The Armidale School's Toby Inglis selected to join Avantias Pro Racing

The 15-year-old attracted the attention of team selectors after placing fourth for NSW and fifth overall in the NSW under 15s State Road Cycling championships at Wagga Wagga last October and for his dedication to the training and commitment to the sport.

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It was the first junior road race for Toby, who was previously more accustomed to mountain biking - though his selection with Avantias will mean he will be devoting more time to develop his road racing skills competing for his new team around the country - and the possibility of going further.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for pathways and development that I couldn't have had before.

My main goal is to develop my riding fitness and skills in a team environment and do my absolute best in my racing, and I'm very grateful to Avantias for the opportunity to race for them against other national teams," he said.

Racing for the team is also more likely to put him on the radar of larger teams affiliated with the sport's governing body UCI (Union Cycliste internationale) including those based in Europe.

For now, Toby is in the saddle a couple of hours six days a week training alongside fellow cyclist Holly Harris whose father Dave is Toby's coach and whose brother Michael is also in the team.

"At the moment I am doing a lot of interval training and mountain biking as Mountain Bike Nationals is in two weeks in Tasmania," Toby said.

"Then after that I will be doing a lot more on the road bike as the Junior National Road series are coming up.

"I am mainly training in Armidale but nearly all of the main races are on the east coast," he said.

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