The September 1 to 3 championships mark Tasmania’s first time hosting the competition since the turn of the century and will pit the nation’s best under-15 and under-17 riders against each other in time trial, road race and criterium events.

Cycling Tasmania chief executive Collin Burns said the championships had helped unearth many a champion rider, with Caleb Ewan, Tiffany Cromwell and Amy Cure all competing in recent years.  

“If they win national titles here on the road they’re destined for big things,” Burns said.  

“(New South Wales rider) Mitchell Wright was down here a couple of years ago, he won everything on the track and he’s just won the under-19s road race and he’s off to the worlds, so this is where they start.

“Macey Stewart and Lauren Perry have always done well (at junior nationals) and have gone onto big things.”

A field of about 200 is expected for the three-day event, which will feature representatives from every state.

Two Northern riders are considered among the best podium chances of the 20 Tasmanians taking part. 

“We’ve got a few good chances, especially with a hilly course.

“A young guy from Launceston called Henley James-Smith would be a medal chance and (Exeter’s) Catelyn Turner, she’s a fantastic runner, she just won the all-schools cross country so she’s a very good young talent in the under-17 girls.

“In the under-15 boys a young guy from Burnie called Lachlan Spurr has been dominating cycling in Tassie for the past year or so at under-15 level.”

Riders will face different courses for each discipline, tackling a 15km stretch between Ulverstone and Penguin for the time trial, a loop of Sheffield for the road race and a closed-off circuit around Devonport Bluff for the criterium.

Burns said the North-West Coast would offer plenty for both cyclists and spectators.  

“Often they’ve had nationals at Shepparton which is quite flat but this will be quite a challenging course and there’s some good hills, so we should get a good winner that comes out of it.

“It’s just a really good economic event for Tassie to get all those people - for 200 riders you can easily double it...so you’re probably looking at 500 people coming into Tassie for almost a week.”