in South Australia, claiming the Queen of the Mountains jersey on the Santos Women’s Tour Down Under.
“It’s good for the boldness and I’m hoping it would put my identify again on the board,” mentioned Polites. “I actually need to get again over to Europe, so something I can do to get there.”
Fergus Browning
2024 was a yr the place Fergus Browning did a substantial quantity to stake his declare for knowledgeable contract, profitable the U23 males’s elite highway title, though he was hit by a automotive in coaching the day earlier than, and backing that up with a European victory, stage 1 of the Tour de l’Ain. Nevertheless, after the closure of Trinity Racing’s highway workforce, he confronted 2025 with out a contract to race in Europe.
That left a lot on the road for the Australian summer time, which began out with silver in each the U23 males’s time trial and within the highway race, the place he reeled again in all however one of many break riders, Baudry. His power was clear and he put it to good use on the Tour Down Under, going out on the assault with ARA Australian Cycling teammate Zac Marriage early on day 1 and establishing a grip on the King of the Mountains jersey the proved unshakeable, the rider from Melbourne ending with double the factors of his nearest rival.
Emily Dixon
The 18-year-old with a late December birthday was simply the youngest rider on the beginning line on the Santos Women’s Tour Down Under. Still, though Emily Dixon might have solely simply stepped out of the junior ranks the ARA Australian Cycling workforce rider was actually doing excess of simply getting by her first Women’s WorldTour race, notably when it got here to stage 2 which completed on the prime of the climb of Willunga Hill.
“The extra it goes uphill the happier Emily is in order that was an incredible alternative for her to check herself, and that was what our goal wa, for her to check herself on the climb,” Sports Director Donna Rae-Szalinski advised Cyclingnews on the race.
The end result was that that Dixon snared a spot within the prime 20 and that helped her to twenty third total in her first outing within the prime tier, though the GC was not one thing the workforce was concentrating on. It additionally put her in second on the youth class, behind Eleonora Ciabocco (Picnic PostNL), the Italian rider in her third Women’s WorldTour season.
Zac Marriage
Zac Marriage began the yr with the U23 males’s time trial win on the AusCycling Road National Championships and continued to point out his power and dedication as he labored into January. Even although he had a spot within the ARA Australian Cycling Team for the Tour Down Under and Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, Marriage was decided to do all he may to verify he was scoring as many factors as doable within the ProVelo Super League as nicely.
That meant he raced the time trial opener of SA Kick It up Willunga Hill on Saturday, 18th January, and the Villawood Men’s Classic that night, then Sunday rode the stage 2 criterium earlier than forgoing the stage 3 highway race of the primary spherical within the ProVelo Super League sequence on Monday to organize for the start of the WorldTour competitors on the Tour Down Under on Tuesday. Straightaway on the Tour Down Under, he went on the cost, out entrance in a protracted break with teammate Browning. He additionally fought his means into the highest 20 on each the Willunga Hill stage and the overall classification and cam second within the youth classification, simply 15 seconds behind winner Albert Philipsen, Lidl-Trek’s new ‘tremendous expertise’.
Liam Walsh
Liam Walsh, who had already taken third within the males’s elite highway race on the Australian National Championships, was one other from among the many nationwide workforce that confirmed he was in a position to combine it in WorldTour firm on the Tour Down Under. That was even regardless of being dominated out of the majority of the dash possibilities by a succession of misfortunes – from an Ill-timed damaged spoke on stage 1, a late flat on stage 2 and getting caught up in each of the final lap crashes on the best way to the road on stage 6
However, that also left what was a difficult stage 4 to Victor Harbor, with climbs that put the dominant sprinter of the race, Sam Welsford (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), out of competition. The 23-year-old made the very best of the chance, sticking with the lead group and dealing his means up the stretched out discipline to come back agonisingly near the rostrum, taking fourth on the stage.
