Nick White has enjoyed an enormous year on the bike.
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He had a dream start by being crowned national under-23 road race champion at Buninyong.
The Ballarat youngster rode in WorldTour events, the Tour Down Under and Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, and Herald Sun Tour before venturing onto foreign shores in Team Bridgelane colours.
White won a stage of the Tour de Taiwan and had a stage podium finish in the Tour of Japan.
It was then off to Europe, with a couple of warm-up events before representing Australia in the Tour de L'Avenir in France and world road championships in England.
In the end it was almost a relief to get to the worlds after the highs and lows of a sometime gruelling campaign.
White said representing Australia had been great. "It was cool to be part of a national team."
He said there was also a fair amount of pressure when in Australian colours - pressure to live up to selection and the scrutiny that went with it.
White said as much fun as the year had been, missing a WorldTour pro contract had been disappointing.
"I can't complain (overall), but I was hoping."
He is not about give up on that dream though, with his sights set on another big start to the year.
White is again hoping to get a ride in the Tour Down Under to kick off 2020 before ultimately riding in Asia and Europe again with Bridgelane.
He is planning this time though to better manage his program.
On reflection White believes not taking a quality break during the year took a toll on him.
He said he was eager to take every opportunity which went his way, but as a result never really found the time to freshen up.
White said he still had plenty of time to earn a contract, based on the experience of Bridgelane teammates Chris Harper and Dylan Sunderland this year.
In their mid-20s, Harper and Sunderland earned World Tour contracts for 2020, with Jumbo-Visma and Team NTT respectively.
he just needs to get the job done under the guidance of his mentor Pat Shaw in Ballarat.
And this will start with the Cycling Australia Road National Championships in Ballarat.