Lachlan Cameron’s fourth season as a track cyclist athlete will go down as his biggest yet as he prepares to travel to France for the 2024 UCI Masters Track World Championships.
The 38-year-old Narrabri man and his family will fly out on Monday and will spend a few days in Paris before making their way to Roubaix, a town north of the French capital, for the championships.
Cameron became eligible to take part in the event after winning a gold medal in the 3000-metre individual pursuit at the AusCycling Masters Track National Championships at the Anna Meares Velodrome in March, where he also received a silver medal for placing second in the 1000-metre time trial.
He will line up for both of those events in Roubaix and is relishing the opportunity to test himself on the world stage.
Cameron has been quite successful across several other sports in the past, including cricket, rugby league and rugby union, but this will be his first time representing his nation at an international event, which he said was a proud feeling.
“My heart skipped a beat when the uniform order came in and I saw the Australian kit, and when it arrived and I got it out of the packaging and looked at it, with the green and gold and first nations designs splashed through it,” Cameron said.
“I don’t know if it’s really quite sunk in yet. It’s an ‘I’ll wear the uniform when I compete and then it’s straight to the pool room’ type thing.
“I think when I get over there and put the kit on, it will sink in a little bit.
“Initially I used to make jokes about the masters stuff being just a bunch of old people, but there are former Olympians that do it.
“Marshall (coach Damon Marshall) at one point said, ‘I know we sort of joke about the masters stuff but if you had the opportunity to race a world champs, you’re representing Australia, which would actually be pretty cool and something to work towards’.
“To be honest, it was always in the back of my mind, always scribbled down there somewhere to try and get the opportunity to do this at some point.
“The last 12 weeks have been quite full-on. It’s engulfed my life a little bit. Once the decision was made to go, I scribbled down a few things to give myself the best opportunity to compete to the best of my ability, and I think I still haven’t quite reached my potential ceiling.
“The results have been good in the gym and on the bike of late, and that’s settling the nerves a little bit because at least I feel like I’m prepared.
“Where the nerves are coming from are the unknowns – new velodrome, new country, sorting out how to get my bike there, not being able to go through my normal pre-race routine, working out how to get myself to the velodrome without having a car.
“Those things add to the nerves, but physically I’m in good nick for it.”
The Narrabri man has come a long way in his short career in the sport, and he has even surprised himself with his progress.
“I generally bite off more than I can chew and keep biting until I get there, but something like this, I don’t know if I saw myself doing, or winning medals at a national champs in my third season,” he said.
“I set out as the 1k as my main event, but I seem to keep having success in the 3k, which my body shape is not really made for. Most of the guys I’m racing are 10 kilos lighter, and some even more.
“Heading into this, I’ve changed the training focus to more suit the 3k. I’ve been doing a lot more endurance stuff, which hopefully will pay off.”
Cameron’s first race is the time trial on Saturday, October 5, and he will back up the following day on Sunday, October 6, for the individual pursuit.
He will spend time with his family in Paris sight-seeing and acclimatising in the lead-up to the event, and afterwards will travel to Barcelona to celebrate he and wife Megan’s 11th wedding anniversary before heading home.
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