Ararat cyclist Alice Culling is ready for her first year as a senior rider for the Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS) team.
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Culling made the move to the senior ranks straight after the junior world championships in Switzerland in August. She managed to get third place in the madison and fourth in the teams pursuit at the junior world championships.
Culling said it was a big step up from the junior ranks to the senior ranks.
“(The step up has) been pretty intense ever since junior worlds,” she said.
“The junior worlds is a good stepping stone into the elite ranks. It’s a bit more to develop off and in the senior ranks you learn so much more from it.”
Now that Culling is a senior rider, she said it was surreal when she was lining up against cyclists that she looked up to.
“You are racing your idols and it’s pretty scary because you are racing these people that you look up to and then all of a sudden you are then trying to push them around as well,” she said.
“The girls are amazing and they really make you feel welcome in the racing as well so it is great.”
It caps off a long, hard year for Culling, who began the season as a junior rider in the national championships in Brisbane at the start of 2018.
She then claimed two silver medals in the madison and the team pursuit which earned her spot in the junior world championships.
Culling said she was happy to be a part of the team at the junior world championships.
“It’s always an honour putting on the green and gold,” she said.
“Doing that for the second year in a row was really good, and coming home with a medal is always great.
“Coming home with something to show off all your hard work is really good.”
“You are racing your idols and it’s pretty scary because you are racing these people that you look up to and then all of a sudden you are then trying to push them around as well,”
- Alice Culling
Looking ahead, Culling said this season was all about developing in the senior ranks.
“I am not expecting anything too big result wise,” she said.
“Of course I want to go nationals in March in Brisbane, and hopefully new times because we have bigger distances now.
“Just to try and work my way up the ranks I suppose. It’s all about development this year.”
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