Young cyclist Xavier Farmilo was one of five Mount Gambier Cycling Club and Limestone Coast Regional Sporting Academy athletes to compete at the AusCycling Junior Track National Championships at the Anna Meares Velodrome in Brisbane, Queensland recently.
Farmilo, 14, competed against over 20 competitors in the Under 15 Boys in the Sprint, 500 metre Time Trial, 2000 metre Individual Pursuit, Points and Scratch races and Kieran events.
The endurance rider stood on the podium in the AusCycling South Australia 2023 SA and NT Junior State Track Cycling Championships last December with his performance earning him a place at nationals, where he recorded a personal best in the 2000-metre Individual Pursuit of 2:38 minutes at nationals compared to the 2:42 PB he set at the state championships.
The young rider was coached at the national competition by experienced trainer Kerran Oates, professional road and track cyclist Josh Harrison, as well as Che Thomas, Luke White, Shelby Johnson and Matt Schmidt, with the leaders honing in on Xavier’s talent to guide him on the national stage.
The young gun was awarded a grant from the Australian Sport’s Commission’s Local Sporting Champions Program which assists up and coming athletes with the cost of travel, accommodation, uniforms and equipment.
Farmilo has only been riding competitively for 18 months as a recruit of the Limestone Coast Regional Sporting Academy Talent ID Testing, a program in which the academy travels to local schools to find eligible cyclists that display sporting talent to provide them with the opportunity to access elite localised training.
“Since I had pretty good results at school, I got the email that I got in and started getting involved with the academy doing the sessions and then got to nationals eventually,” Farmilo said.
The young cyclist will now focus on the 2024 Bryton Junior Road South Australian State Series with the hope of competing at the 2024 AusCycling Juniors Road National Championships in Loxton in August.
Farmilo’s father Martin said there was an amazing, supportive vibe at the AusCycling Junior Track National Championships and was proud of all the local cyclists for their efforts including Xavier.
