With Olympic title in their pocket, Australian national team will try to carry the good spirits through to the Zurich World Championships, scheduled to take off in just a little bit over two weeks from now. While all eyes will be set on the women's time trial, the highly intimidating profiles of both road races should prove no less exciting for the Australian fans.
Jesse Korf, convenor of the National Selection Panel, said in a press release: "We are very excited about the group of elite athletes who will represent the ARA Australian Cycling Team this September. The courses in Zurich are challenging with a considerable amount of climbing. The riders we’ve selected have the characteristics to perform well on this kind of parcours."
Lead by the fresh Olympic time trial champion Grace Brown, Australian ladies will be followed by all the big teams in Zurich. And even though their main ambitions are for the race against the clock, it's not with ambitions that they'll enter the road race. Third from Giro d'Italia Women Neve Bradbury will be hot favourite for the U23 title, but she's not without chances in the elite category either. With Brodie Chapman, Sarah Gigante and Amanda Spratt, Australia will have many strong cards to play with.
"Australian road cycling has had a lot to celebrate this year. We look forward to seeing Grace Brown contest her first, and likely last, world championships since winning the Olympic gold medal. At the other end of the scale, it’s fantastic to have young debutants on board such as Isabelle Carnes and Neve Bradbury, whom we hope will make a big impact at their first elite world championships."
Australian Women lineup for 2024 World Championships:
Neve Bradbury (also eligible for U23 title)
Grace Brown (also individual time trial)
Brodie Chapman (also ITT)
Sarah Gigante
Ruby Roseman-Gannon
Amanda Spratt
Isabelle Carnes (U23, only ITT)
Grace Brown (also individual time trial)
Brodie Chapman (also ITT)
Sarah Gigante
Ruby Roseman-Gannon
Amanda Spratt
Isabelle Carnes (U23, only ITT)
Unlike their female counterparts, Australian men can't realistically set their sights for big success. However it would be disrespectful to write off the three-time medalist Michael Matthews already. The 33-year-old has surprised us more than once with his ability to survive very hard races... He'll be accompanied by top-tier climbers such as Ben O’Connor and Jai Hindley. However neither of them have got much of palmares to speak of, regarding one-day races. Meanwhile national ITT champion Lucas Plapp will focus solely on the time trial.
The selector of the national team is not afraid of all the big names lining for start in Zurich: "Our team is filled with climbing talent including multiple grand tour podiums, plus the experience of a rider like Michael Matthews, who has proven time and time again his ability to deliver results at this level."
Australian Men lineup for 2024 World Championships:
Jack Haig
Chris Harper
Jai Hindley
Michael Matthews
Ben O’Connor
Nick Schultz
Callum Scotson
Michael Storer
Lucas Plapp (only ITT)
Chris Harper
Jai Hindley
Michael Matthews
Ben O’Connor
Nick Schultz
Callum Scotson
Michael Storer
Lucas Plapp (only ITT)
Read also
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling forRafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment