Eight emerging cross-country riders will take on Europe’s best next month, selected for the AusCycling MTB XCO European Development Camp.
The squad features a mix of under-23 and under-19 athletes, ready to don the green-and-gold in high-quality events across Germany and Czechia.
The campaign will see riders contest rounds of the UCI World Cup and UCI XCO Junior Series, as well as a UCI-level Czech MTB Cup round, offering exposure to some of the most competitive fields in racing.
Among those selected are reigning under-23 XCO national champions Reuben Page-Brown and Ruby Taylor alongside under-19 title holders Connor Wright and Freya Buckmaster.
Racing begins in Vimperk, Czechia, with a C1 round of the Czech MTB Cup, on May 9–10.
The team will then head to Germany for the Heubacher Mountain Bike Festival – Bike the Rock on May 16–17, before wrapping up at the Nové Město na Moravě World Cup from May 22–24.
AusCycling's National MTB XCO Coach Rob Holmgren said the camp plays a key role in athlete progression.
“Athletes will be provided the opportunity to develop and execute their performance plans in much larger and deeper fields.
“I am really excited to set a high bar of high performance and professionalism with this group,” Holmgren said.
U19 Riders
Freya Buckmaster (Hobart Wheelers/Dirt Devils CC)
Alana Fletcher (Bendigo Mountain Bike Club)
Oliver Grande (Canberra Off-Road Cyclists)
Connor Wright (Ferguson Valley Mountain Bike Club)
U23 Riders
Joel Dodds (Ipswich Cycling Club)
Ella Menigoz (RATS Cycling Club)
Reuben Page-Brown (Hobart Wheelers/Dirt Devils CC)
Ruby Taylor (Hawthorn Cycling Club)