Ballarat cyclist Jesse Norton says having the support of former professional rider Pat Shaw was a key to his triumph in the national men's under-19 road criterium championship in Ballarat on Friday.
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The Ballarat Sebastopol Cycling Club 16-year-old upstaged his older rivals to do the green and gold jersey for the first time.
Norton said having hometown-based Shaw in his corner was a massive bonus.
"It's special to have his knowledge of the criterium and Buninyong (road race) circuits."
Shaw knows the Ballarat circuits inside out, having ridden thousands of kilometres on the roads in training and had top 10 finishes in the criterium and road race in the nationals.
He now nurtures a number of young cyclists in Ballarat.
Norton said winning a national title was a dream come true.
"It was pretty special to get the green and gold.
"It's a dream come true," Norton said.
"I didn't put too much pressure on myself being pretty young in the under-19 category
"I just wanted to have a crack on the home streets which I train on.
"I didn't have any expectations. Just a matter of seeing what happens on the day," he said.
Norton said not having teammates meant he had to put it all on the line to get the win.
"You can't expect anyone else to help you do it, so that's what I did and it paid off."
