Jayden does thousands of kilometres on the road

The teenager has pedalled up his training to about 350km a week as he prepares for the September 12-14 event in Toowoomba, where he will compete in three under-17 races: a 15km time trial, a 70km road race and a 30-minute street circuit.

Having been cycling for about 2½ years with his father Terry as coach, Jayden recently started training with Barry Waneless and senior riders, who he said sometimes keep up.

‘I do a group ride on Fridays and Saturdays with Bike Force Woodvale, just with grown-ups,’ he said.

‘A-grade is about the same level as me.’

Although he now enjoys the rush of cycling, Jayden initially took up the sport and became a junior member of Northern Beaches Cycling Club because of his younger brother.

‘My brother wanted to do it, so we just bought a few bikes,’ he said.

His father added he just bought a faster bike.