Having turned 19 on Monday, Lyons knows he has three more years in which to improve on an eighth placing in the under-23 individual time trial and 12th in the under-23 road race in the nationals, which finished on Sunday.

For now, Lyons has switched his attention to the upcoming National Road Series (NRS), where he is hoping to further develop while riding for the Victorian Institute of Sport squad.

“The NRS will be the main focus all year, really,” Lyons said.

“There are the Oceanias in mid-February (which fellow Ballarat rider Lucas Hamilton won in 2014), and the Mount Buller and Mount Baw Baw races as well. Later in the year, we’ve got the Tour of Tasmania and I’d be aiming for a top 15 in that ... that would be my big goal.”

Lyons rode a time of 40 minutes and 25 seconds in last Thursday’s demanding 29.3-kilometre ITT course, with only the top four riders breaking the 40-minute barrier.

“I was mainly focusing on the time trial and I’d been training on that course about a month beforehand,” he said.

“I was sort of sitting around that 42-minute mark on the training gear, so I knew I was in for a pretty decent time on the way back.

“It was really a course that suited me down to the ground because it was more about power to weight rather than overall power, and that suited my build and riding style.”

While he finished 12th in the under-23 road race, Lyons was second on the road in the final lap after launching a late attack with Ryan Kavanagh near the top of the Mount Buninyong climb.

The duo was reeled in before the final turn into the sprint, but the result was encouraging nonetheless.

“The final three climbs were pretty solid for me,” Lyons said.

“I was hoping for top 10, maybe top five, but I think I can go better in the next few years.”