For Australian, Commonwealth and World Champion cyclist Jack Bobridge, it's safe to say cycling's in his blood.

Starting with his grandfather who was a multiple South Australian road champion, as well as uncles – but more crucially his father Kahl who became an Australian track title holder and rode internationally; it was less a matter of if Jack followed in their footsteps, as when? A decision Jack wisely left to his father who delayed his entry to competitive riding until he was 15. Kahl was keen to ensure his son didn't fall out of love with the sport because he was being pushed too hard too soon. His twin brother Daniel was also showing great promise on the road, but within a couple of years he decided he didn't have the required dedication so put his bike back in the rack as a career option.

Jack says his father's decision to hold him back had been by far the smartest thing he could have done for him as an all too eager junior. "From the time I started riding at school I was really juiced for it, and now it's something I know I really want to do as a career," he says. "And something I love doing let alone get paid to do it. So by not starting too early I didn't get to risk maybe feeling burnt out or losing my passion for it at 18, or feeling like 'jeez maybe I should have stopped when I was 16?' So from where dad let me start it's worked out perfectly.

If Jack needed any convincing he was born to ride and would make his mark in cycling, it came very quickly in 2006 when he was part of Australia's world title winning junior team pursuit. Ever since its been a spectacular ride to the very top of his sport as he graduated from making his name on the track to also forging his reputation as a world road champion.

"Because dad and my uncle and my "pop" and other family members have obviously been involved in cycling for so long – if you look at all the Australian cycling professionals on the road; well all the good ones or most of them come from a track background," Jack says. "So dad had me racing on the track because he's always told me you've got to be a good trackie to be a good roadie. So I've always done both and really enjoy the racing and training involved, and it just seems natural to pursue that.

"I love doing the individual pursuit and the individual time trial, while road racing is just fun in any form because anything can happen. But definitely in the back of my head is knowing that you can't make a living riding the track; although at the same time you can make a career from the track. So at the end of the day you have to go road and I know that, because if you make the elite level on the road it can be much more lucrative financially. But I want to make sure I'm getting all the necessary skills and everything else from the track as part of that education. Also I want to know I have given myself the chance to have a real crack on the track."

After winning numerous international and national junior track titles and being crowned Australia's "junior male road cyclist of the year" in 2007, one of Jack's few disappointments came after Australia came fourth after riding off against New Zealand for the teams pursuit bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. However, he used that near miss as motivation to waste little time in getting back on the winner's podium.

First he tasted victory in the individual and teams pursuit at the Track World Cup in Melbourne in November 2008. He added the men's 4km individual pursuit at the national track titles in Adelaide (February 2009). Then in Poland at the world track championships (March 2009) he took silver in the both the men's individual and team pursuit. All this before he was 20.

Lance Armstrong joins Jack's fan club

As for the road in 2009, he kicked the year off with stunning success in January by winning both the national Under 23 men’s road time trial as well as the road race at Ballarat. But it was his Tour Down Under (TDU) debut in Adelaide a week later that literally had the cycling world agog. During the race Jack found himself being proclaimed to the world as an exciting new star in the making by no less than seven-time Tour de France legend Lance Armstrong.

The Texan coming off the back of a three and half year retirement at the TDU, not only went out of his way to befriend Jack, but made no secret of what he thought of Jack’s aggressive style.

“I had heard how good he was, but I didn't know how aggressive he was. So, it's one thing to know or to hear about how strong somebody is, see their times on the track, realise that obviously they have some potential, but then you see their true character when you're in the race. And, you know, he's 19 years old, racing against, well, I'm, you know, older guys. And he doesn't care. He lets it fly whenever he feels good, which is - which was very impressive. He's got a lot of talent, and we'll see."

If his headline grabbing TDU performance alerted all the top ProTour teams to the emergence of a precocious new road talent, it was carved in gold when he decimated an Under 23 world road championship time trial field last September in Switzerland. Now as cycling hails the 20 year old Gawler professional’s unlimited potential as he rides his debut season for one of the  world’s elite ProTour road teams – Garmin-Transitions, Jack’s major priority remains helping Australia regain bragging rights as the dominant track nation at the 2012 London Olympics as a key member of our teams pursuit.

“If we get to London and don’t win then it’s going to be a massive disappointment because from Beijing to London – that is the goal to win gold. But at the same time almost any kid from the time you pick up a bike with any intention to race has to dream about one day having the chance to ride the Tour de France.”

While that tantalising prospect appears long on the horizon (possibly as far away as 2013)  much fascination lies in what Jack can do on the road before then, particularly over the next two years. Certainly his new Garmin-Transitions boss Jonathan Vaughters on signing Jack in May 2009, was well aware he’d secured the services of an exceptional young rider with an unlimited future. 

