The ARA Australian Cycling Team will head to next month’s World Championships with high ambitions of defending its rainbow bands.
AusCycling has today named the elite and under-23 riders who will wear the green and gold at the 2025 UCI Road World Championships in Kigali, Rwanda.
Australia will go into the week-long championships, beginning on September 21, with an initial focus on racing against the clock.
In particular, the team is motivated to defend Australia’s title in the Mixed Relay Team Time Trial. Four riders will return from last year’s winning team: Brodie Chapman, Michael Matthews and Jay Vine, who will be joined by Luke Plapp, Lauretta Hanson and Amanda Spratt.
Conor Taylor, AusCycling’s Head Coach of Endurance, said:
“The mixed relay is important to us as a national team.
“Other nations may not prioritise it, but Australia is a nation with a proud history of success in time-trialling and the fact it’s a team event resonates strongly with our squad values.
“It means a lot to these riders. When we won the rainbows last year in Zurich, it lifted the team going into the road races.”
Australia will aim to defend its title in the Mixed Relay Team Time Trial. (Dario Belingheri / Getty Images)
In the individual time trials, Vine, Plapp and Chapman will carry hopes of strong results on one of the hilliest Worlds courses in recent memory.
Taylor said:
“Jay, Luke and Brodie are highly motivated for these time trials.
“They identified this event from the start of the season as a goal to target in 2025 and they’ve all proven that they can compete against the best in the world, especially on a tough course like this one.
“We’ve seen what Luke did at the Tour de France, and Jay has unfinished business after crashing in last year’s Worlds time trial. Grace Brown’s retirement is a loss for the team, of course, but Brodie has been making big strides forward and we know she can deliver a great result.”
Brodie Chapman is highly motivated for the Worlds time trials. (Dario Belingheri / Getty Images)
Like the time trials, the road races will be contested on some of the hardest courses ever seen at a World Championship, with over 3,300 metres of elevation for the elite women and close to 5,500 for the men.
Neve Bradbury, Alex Manly and last year’s top finisher Ruby Roseman-Gannon will link up with Chapman, Hanson and Spratt in the women’s race.
Taylor said:
“We have a talented group of riders with a mix of youth and experience at this level.
“For example, Neve is a young rider with a big future ahead of her and is capable of big results. Amanda plays a key leadership role with all her experience and can also go deep into this race herself.
“We might not be the favourites on paper, but that frees us to race aggressively and look for opportunities from early on.”
Giro d’Italia winner Jai Hindley will lead the team in the men’s road race. Fellow West Australian climber Michael Storer has also been selected alongside Chris Hamilton, Callum Scotson and Giro stage winner Chris Harper.
They will join Matthews, Plapp and Vine in the men’s road race.
Taylor said:
“Jai is hungry for the opportunity to represent the Australian colours after his major setback this year when he crashed at the Giro. He was a key player in last year’s edition and when he saw the course this year, he was motivated to be in Rwanda. We believe we have a strong team ready to support him.”
Jai Hindley will lead the team in the men's road race. (Craig Render / RCPix)
The ARA Australian Cycling Team will be without Sarah Gigante, who is injured, and last year’s silver medallist Ben O’Connor.
Taylor said:
“Not having Sarah is a loss for the team – we’ve all seen how well she has been performing since her first day of racing this season. We wish her the best with her recovery.
“Ben communicated to the national team early on this season that it could prove difficult to include the world championships into his race program. Ben’s goals this year included combining the Tour de France and the Vuelta, and this requires a specific approach and preparation.
The road race courses at the world championships over the next couple of years are sure to suit Ben’s characteristics, and no doubt we will see him pull on the green and gold again soon.”
Matthew Greenwood, Zac Marriage, Hamish McKenzie and Jack Ward make up the under-23 men’s team.
The under-23 women’s squad consists of Alli Anderson, Mackenzie Coupland and Felicity Wilson-Haffenden, who won the junior time trial world title in 2023.
These UCI World Championships form part of AusCycling’s wider program, which is intended to create meaningful opportunities and strengthen pathways – especially for Australia’s under-23 women, who typically enjoy fewer opportunities on the road then their male peers. In addition to the athletes competing at the Tour de l’Avenir and in Kigali, AusCycling will select another group of riders for the Tour of Gatineau in Canada, giving more athletes valuable international experience and exposure.
The squad announced today will be joined by the seven junior riders named earlier this year.
Elite Women
- Neve Bradbury (St Kilda CC, VIC)
- Brodie Chapman (University of Queensland CC, QLD)
- Lauretta Hanson (Macedon Ranges CC, VIC)
- Alexandra Manly (Central Districts CC, SA)
- Ruby Roseman-Gannon (Brunswick CC, VIC)
- Amanda Spratt (Penrith CC, NSW)
Elite Men
- Chris Hamilton (Bendigo & District CC, VIC)
- Chris Harper (Norwood CC, SA)
- Jai Hindley (Midland CC, WA)
- Michael Matthews (Vikings CC, ACT)
- Luke Plapp (Brunswick CC, VIC)
- Callum Scotson (Port Adelaide CC, SA)
- Michael Storer (Darwin CC, NT)
- Jay Vine (Canberra CC, ACT)
Under-23 Women
- Alli Anderson (Port Adelaide CC, SA)
- Mackenzie Coupland (Midland CC, WA)
- Felicity Wilson-Haffenden (Hobart Wheelers Dirt Devils, TAS)
Under-23 Men
- Matthew Greenwood (Hamilton Wheelers CC, QLD)
- Zac Marriage (Kilkenny CC, SA)
- Hamish McKenzie (Tas Junior Cycling Foundation, TAS)
- Jack Ward (Blackburn CC, VIC)
Junior Women
- Hannah Gianatti (Penrith CC, NSW)
- Neve Parslow (Hamilton Wheelers CC, QLD)
- Tully Schweitzer (Hamilton Wheelers CC, QLD)
Junior Men
- Max Goold (Blackburn CC, VIC)
- Alexander Hewes (Gold Coast CC, QLD)
- Fletcher Medway (Hamilton Wheelers CC, QLD)
- Lucas Stevenson (Northern Sydney CC, NSW)
Feature photo: Dario Belingheri / Getty Images