It will be the fourth time in the last five years that a Launceston College student has competed at a mountain bike world championship.

Alex Lack (2015) and Sam Fox (2017-18) have contested the same race with Lack also going on to tackle the under-23 race twice.

Johnston is delighted to take up the mantle and warmed up on the Gold Coast at the weekend by being part of another LC triumph on the national stage - teaming up with Izzy Flint to share the Australian schools championship year 11-12 cross-country titles.

"It was great to have two of us from the same school win both categories. It shows how supportive the school is of our sport," Johnston said.

Both students attend Mark Padgett's athlete development course at LC which has also seen Fenella Harris enter four rounds of this year's Enduro World Series and has a track record of catapulting promising young athletes onto international stages in a wide variety of sports.

"The course has some theory which helps us to develop as athletes but also individual training time which is great," Johnston said.

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"Mark has helped heaps and the trip to the Gold Coast was assisted. We also have a really nice school kit and Mark is very knowledgeable having been an athlete for most of his life.

"It's great to be following Sam and Alex. It's good to step in their shoes and they've given me some good advice. They just said give it 100 per cent and if you leave it all out there you'll be happy."

Canberra-born Johnston moved to Launceston at a young age and attended Launceston Prep, St Patrick's College, Launceston Christian School and LC.

Step-father Adrian Cooper encouraged him to take up mountain biking and now coaches him.

Johnston came third at under-19 national champs and second at Oceanias, both held in Bright, Victoria, and is the reigning state champion for his age.

The 17-year-old was the sole Tasmanian among a team of 43 selected in the Australian team to contest the 2019 UCI world championships from August 28 to September 1.

Johnston, who leaves on August 22 and will contest the junior cross-country race, is proud to continue an impressive record of Tasmanians on the world stage, headlined by Hobart duo Sid Taberlay and Scott Bowden who attended Olympic Games in 2004 and 2016 respectively.

He expects to start around 40^th place in a field of about 120 which is determined by a points system from UCI registered races.

"It was great news to get selected," he said.

"I'm just stoked to have an opportunity to represent Australia. It's a pretty big step up.

"It's the most technical cross-country course in the world which is a bit daunting to be honest. I've been thrown in the deep end but pretty excited to give it a shot."

Johnston was back training in the familiar surroundings of Trevallyn Reserve this week after claiming his latest win on the same Narang course that hosted the Commonwealth Games titles in 2018.

"It was good practice for worlds. There were 60 kids in my race which is the most I've ever had in my category which felt good.

"I started a fair way back so it was tough to get through the field. The win rates pretty highly because there were some very fast boys there, so to come out on top is a good feeling and reflects well on form ahead of the world champs.

"I love mountain biking because you can enjoy it without it having to be in competition. You don't have to be racing, you can still have a blast as opposed to other sports where you only really train to compete not for leisure."

Completing LC's impressive showing on the Gold Coast, newcomer Daniel Aurik, 17, finished 11th in his race despite a big crash midway through. Flint has since travelled to Cairns where she is competing in the four-day Reef to Reef pairs race.

And LC's international pedigree is set to continue across the Pacific where Harris is extending her involvement in the EWS.

The Scottsdale 17-year-old, who won her age group at the series rounds in Rotorua and Derby earlier this year, is sitting second in the under-21 women's category on 320 points, 100 behind Leah Maunsell, of Ireland, and 20 ahead of third-placed Canadian Lucy Schick.

Harris will contest the upcoming rounds in Whistler, Canada, this weekend and Northstar, California, on August 24-25.

"Words can't describe how stoked I am," Harris said on Facebook.

Padgett, LC's athlete development coordinator, said the college was "immensely proud" to see its students sparkling on the world stage.

"We're lucky to have them as part of our program," he said.

"I would not know another college in Australia that has had the success we've had.

"We're just trying to make sure these kids get the support they need. We've provided them with a platform where they can train but also study at the same place. We support them with their training but also being flexible with other subjects.

"We're immensely proud of the record we have and hope to keep it going in the future because we've got others coming through which is a real testament to the strength of mountain biking in Tasmania."

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