Launceston cyclist Josh Duffy targets road to Paris Olympics

Fresh from a busy week of racing with fellow Commonwealth Games bronze medal winner Graeme Frislie, Duffy was announced as the latest Tasmanian recruit for Australian Continental team BridgeLane.

He celebrated by detailing how he hopes to mirror fellow Tasmanian Georgia Baker by combining road and track commitments in pursuit of a spot at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Duffy and Victorian teammate Frislie - who combined to dominate the Launceston Madison on Friday - will race the UCI Nations Cup in Indonesia and Canada early in the year ahead of the Track World Championships in Glasgow in August.

However, between those commitments 22-year-old Duffy will switch his attention to the competitive European road racing circuit with a tough program in Belgium and the Netherlands.

"It's just about getting that international exposure," he explained.

"We've got some nations cups early in the year to try and qualify for the Olympics team pursuit - that's a big focus for both of us and we're over in Adelaide to prepare for that. Between nations cups and world championships there's a pretty big gap of three or four months and I hope to spend that time in Europe racing the road."

Having won national madison, scratch race and time trial titles in 2020, before combining with Frislie, Lucas Plapp and Conor Leahy to add a Commonwealth Games bronze medal in the team pursuit, the two-time Launceston Wheel winner said he is beginning to feel a key part of the Adelaide-based national endurance program.

"I'm certainly a part of it, but there's six pretty competitive guys going for four sports," Duffy said.

"So as much as I'd like to think I'm cemented in that squad, there's still only four guys lining up on the track and it's pretty competitive between all of us.

"I'm really excited for this year.

"It's hopefully the first year I get a big stint over in Europe. I've always done plenty of trips with the track team and stuff but it's always been back and forth so to spend a bit of time over there I'm really looking forward to."

Team BridgeLane confirmed Duffy's arrival on social media this week, having previously announced the signings of fellow Tasmanians Sam McKee, Dalton Stretton, Hayden Van Der Ploeg and Campbell Palmer to join Commonwealth Games mountain bike representative Sam Fox with Izzy Flint and Felicity Wilson-Haffenden also joining the outfit's new women's team.

Duffy's first commitment with BridgeLane was meant to be the Bay Crits in Geelong on New Year's Day but he was a non-starter. He is listed to contest road nationals in Ballarat this weekend.