Cycling Australia

Cycling Australia is pleased to announce the Junior Cyclones team to contest the 2013 UCI Junior Track World Championships being staged in Glasgow, Scotland from 7 to 11 August.

Cycling Australia National Junior Performance Director, Matthew Gilmore, says the team boasts some impressive talent but the focus will be on giving the teenagers the skills they need to compete at world level.

"As in previous years this team is a great testament to the work done by the State Institute and State Academy coaches who do such a good job developing the riders through the age groups," said Gilmore. "We will now replicate the training and preparation we use at senior level and work to instil the team culture and commitment.

Australia's junior teams have a record of success at world championship level but Gilmore says that has never been the focus.

"Our biggest challenge is managing the personal expectations of the riders and we do that by making sure the focus is not on the outcome," said Gilmore. "We never say we're going to win, we say we're going to do the best we can on the day and we're going to focus on getting all the little things right along the way.

"We want the riders to be polite, respectful and punctual and to behave the way we expect Australian team members to behave," he said. "That means they can hopefully step into the senior ranks eventually with all the good habits already formed."

Having said that Gilmore is also excited to see how the returning riders have progressed since last year and what the débutantes can achieve.

Kelsey Robson is defending junior world champion in both the individual and team pursuit titles and at the recent national championships joined elite riders Melissa Hoskins and Isabella King in the West Australian trio that won the combined team pursuit title. Victorian Zac Shaw is another who knows what it feels like to pull on a rainbow jersey having won the kilometre time trial at the 2012 championships in New Zealand.

Both the endurance and sprint groups have the potential to shine and will benefit from a national junior program that produced almost all of the track cyclists in Australia's London Olympic Games team.

This year also sees a changing of the guard in the coaching ranks with Tasmanian Institute of Sport Head Coach, Gene Bates, stepping in as men's endurance coach.

"Positions with the junior teams are great professional development opportunities for our coaches and Gene learned from Tim Decker last year and hopefully next year someone can learn from Gene," said Gilmore who will look after the women's endurance coaching while Cycling Australia Sprint Academy Coach Sean Eadie will be in charge of the sprint group.

The junior worlds will be staged on the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, also the home of the track cycling events at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

2013 UCI Junior Track World Championships - Australian Junior Cyclones Team

Sprint Group

The eight sprint events are team sprint, sprint, keirin and time trial for both men and women.

• Tian BECKETT (City Beach, WA 07.12.1995)
• Tennille FALAPPI (Redlynch, QLD 24.03.1995)

• Jai ANGSUTHASAWIT (Tranmere, SA 16.02.1995)
• Patrick CONSTABLE (Marion, SA 15.07.1995)
• Alex RADZIKIEWICZ (Belair, SA 26.06.1995)

Endurance Group

The eleven endurance events are men's and women's team pursuit, individual pursuit, scratch race, points race and omnium plus the Madison for men.

• Jack EDWARDS (Guildford, NSW 16.07.1996)
• Joshua HARRISON (Para Hills, SA 15.06.1995)
• Callum SCOTSON (Evanston Park, SA 11.08.1996)
• Zac SHAW (Elliminyt, VIC 16.04.1995)
• Sam WELSFORD (Woodlands, WA19.01.1996)

• Macey STEWART (Devonport, TAS 16.01.1996)
• Lauren PERRY (West Launceston, TAS 29.03.1996)
• Kelsey ROBSON (Tapping, WA 15.09.1995)
• Elissa WUNDERSITZ (Bassendean, WA 02.09.1995)
• Josie TALBOT (Figtree, NSW 09.08.1996)   

In accordance with the selection policy the closing date to lodge an appeal against non-selection is Friday 15 February.