Bacchus Marsh teen Graeme Frislie has cemented his spot as one of Australia’s most talented junior cyclists.
The 16-year-old has represented his state at national level, both on the road and track, since 2014, and recently won five medals at the National Junior Track Championships in Sydney.
Competing in the under-17 age group, Frislie won the 500-metre time trial, the sprint race and the team pursuit with Josh Heather, Harry Morgan and Bill Simpson. He also won silver as part of the team sprint and won bronze in the keirin event.
In qualifying for the sprint race final, Frislie set the Australian under-17 record for a flying 200 metres.
He qualified for last month’s championships at the state titles in January, and while he wasn’t surprised to have made the national championships, he said he was unsure how he would go this year.
“I was excited to be selected,” he said. “I had a lot of time off this season, as I broke my collar bone late last year at the national road championships. I didn’t expect to have the success that I did.”
It’s not the first time Frislie’s come away from national titles with a bag full of medals.
The Brunswick Cycling Club member won five events in 2015 to claim the prestigious champion of champions trophy.
His love of cycling started about six years ago.
“When I was young, I rode with my family causally,” he said.
“I saw cycling on TV and I thought it would be cool to ride.
“Now I ride at Darebin, and I’ve been there for four years consistently. I also go out with a local bunch of riders twice a week.”
With the track season finished, the Bacchus Marsh Grammar year 10 student is now looking ahead to the road season.
It’s his lesser favourite of the two categories – he says he finds road cycling more boring and not as exciting as the track.
Frislie’s next aim is to try to qualify for the Australian junior world championships next year, when he’s old enough.
Long term, he’s just going to see where cycling takes him.
“That’s the main aim [under-19 world]; it would be really good,” he said. “I would love to have the chance to go to the Olympics.
“I’ll see what path cycling takes me on. I don’t want to set a goal, as everything could be turned on its head at any time.”
