The former Ballarat Clarendon College student finished fourth in the general classification of the Paris-Nice last month after a solid eight days of racing.

It was the 25-year-old's highest overall finish in a World Tour race and it didn't come easy.

Hamilton, originally from Ararat, started the final stage in sixth, 23 seconds shy of the podium, and picked up valuable time in the first sprint, which proved enough to leapfrog his competitors in the standings.

Hamilton was Team BikeExhange's main man for the race, having been earmarked as the Australian team's next general classification leader when he signed a new contract late last year.

"I am really satisfied; I think it was a good week. This is my first race as the team's sole GC leader, and the boys helped me a lot," Hamilton said

"When you finish fourth, it means there's always room for improvement, and of course, you look back, but I have a lot of racing ahead. There's a big season coming up, and so I'm looking forward to it."

Alongside his fourth-overall finish, the up-and-comer also came second in the youth classification.

Hamilton, regarded as one of the nation's most promising cycling talents, backed up his Paris-Nice showing with a tenth-place finish in the general classification of the Volta a Catalunya later in the month.

The climber shared leadership duties with former Vuelta a Espana winner Simon Yates for the seven-stage race.

"I think this race is up there with the toughest one-week races that I have done. It was a good final day for us...it just wasn't meant to be in the end, that group didn't stay away to the line, but then we just drilled it on the final laps, and so it was pretty hard all day," Hamilton said.

"In the end, we had three guys there in the final group and finished with three in the top-10, and we can be happy with the whole week."

Team BikeExchange has previously said it views its homegrown star as a future Grand Tour leader.

"We've seen a really steady progression in Lucas' development, and we see a big future with Lucas as a leader in this team," head sport director Matt White said.

"From the limited grand tour experiences he has, he is definitely a guy that has the potential and is going to lead us in the three-week race."

Hamilton made his Grand Tour debut in 2019 at the Giro d'Italia and finished fourth in stage seven.

He was a solid chance in the 2020 edition of the Giro, rising as high as 17th overall before his team withdrew due to positive COVID-19 cases in its bio-secure bubble.

With Simon Yates set to lead Team BikeExchange at the Giro this year, it's yet to be decided what Grand Tour Hamilton will ride in.

Both the Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana sit as genuine possibilities.