Katelyn Nicholson
Oceania champion Katelyn Nicholson has already had a robust begin to the yr by January, taking second total on the SA Kick It opening spherical on the ProVelo Super League and simply lacking the rostrum in each the time trial and the highway race on the National Championships, however the very best was but to come back.
Through a quick and windy Lochard Energy Warrnambool Women’s Classic, the Butterfields ZipTrak rider performed her hand to perfection and managed to get away and held out entrance for the ultimate 40km of the 156-kilometre race. NIcholson had loads of time to benefit from the second as she crossed the road solo and can now head off to race in Europe in April with the Down Under Academy, put collectively by Valentina Scandolara, with a wanted win behind her.
Blake Agnoletto
Blake Agnoletto had already reminded his rivals of his highly effective flip of pace by the second stage of the ProVelo Super League’s SA Kick It in January however the massive query, as he was coming towards the Powercor Melbourne to Warrnambool end line in a gaggle of 5, was wouldn’t it maintain up after 267 brutal kilometres? The reply was a powerful sure.
Cameron Scott who had simply come out of the WorldTour ranks and was racing with CCACHE X Bodywrap, was clearly an enormous menace, notably because the winner of the 2022 version nonetheless not even he may contact the 22-year-old Team Brennan p/b TP32 rider as soon as he launched at underneath 200m to go. It was a clear-cut victory for Agnoletto and, he has each cause to hope it’s the begin of even greater issues to come back.
“I actually need to go professional this yr, ” mentioned the 22-year-old rider who final yr had been extra track-focussed although simply missed out on Olympic choice. “It’s positively a giant highway focus going into this yr. I’ve began to point out the shape is already there and I simply must hold constructing on it till I go away for Europe in the beginning of subsequent month.”
Alli Anderson
Alli Anderson was a reputation that simply saved cropping up by the summer time, with the rider displaying she was again, in no unsure phrases, from the well being issues that had stymied her season on the Tour of Bright. Anderson gained that race total after which kicked off January by claiming the ladies’s under-23 time trial title.
The 21-year-old then delivered a transparent demonstration of her racing nous, doubtless tuned by her place within the nationwide workforce on the Tour Down Under and Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, on the Lochard Energy Warrnambool Women’s Cycling Classic. The rider was not solely current within the strikes, in the end ending sixth, nevertheless it was her that spurred her Butterfields Ziptrak teammate into the profitable break.
“It was Alli Anderson who was in that little break up simply up the highway that we had simply caught as much as,” winner Katelyn NIcholson mentioned when requested by Cyclingnews what made her determine to assault when she did. “She was calling on the radio, ‘that is it, received to go, received to go, received to go’ so trusting her – she is a really skilled racer – I took a flyer and simply needed to hope for the very best.”
And the very best was simply what occurred, with Anderson additionally demonstrating that in addition to pulling within the outcomes for herself she additionally may assist bolster these round her.
Rudy Porter
Rudy Porter was one of many riders among the many Australian hopefuls that already knew what it felt wish to get that WorldTour contract, having signed for 2 seasons with Jayco-AlUla from 2023. Unfortunately, all had not gone nicely for him when he received there. In 2024 he was not in a position to line up after May, lower than superb in a contract yr, and that meant he discovered himself questioning what’s subsequent and on the hunt once more in Australia in 2025.
“I received a left leg harm, it was a pinched artery … so I got here again dwelling to Australia to try to get it solved,” Porter advised Cyclingnews in Warrnambool. It was, sadly, a course of that took a while. “It wasn’t actually till late November after I began doing a couple of efforts, that I wasn’t actually getting any signs in my left leg which was a constructive.”
He had determined to use for a spot on the nationwide workforce, and whereas he solely had six to eight weeks of coaching “coming from just about nothing” he had a stable Tour Down Under, ending eleventh on the robust Willunga Hill stage and sixteenth total. He then went on to take a dig on the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race and safe the King of the Mountains jersey.
“Everything is actually good with the leg now, no issues in anyway, the coaching goes rather well and I’m simply attempting to get again to WorldTour stage.”