Nick White is aiming to again catch the eye of national cycling selectors when he tackles his first overseas assignment of the year on Sunday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Ballarat road ace will lead Team Bridgelane in the Tour of Taiwan.
Bridgelane is the only Australian team riding in the event.
The five-day tour is the next phase in White's bid to earn selection for the UCI Road World Under-23 Championships in England in September. The world title will be decided over 192.5km in Harrogate.
White, 21, has made all ride moves to date this year - winning the national under-23 road race championship, having a top 20 finish in the Herald Sun Tour general classification and top 20 young riders' category on debut in the Tour Down Under, plus victories in the Melbourne to Warrnambool one-day classic and Fred Icke Road Race.
White, who is in first year with Bridgelane, said while delighted with his results in that initial block of racing for the year, there was much more to be done - beginning with Taiwan.
He said the next week would be one of factors in determining whether he raced in Japan in a few months before going to Europe.
There were also a couple of National Road Series events - the Tour of Brisbane in April and Grafton to Inverell Classic in May - he might contest.
White said unlike last year when the NRS was a primary focus for him, the series would only make up a small part of his program in 2019.
He said a top objective in Europe was to ride the Tour de l’Avenir in France in August.
The 10-stage event is considered the Tour de France for under-23 riders.
White said at no stage would there be any time to relax.
He said everything would have to fall into place to get to the worlds and that meant a lot of hard work. "It's all about working harder."
Up to his point this has been a training regime featuring time in the gym and 600km on the bike each week.
