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Borders were just starting to creak open in Australia in 2022 for international cycling, but Blake Quick still managed to make a big mark as he charged to the overall victory at the Bay Crits with a clean sweep of both stages. He also swooped to victories at the Australian National Championships U23 road race and the criterium and added a sprint stage win at the Santos Festival of Cycling.
There was no doubt the Queenslander was fast. It was speed that transferred from the track to criteriums, and with that national title, Quick also proved he had staying power on the climbs.
From that January, it seemed clear he would be turning professional, the only real question remaining being with who?
That question was answered in July when Jayco-AlUla announced it had snapped up the Brisbane-born rider, who will slot into lead-out duties for Dylan Groenewegen. As a sign of the team’s respect for Quick’s abilities, they were talking about him as an option to lead the team’s “B” sprint group as well before he had even had a single race with the team.
Cyclingnews caught up with Quick while he was racing in Australia this season, turning himself inside-out to deliver teammate Brenton Jones a pre-retirement victory at Citroën Bay Crits and then coming second in the criterium at the National Championships behind fellow Jayco-AlUla rider Kelland O’Brien. The 22-year-old then headed off to a team camp to prepare for his first European race with Jayco-AlUla, the five-stage Volta a Comunitat Valenciana, which started Wednesday.
Cyclingnews: Where did cycling start for you?
Blake Quick: I actually started in triathlon. My coach was a cycling coach as well. He kind of pushed me in the direction of cycling, he said, ‘look, you’re pretty good at this’. And then he put me in contact with some of the guys from the QAS (Queensland Academy of Sports), and then we got on the track a bit and then a bit more of the crits, and it all started there.
CN: When did you decide this was the sport for you?
BQ: I was probably about 13 or 14 when I started cycling, and then yeah, I wasn’t serious until I was about 16. The track was where I initially started to excel. I had really good support there from the QAS, and all my old coaches from the QAS really did a great job with me, to push me along. And then on the road, it didn’t really start until my first year under-23 when I got picked up by St George (an Australian-based Continental cycling team).
CN: So then you did quite a bit…
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