Our Juniors at National and World Championships
Some of our Juniors have been ripping it up at the National Junior Championship in Wagga Wagga, and more recently at the World Championships in Rwanda. Here's some of the first hand accounts and photos.
Neve Parslow - Junior Women's World Championship Road Race
My first junior worlds was such an amazing experience! I arrived in Kigali, Rwanda 11 days before my race, which meant I was able to explore on my bike! Each training ride I did was different to the next, seeing so many new and different sights. I especially loved watching (the incredibly strong) locals carry huge and heavy packages on the back of their bikes - cartons, tins, bananas.
We were super lucky to be training and eating meals with the pros! It was so cool to listen to the advice and stories they had to offer, and such a great opportunity.
I had never raced at such an altitude before (1500m), and it felt very different to racing around australia. The weather was supposed to be warm, so I had been doing heat training - layering up in winter jackets and riding in the hot shed! But thankfully, we raced in the morning before the heat.
I wasn’t too nervous for the race, I knew that I had done all the training and preparation. Instead I was excited! The race started off after a long wait (this was the nervous part) at the start line next to 72 other girls. When the clock went off, I made my way to the middle of the bunch, where I stayed for most of the race.
Each lap racing up the two climbs was harder and harder, and as we dropped riders, our numbers dwindled.
Reaching the bottom of the last climb, the cobbled Cote de Kimihurura, I was positioned in the middle of the bunch. The front group pushed hard, creating a split in the peloton. I was chasing hard, but wasn’t able to catch. I reached the top of the climb in a select group only a few seconds behind the leaders, who seemed to be sitting up. We pushed hard, and as we neared the line we had nearly caught them. I rode as hard as I could, taking 3rd in my bunch sprint and 8th overall!
I’m so grateful for all the support from everyone. I am also super thankful to every single person who donated money to help me get over to Africa, it really makes me appreciate the entire cycling community. The excitement and enthusiasm from all of you guys makes my race feel extra special. Without the support from my friends and family, my coach Alex Quirk, and my club, Hamilton Wheelers, I would not have been able to achieve this amazing result.
Neve Parslow
Tully Schweitzer - Junior Women's World ChampionshipRoad Race
What a wild first worlds campaign. I couldn’t be more grateful and proud to wear the green and gold and have the support and belief from so many people. I knew it wouldn’t be easy, no race ever is, and it was worlds. In saying this, the TT was quite far off for what I had trained and knew I was able to do however it taught me so much. I was emotional and it hurt however I knew I needed to bounce back fast because I had a road race to focus on. Going into the road race, if you told me I would be placing 13th in world I would have be so stoked. I drove the pedals with hunger and finally some belief in myself. Towards the back end of the race I was testing the girls on the cobbles because I simply had good legs. Coming into the final lap, I found myself slightly down positioning wise so I had to really fight to make the back of the front group on the brutal cobbles climb, I made it and we were away - some 8 girls. Unfortunately in the final climb I was caught up in an incident and then had to ride with everything I had. Wrong time and place sadly. I am happy to come away with 13th but knowing I was there and in the front group means possibly a different story. But that’s why we love bike racing, throws curves, you find a way everytime to bounce back.
Although a lot of what we have been doing here is the usual cyclist things like training, recovery and fuelling; I have got to experience the culture too. Having my father and sister here meant I was able to go out and about on the back of motorbikes (it’s crazy), see food markets, bargain with the locals, meet some beautiful people and gosh is it different to Australia.
My time at worlds is definitely one to remember, but also fuels the fire.
Shout out to everyone at Hamilton Wheelers for your messages and support, truly I appreciate it
Aidan Parslow Junior Road Nationals in Wagga Wagga
On Thursday we had our time trial. At the start of it there was a slight slope and a light headwind, until the 5km turnaround, where I got pushed to the finish line by the tailwind. I came in 12th and broke my 10km record by about a minute and a half. I feel that I have really improved my time trial since last year, so I was pretty happy with that.
Friday was the road race, around 30km with a few good hills. I chased down quite a few attacks from riders from other states and stayed with the front group until the last hill, where I rode at a lighter pace than the group. Once I rode over the hill I tucked down and caught the group, saving me energy for the sprint. The finish was very high cadence, around 180rpm. I could’ve held a better position, but I managed to come 11th out of around 40 people, so I was pleased with how it went.
On Sunday we raced at Wagga Wagga. The crit course featured a long, high speed technical descent with a few U-turns, before a sharp uphill pinch to the finish line. It was a really fun track, but it was very easy to be dropped or be pulled back by slower riders. On the last lap I found myself close to the back of the front bunch but I managed to sprint my way up the outside from 20th to 6th. This was not my sort of race and it was the race I was least looking forward to, but I really enjoyed the course and I even impressed myself with my result.
Although I hoped my results might have been slightly better, I’m very happy with how this year's road nats went. It was great to represent Queensland, Hamilton Wheelers and the Hope cycling team at the 2025 road nats and I hope to do so again next year. Thank you to Hamilton Wheelers, Hope cycling, my coach Alex Quirk, and my parents for the coaching and support I have been given to race at events like these.
Aidan Parslow
Junior Nationals Wagga Wagga
From 18-21st September, the city of Wagga Wagga hosted the 2025 AusCycling Masters & Junior Road National Championships and Queensland was well represented by both riders from the Queensland Academy of Sport squad and individual riders. Congratulations to all who competed and a special mention to the following Hamilton Wheelers who received a medal and, in one case, a national jersey!
Individual Time Trial
Elliott King Bronze- U15 Boys
Matilda Taylor Bronze- U15 Girls
Road Race
Hannah WaltersGold - U15 Girls
Criterium
Matilda Taylor Silver- U15 Girls
Well done and thanks to all the parents who accompanied their kids down to NSW for this prestigious event.
Full Results: https://results.auscycling.org.au/Road/2025/NMJRC/