A stronger ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast squad is expected to seriously challenge for National Road Series titles next year.
The Australian Cycling Academy’s 2021 racing roster was formally launched Wednesday, amid much excitement.
“The team, on the men’s and women’s fronts, has been bolstered significantly,” ACA co-founder Matt Wilson said.
“The area we’ve most been looking for talent is in climbing and the general classification … (so) we’ve definitely branched out a bit with our signings on that.”
The arrival of Jay Vine should boost their chances in key races.
The 25-year-old, formerly with Nero Continental, was fifth in the Jayco Sun Herald Tour earlier this year.
“We’ve got a genuine contender in Jay Vine,” Wilson said.
“He’s a really exciting prospect. He went pretty hard into the virtual realm during COVID and was a member of the Australian E Sports team.
“He’s got a big engine and we’re lucky to have him on board.”
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The team has also signed Declan Trezice, who won the national junior road race title this year, along with Western Australians Craig Wiggins and Oliver Stenning.
They already boast some potential race winners, including former world omnium champion and 2019 national road race winner Michael Freiburg and 16-time para world championship medallist Alistair Donohoe.
The continental team will compete overseas if restrictions ease, but their attention will be on the 12-round NRS, including a new four-day event on the Sunshine Coast in October.
“We’re going to be focused squarely on that National Road Series and I think fort the first year since inception (2017) we’ve got a genuine chance of winning that series.”
They will head into the new season with the support of Sunshine Coast Council, for another three years, and the backing of ARA Group.
The squad boasts 15 men and 8 women, plus staff and is based at the University of the Sunshine Coast.
While there have been a host of signings, the team will be without Taj Jones and Alastair MacKellar, who linked with professional outfit Israel Start-Up Nation after impressing for ARA PRSC.
“But that’s what we’re about, trying to get guys into teams like that and to that level,” Wilson said.
“It’s not a loss, it’s a success story.”
The athletes involved with the Australian Cycling Academy are generally young, promising riders who have access to high-performance coaching, tertiary studies and professional mentoring.
The ACA has announced the re-signing of the Sunshine Coast Council for three more years after 36 months of successful collaboration.
Mayor Mark Jamieson said Sunshine Coast Council was proud to continue as a principal partner of the ACA for a further three years.
“Since launching in 2017, the academy has catapulted our region onto the world stage, with ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast riders amassing eight world championship wins, six Commonwealth Games medals, and seven national championships to name only a few of the team’s major accomplishments.
“The Sunshine Coast tourism, sport and leisure industries benefit enormously from the Australian Cycling Academy being based in our region,” Mayor Jamieson said.