“Jack is a phenomenal talent – possibly the most talented rider of his generation. He excels on the road and on the track and makes an outstanding addition to our roster. We are thrilled that he decided to join Team Garmin-Slipstream (Transitions).”

With Jack and his father’s blessing, Garmin-Transitions has entered into a special arrangement with Cycling Australia that permits Jack and other promising Aussie talent – brothers Cameron and Travis Meyer to be co-developed, so they not only ride for Garmin  but continue to fulfil national commitments representing Australia via its elite Jayco-AIS development squad.

“The last thing we wanted was a situation where you fit the track in as best you can around their (ProTour) commitments,” his father says of their decision to sign with Garmin rather than accepting a bigger pay day from a rival team. “Australia really needs these young guys coming through on the track; they’ve already shown what they can do at the last world titles.”

Cycling Australia’s national performance director, Shayne Bannan told the Cycling News.com website how this arrangement wouldn’t compromise Jack or Australia's international representative aspirations. Speaking before Travis Meyer also signed, he said Garmin understood, "how important it is for us to have access to riders such as Cameron and Jack, and at critical periods to prepare for Commonwealth Games, world championships and Olympics".

If Vaughters needed any further confirmation of his Bobridge coup, it came in spades last September in Mendrisio, Switzerland, as Jack became the first Australian to win the UCI World Under 23 road time trial. He scorched over the 33.2km course to lead the race at every time check to obliterate his rivals with a winning margin of 18.73 seconds.

Considering his age which made him eligible to continue to contest the event for three more years (he’s now ineligible due to his ProTour status), his triumph in an event that can be decided by a fraction of a second was nothing less than phenomenal.

“I’d be training for it all year after claiming the Under 23 road time trial in Australia, and then last July I got another big time trial win in Turingen in Germany,” Jack recalls.”So heading into the worlds I was pretty confident, even if not many people really knew I was there. I was going really well in training leading up to it, and on the day everything went perfect – which you need to pull it off.

”While it’s doubtful he will get a chance to compete at the men’s road worlds to be held at Geelong (September-October 2010), because it would clash with his preparation to ride the individual and teams pursuit at the Commonwealth Games in Deli later in October, nobody can take away his pride in wearing the coveted rainbow colours worn as current world champion before Geelong.

The year ahead

Although bothered by knee tendonitis in late 2009 that’s caused a significant disruption to his training regime, he started 2010 with a good hit out at the Jayco Bay Cycle Classic in Victoria, before making his senior road championship debut at the nationals in Ballarat. But he was forced to skip his pet time trial event. However, it’s returning to Adelaide for the TDU (January 17-24) and what promises to be Lance Armstrong’s final race appearance in Australia, that has filled him with eager anticipation for all that now lies ahead.

“At the moment I’m training in Australia under my (AIS) coach Ian McKenzie leading into the track worlds (Denmark – March 24-28). But then when I switch over to Garmin after that I’ll be training under Matt White for the road stuff.” Despite his curtailed training, he’s anxious to make his presence felt as much as possible to immediately repay the faith shown in him by Garmin.  

“I’m really looking forward to that first race for Garmin-Transitions, and with it also being my home town it’s turned out better than I could possibly have hoped for when I originally signed earlier in 2009,” Jack reasons.

White who also coaches Cameron and Travis Meyer is excited by the youthful Australian talent now under his wing as Garmin sports director. "We are working with the best young talent across the globe, and we are able to give these riders the tools they need to excel, on the road and off."

As for Jack’s aggressive and fearless riding that’s garnered him so much respect by his peers, without the need to impress any prospective ProTour employer, will he become more conservative in his racing approach?   

“I don’t think I will ever be able to lose my race aggression because if you look at most of my results, that’s how I’ve got them by being aggressive,’ he figures. “So I don’t want to lose that – it’s an important weapon. In the future maybe I will be smarter in how I use that aggression. But then people know I’m an aggressive rider and know I’m going to have a crack, so maybe in the future I need to decide when the time is right and not just exercise it straight out of the blocks. There will come a day when I’ve got to ride a little bit smarter as I’m getting older and I am in contention for GC (General Classification), where I’ve actually got to say: “Well hang on, I can actually be in the mix”.

As Australian cycling continues to globally showcase its depth of talent on the road and track at the highest levels, watching Jack Bobridge put himself in the mix is going to prove a fun ride for his growing legion of fans who appreciate just how bright his future can be. But then that’s exactly what had Lance Armstrong all “a twitter” when he first raced Jack in Adelaide in 2009. His now famous twitter post couldn’t have been more prescient.

“For all you cycling fans - remember the name Jack Bobridge. His future’s bright.”