‘Someone’s going to come from nowhere’: Introducing Australia’s new junior road series

A fortnight after Australia’s young talents raced alongside Richie Porte and Grace Brown at the Santos Festival of Cycling, more junior riders will have a chance to shine on the national stage.

This weekend, AusCycling will launch a new competition designed to unearth the next generation of cyclists.

The National Junior 19 Road Series will fill a crucial gap in the calendar, providing under-19 cyclists with their own national-level races.

Series at a glance

The inaugural series, which is inspired by the longstanding National Road Series (NRS), will comprise three stage races in 2022 for men and women.

• Feb 13–15: Tour of Gippsland
• Jul 8–10: Tour of the Tropics
• Nov 25–27: Tour of Tasmania

The first two tours will be held in conjunction with the NRS, with under-19s competing on the same days as the seniors, but in separate races.

The final round will be a standalone event, taking place a month after the NRS Tour of Tasmania.

Like in the NRS, the series leader will wear a distinctive jersey. The overall champion will be decided using a points system based on stage podiums and general classification results.

A crucial stepping stone

This series is another of AusCycling’s initiatives for helping young cyclists to develop, adding to the AusCycling Development Academies announced earlier this week.

Until now, the only junior racing at this level has been the National Championships, which is just one event per year.

Under-19s can race in NRS teams – and they’ll continue to do so, for now – but the National Junior 19 Road Series gives more regular opportunities to race against one’s peers, according to Kipp Kaufmann, AusCycling’s Executive General Manager for Sport.

“There’s a major gap. You were going from under-17 junior tours in the states, maybe Junior Nationals, and then you’d do this big jump to the NRS – or nothing,” Kaufmann said. “The series provides something during the year for riders to race.”

Within their own peloton, juniors will have more opportunities to showcase their skills and tactics at the pointy end of a race, as opposed to, say, merely trying to hang on to the senior riders.

In the long term, Kaufmann hopes the junior series becomes independent of the NRS, with dedicated teams.

“The series will be a success if we see more riders graduating to NRS or international teams as a result, and that it becomes standalone” Kaufmann said.

“Team Rauland is a good example, a team focused on under-19 riders – we’d love to see more of those teams, and that over time it all begins to build.

“Under all that, a strong under-19 system that moves people towards the performance pathway and reaching their own goals.”

Riders in action

Riders turning 17 or 18 years old this year will contest the National Junior 19 Road Series.

Naturally, we expect the series to feature most of the top performers from last month’s Road National Championships.

On the women’s side, the junior national champions in the time trial and criterium – Isabelle Carnes (ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast) and Lucinda Stewart (InForm TMX MAKE) respectively – will no doubt feature heavily. Road race champion Sophie Marr (Knights of Suburbia Racing) isn’t on the start list for the Tour of Gippsland, but we hope to see her racing later this year.

Likewise, Bronte Stewart (Sydney Uni-Staminade) and Felicity Wilson-Haffenden (Tasmanian Institute of Sport) had outstanding rides in Ballarat, and their progression will be intriguing to watch through the year.

For the men, ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast have an exciting young squad. The Queensland outfit includes dual national champion Hamish McKenzie, road race champion Cameron Rogers, and 2021 time trial national champion Lachlan Miller, as well as the aggressive Tyler Tomkinson.

Outside that team, riders like Oscar Chamberlain (CCS Cycling), Leo Zimmerman and Luke Tuckwell (both InForm TMX MAKE) have been making steady progression through the junior ranks and will no doubt have their chance to shine.

Tasmanians Campbell Palmer (VA Pro Racing) and William Eaves (Tasmanian Institute of Sport) will also be ones to watch, especially on home roads in the season finale.

But, as Kaufmann says, it’s the unknown riders – those flying under the radar, who haven’t yet had the chance to showcase their talents – that the series could benefit most.

“With the under-19s, there’s always enthusiasm and excitement. There’s always someone you’ve never heard of that does something absolutely incredible,” Kaufmann said, when asked what he was looking forward to this series.

“It’s finding that next great talent – I’m sure they’re there. Someone’s going to come from nowhere and burst themselves onto a great contract or become our next champion.

“It’ll be really fun; it’ll be exciting.”

Photos: Con Chronis and Josh Chadwick