Aussie under-23 and juniors to watch in Glasgow

Many ARA Australian Cycling Team Junior and Under 23 riders have been making names for themselves competing internationally ahead of the World Championships in Glasgow.

Here are just some of the athletes to keep your eyes on across the three disciplines.

MTB

After missing last year’s world championship through illness, Zoe Cuthbert is burning to get back to the start line at Glentress in the green and gold kit.

This year the Canberra cross-country rider has been a constant threat in the women’s Under 23 field, highlighted by her fifth place in the XCO at the Lenzerheide round of the World Cup.

In his first full year of World Cup, racing Lewis Allbon has started to find his groove in the cutthroat world of junior downhill.

The Canberra rider produced his best result to date at the infamous Val di Sole track, Black Snake with an eighth-place finish.

Cohen Jessen will be one busy rider when he lines up across two disciplines at the 2023 UCI World Championship in Glasgow, a first for the Victorian.

In his second World Championships, Jessen will compete in the 127.2km junior men road race on the opening day of the road race program.

Five days later, Jessen will swap back to the dirt for the cross-country Olympic discipline as the current Oceania junior men’s champion.

ROAD

If there is one rider who has timed his peak to perfection it may well be Oscar Chamberlain. As the highest finishing junior at last year’s road world championships in Wollongong, the AG2R Citoren team member is once again the one to look for at the pointy end of the peloton.

He finished third overall at the five-stage St. Martinusprijs Juniors in Belgium during AusCycling’s recent lead in camp among a start list which will be similar to what lines up in Glasgow.

Add to that his second at the Paris-Roubaix in the juniors Chamberlin will be a big show come race day.

Having been on the top step of the podium in the Under 23 National Championships Road race and time trial at the start of the year, Alastair MacKellar is heading to Glasgow all gears blazing.

In his second season with Israel-Premier Tech’s development squad, the Queenslander has been part of the Pro Tour squad nine times and will be in pursuit of the rainbow stripes for more than 168kms around Scotland.

When you win a race by more than seven minutes you should feel the confidence rising ahead of the World Championships, and that’s exactly what Makenzie Coupland did recently in Huise, Belgium in the junior women road race.

She then backed up that performance a week later with another gold standard effort in Menen.

The West Aussie is flying and expect her to showcase the green and gold at the front of the pack on the roads of Scotland.

BMX RACING

After a 12th place finish last year, 21-year-old Oli Moran will compete at his second World Championships n the Under 23 ranks.

A move to France this season has paid off for the Manning Valley BMX Club rider, with a podium in the opening round of the European Cup in Verona, Italy.

The World #32 also notched back-to-back podiums at the Class C1 races at Vaucluse Provence in March, and he is expected to push for a place in the final on Sunday 13 August at the Glasglow BMX Centre.

Josh Jolly has been lighting up the USA BMX Pro Series this year, highlighted by a second place in the 17-20 Expert category and first place in the Men Juniors Main at the most recent round in Reno, Nevada.

The Victorian will be making his World Championship debut in Glasgow, but the World #27 has demonstrated an ability to perform under pressure, taking bronze at the 2023 Oceania Championships, and winning the Junior Superclass and 16 Boys titles at the 2022 AusCycling National Championships.

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