'I knew deep down I had the confidence': The tale behind Agnoletto's revival

Huddled around a celebratory InForm TMX MAKE squad under a setting sun on Cairns Esplanade, Blake Agnoletto was both physically and mentally a long way away from where he was a year earlier.

Still only 19, the men’s Tour of the Tropics victor broke through for his first AusCycling National Road Series (NRS) stage and tour win a week ago, a checkbox moment for many of Australia’s best cyclists in their journey to the professional ranks.

For Agnoletto, it was also a moment of realisation – a realisation that he has what it takes to be at the top.

That belief is something his closest supporters have always tried to instil in the teenager, but the Bendigo product struggled to absorb that confidence over the past two years, largely due to diminished racing opportunities brought about by COVID, and a loss of love for the sport.

Agnoletto’s lowest point came at the tail-end of 2020, a time when the talented youngster was on the verge of walking away from cycling altogether.

All that changed when fellow Bendigonian Tim Decker, who was the AusCycling National Track Endurance Coach at the time, picked up the phone.

“Tim Decker got in contact with me and he helped a lot with more than just training, more of the mental side of it,” Agnoletto said.

“It was all about being mentally strong.

“That came after I decided to keep going through 2021 after talking with Pat Lane and Cam McKimm at InForm, who supported whatever decision I made,” Agnoletto said.

Blake Agnoletto pulls a turn for Victoria during the #TrackNats22 team pursuit gold medal final. Picture: John Veage

“I was just trying to come back and get a bit of base behind me with a couple of races here and there.

“Still wasn’t loving it and didn’t do amazing in what was my first under-23 year on the road and also in elite at Track Nats.

“We got to the end of the year and I was starting to feel a bit better and then Tim invited me over to a track camp at the start of this year.

“That was when I was like, ‘alright, so I could do decent on the track’ - so I fully committed to Track Nationals because I knew if I could have a good run coming into that I could do alright.”

Agnoletto would end up doing more than alright up in Brisbane’s scorching Anna Meares Velodrome during March and April, picking up a bronze medal in the individual pursuit with a time of 4:17.465, a gold medal in the team pursuit with Victoria, and a silver medal in the Oceania Track Championships scratch race behind a rampaging Aaron Gate to go with Madison bronze.

The boy from Bendigo was making good on the potential many knew was always there and Agnoletto himself was surfing the wave of self-belief.

“Once I got back from Track Nats and Oceays (Oceania), I just knew deep down I had the confidence that I could be there,” Agnoletto said.

“And when it comes to training it does make it a lot easier to want to keep pushing yourself.

“Since that, I was doing road races here and there like Mt Gambier and the 2022 Merv Dean Memorial Three-Day Club Tour in Bendigo, and then myself and a few others went into a four-week block of training with the endurance guys going to Commonwealth Games.

“So, it wasn’t the best prep going into Tropics but Pat Lane believed in me, gave me a good opportunity to prove myself and I’m sort of getting back there now on the road.

“It’s a really good feeling to be finally showing that I have what it takes and that it takes a little time to get there – it's not going to happen overnight.”

Well aware of the support network around him, Agnoletto has continued to give thanks all year to those backing his talent, particularly Decker.

“I don’t really know if I could do it without all the people in my corner,” Agnoletto said.

“They just push me so much harder and have always believed in me when I didn’t in myself.

“To be able to talk to them about their experiences when they were in a bit of a motivation hole or struggling to train (is great) … I can use their experience to help what I’m doing now and in the future.

“I’ll be forever grateful for the time and sacrifice they give helping me.

“I spoke to Tim the night after Tropics and I gave him a call the day after but every race before I’ve even checked my phone after the finish, he is already sending me a message with congrats or something like that.

“So, it’s just so cool to see that he cares so much and it’s a great feeling.

“It’s good to finally start getting the results and even if I wasn’t he’d still be so happy for me, and it’s just great to have him in my corner being who he is and helping me get to where I am now.”

Track remains at the forefront of Agnoletto’s immediate ambitions, with a leap to the next level of the AusCycling categorisation network the main target.

“It’s a massive goal to try and be with the Australian Cycling Team boys in Adelaide, training with them and racing with them full-time to hopefully go down the pathway of a Kelland O’Brien, who I really look up to in a lot of ways,” Agnoletto said.

“He sort of mentors me a little bit.

“Me and Oli (Bleddyn) have been doing a lot of the track work with Brett Aitken and the boys (Australian Cycling Team high-performance program) already – we’re getting the experience and feel of how hard they actually train without being in the program.”

Blake Agnoletto (left) and Oli Bleddyn sling hands at the 2022 Oceania Track Championships Madison in Brisbane. Picture: Michael Shippley

With a relatively open racing calendar, Agnoletto said he may seek out a trip to Belgium with a handful of his InForm TMX MAKE teammates before re-upping the fuel tank for another strike at the summer of cycling down under in the coming months.

“I really want to put a big focus on Road Nationals, particularly the time trial and the crit and then would see how it goes in the road race,” Agnoletto said.

2022 has become one belter of a start for Agnoletto, and now it’s time to find the next gear.

Main picture: Bear Liang