JUNIOR world cycling champion Alex Morgan packed the last punch to take out the Fred Icke Memorial Handicap at Creswick on Saturday.
The 17-year-old broke away from a 50-plus strong group in the closing kilometres, allowing him to fully savour the moment as he crossed the line.
Morgan, who rides with the Blackburn Cycling Club and Victorian Institute of Sport, is one of Australia’s most promising all-round riders.
He joined forces with Jack Cummings, Alex Edmonson and Jackson Law to claim gold in the team pursuit at last year’s junior world track championships in Russia.
He is also the reigning national under-19 individual pursuit champion as well Commonwealth Youth Games, Oceania and national road time trial champion.
His major target this year is the junior world track titles in Invercargill, NZ, in August.
More immediately Morgan will continue to mix VCE studies with preparations for the national under-19 road championships in Shepparton on June 28-July 1.
Riding off scratch, Morgan was among a small group of riders to force the pace as the backmarkers rolled out of Creswick for the last of three 44.3km laps in the 53rd edition of the Ballarat Sebastopol Cycling Club event.
This allowed this bunch to comfortably catch the outmarkers.
He continued the aggression before easing off the pressure about 10km from home and then again stepping up the pace.
Morgan, who was part of a strong VIS contingent, said this was a rare appearance in a handicap event and he had not expecting to do so well.
Morgan’s long range plans are to ride in a professional team and compete at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.
Ballarat Sebastopol’s Nicholas White took out the Fred Icke Junior 44km Handicap.
The 14-year-old won from Jack Bell (Camperdown), with Caiden Hull (Carnegie) getting third and the fastest time.
Emma Bilston (Ballarat Sebastopol) was the first female to finish.