POWERCOR Melbourne to Warrnambool Cycling Classic contender James Whelan hopes strong results during the Australian summer will spike interest from World Tour teams.
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Whelan is starring for Team BridgeLane - a UCI Continental outfit - posting a runner-up finish at the AusCycling road nationals and a win in the Santos Festival of Cycling.
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"To get a pro contract a few years ago was pretty surreal and I am currently trying to go back into a European pro team," he told The Standard.
"I am using Team BridgeLane as a stepping stone to get back to the World Tour.
"I had two big crashes last year which meant my contract didn't get renewed."
Whelan, 25, said adding a classic title to his resume would help his cause.
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"I got into the breakaway in the first year I did it in 2017.
"I am well favoured to a long race - I do a lot of training over five or six hours.
"Once you get to the fourth or fifth hour of a bike race, riders really get exposed and it makes for some exciting racing, both physically and tactically."
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The former runner, who hails from Melbourne, turned to cycling in 2016 to aid his recovery from an Achilles injury.
It was a turning point and he now spends up to 10 months a year in Europe cycling.
"It turned out I liked bike riding as much as I did running," he said.
"In Belgium, being a cyclist is like being a football player."
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Justine McCullagh-Beasy
Sports journalist with an interest in feature reporting. Email: justine.mc@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Sports journalist with an interest in feature reporting. Email: justine.mc@austcommunitymedia.com.au
