ARA | Skip Capital – 2026 U19 Team EOI
Expressions of interest are now open to join ARA | Skip Capital, Junior U19 men’s and women’s teams in 2026;
Program objectives:
- To identify Australia’s best young cyclists and provide a genuine pathway to European U23 and WorldTour Teams
- To support and develop talent to maximise sporting potential
- To provide maximum racing exposure to achieve results to gain selection into WorldTour development pathways
- To ensure young riders continue to focus on formal education and training whilst pursing sporting excellence
Indicative program overview:
- From received EOI’s, the ACA will invite a maximum of 8 men & 8 women, to join the program
- Selection will made via a panel of selectors that includes: Two ACA representatives, one AusCycling representative and one independent representative.
- The indicative race program:
- National Champs (semi-supported)
- ProVelo Super League program
- Fully staffed and supported 75 to 90-day period in Europe. This block will incur a levy.*
- Riders that can obtain a full-time visa for Europe and have the ability to stay for a longer period, an additional period of time to compete in Europe may be arranged through a shared arrangement with an alternative team
- Full supply of equipment including clothing, helmets, accessories & road bike (TT bikes available at cost price)
Criteria for selection:
- Program eligibility is for cyclists in the U19 junior category only
- Additional weighting will be given in selection to riders currently in the program
- All riders must remain in formal education or training for the duration of the contract period. Education may include, but not be limited to;
- Secondary School Certificate of Education (i.e., SACE, VCE, or International Baccalaureate (IB) etc)
- TAFE and/or Vocational Education Training (VET) (i.e., Traineeship or Apprenticeship)
- Tertiary study (i.e., Undergraduate degree)
- There will be flexibility around riders that have finished high-school in their final year of U19 and wish to pursue a gap year
- Aptitude towards program objectives
- Race results & experience. A full CV must be submitted with the EOI
- Physiological ability. Riders must provide their physiological and training data, including but not limited to Critical Power (Relative and Absolute), Work Capacity (kJ) as well as their power curve. **
* 90 days is the maximum an Australian junior can do without a Visa or EU Passport. Levy will be capped at $4000
** All personal data from unsuccessful applicants will be deleted once the EOI is complete as part of our privacy policy
EOI closes September 10, and all applicants will be notified by email of acceptance by no later than September 23rd.
2025 National U17 Road Championship results will be considered as part of all applications and do not need to be included in the submitted CV as the event falls after the deadline.
All applications to be submitted to Matt Wilson: matt@aca-cycling.cc
