When Tamworth teenager Conor Noonan lines up for the start of the under-19 criterium at the national championships in Ballarat on Friday, it will be a major milestone in a sporting pursuit that did not exist just over a year ago.
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The 17-year-old has made rapid progress in the sport by continually pushing himself, wading out to a deep end that keeps getting deeper. “It was a bit trial by fire there at the start,” he said. “It’s still a bit like that.
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“Coming into the nationals with not a whole lot of experience under my belt, it definitely makes things a bit tough … it should be good, anyway.”
Noonan juggles road racing with mountain biking, which he took up just before the former. He finished second in the team enduro at the MBA Schools National Championships on the Gold Coast in August.
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Steven Roberts, another mountain biker turned road racer, has joined fellow Tamworth Cycle Club members Noonan and Luke Deasey at Ballarat. It is the debut nationals for all three.
Noonan and Deasey will compete in all three events – the criterium, the road race (Saturday) and the time trial (Monday).
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Noonan, in Year 12 at McCarthy Catholic College, said: “At the moment I’m not really sure what will be my best [event]. I’ve never really competed against a national peloton. I’m kind of just going into tomorrow’s [Friday] crit [criterium] and just see what happens. Probably gonna focus the most on the crit. I think it may suit me the most. But see what happens.”
At the moment the youngster enjoys mixing road racing and mountain biking events, but knows that one day he will have to make a choice between the two. “[I’m] not too worried about that decision just yet. I’m kind of putting it off as long as possible.”
