The location may have changed last minute, but Tasmania's top junior cyclists are just happy to be competing in the flesh.
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After COVID forced the opening two meets of the national junior track series to be held virtually, another late change was required when Melbourne - the series' final destination - was put into lockdown.
State co-ordinators agreed to shift the series finale to Sydney, where nine eager Tasmanians touched down on Friday night.
Among them was 14-year-old Nicholas Broxam, who sits in second place - nine points off Gold Coast's leader Alex Hewes - in the under-15 boys' national title.
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The Burnie talent said he had been "very surprised" to finish the series' second round so high in the standings.
"I knew I was going to be pretty high up there but I kind of surprised myself with how well I went - I was really happy," the Leighland Christian School student said.
"I'm not really sure what to expect when I go to Sydney - there'll be a lot of bunch racing so that'll definitely push me.
"Here in Tassie you don't have a lot of riders, so you don't get big bunches so it'll be very different."
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The series, which caters for under-15s through to under-17s, will now be held in conjunction with the Clarence St Cyclery Cup, which is one of New South Wales' biggest track events.
State junior track coach Janelle Smith said the series represented a great learning opportunity for riders at all levels of experience.
"This is the biggest team we've taken in a while which is really good and there's a lot of first-timers going to this round - there's probably only a couple of juniors that have been going from their first year of under-15s through to this one being their last one," Smith said.
"The best thing with this competition as well is you don't have to be the best in the state - it's open for everyone to develop riders, get experience in the bigger bunches and [develop] friendships, because these kids will race each other for life.
"They end up establishing really good friendships from the mainland and with social media these days they stay in touch with them."
Races begin at 1pm on Saturday at the Dunc Gray Velodrome near Bankstown.
TEAM TASSIE
- Mia Brown, Nicholas Broxam, Meika Derrico, Alex Eaves, Sam McKee, Lachlan Oliver, Jonas Shelverton, Hayden van der Ploeg, Felicity Wilson-Haffendon