Lauren Bates is in no-woman's-land. Ahead of her, one rider leads stage 3 of the Santos Tour Down Under solo around the tough Stirling circuit. Behind her is a peloton of almost 70 riders, most of them from WorldTour teams.
Bates is trying desperately to make it to the solo leader out front but it’s not proving easy. A crash a day earlier has left Bates a little off her best, with scrapes and bruising on her arm and knee. Not to mention the fact the 18-year-old from Canberra has never raced at this level before.
While her main mission in this moment is to reach her compatriot Ella Simpson at the front of the race, Bates has a couple of overarching goals in mind. For one, she’s trying to play a role for her Australian national team. Right now that means racing aggressively, trying to get up the road, in what is her second move of the day. Later her role will be delivering bottles to her teammates.
More broadly though, Bates is hoping to get herself noticed.
At 18, Bates is in her first-year in the U23 ranks. She’s a rider who’s enjoyed great success at the junior level and is now on the hunt for a professional contract. Racing for the national team at Tour Down Under is a great opportunity to get her name out there.
But Bates isn’t alone – in Australia and beyond, young riders are doing everything they can to get noticed; to show prospective employers that they deserve a chance to race at the highest levels of the sport.
It’s not an easy road. In the men's peloton there's a dedicated U23 calendar, helping young male riders bridge the gap from juniors to elites. With the exception of a select few races, such a calendar doesn't exist on the women's side. For young women like Bates, the transition is tougher than it is for her male counterparts.
Ultimately, there’s no guarantee Bates will make it to the pro ranks, even though it seems like she’s been headed in the right direction for a while now.
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