Canberra cyclist Cameron Rogers gains confidence he belongs on world stage

He finished 22^nd in the junior men's road race at the world championships in Wollongong on Friday, with fellow Canberran Oscar Chamberlain three places ahead of him - with Germany's Emil Herzog taking the win.

The 17-year-old said it was an awesome experience to race in the worlds on home soil - lapping up the chants of "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie" from the home fans.

He also finished 14^th in the junior time trial on Tuesday, with countryman Hamish McKenzie claiming the silver medal.

Now he's going to have a well-earned break back in Canberra, before switching his attention to the national championships in Ballarat at the start of next year.

But not before he becomes one of those Aussies in the crowd cheering for Michael Matthews - Australia's big hope of being crowned world champion in the men's road race on Sunday.

"Crazy. It started raining midway through and was probably even crazier than I thought it would be," Rogers said.

"There's a massive hill in our road race that we did eight times over and it started getting a bit sore the last few times, started getting cramps.

"It showed how quick some of these other guys are and it made me feel confident knowing that I'm actually up there and able to compete with the world's best.

"Hopefully I've got my name out there a bit more."

The nephew of former three-time world champ Michael Rogers took the chance to catch-up and get some words of advice from his uncle before the road race.

This was about getting experience on the world stage with the goal now to climb to the top of the podium one day as a professional.

"That's the dream, that's the goal. This experience racing with all these European guys and people from all over the world, the best in the world, it's something else," Rogers said.

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"It's been awesome having [my uncle] here, especially with him being the accomplished rider that he is and having won things like this three times in a row as a pro.

"It's awesome having someone so close to me that can help me.

"He was letting me know it is the world champs and it would be good to win the world champs, but when you're this young it's a long game.

"My goal in the end is to be a pro and do this as my job, and become the world champ when I'm one of the pros.

"He said this is mainly for experience and if you do well that's just a bonus."

Rogers relished the whole experience, which also allowed him to mix with the Australian senior team and see how the professionals prepared.

That included getting a birds-eye view of Matthews, who he said looked in tip-top shape.

Rogers relished being able to compete on the world stage on roads in his home country - roads he's raced on before.

"Having people cheer for you and just hearing, 'Aussie, Aussie, Aussie' that sort of thing - everyone on your side - it's amazing," he said.

"But also just having it in the country you grew up in and the place you've raced in and dreamed of racing, of racing pro, as a young kid - it's pretty amazing."

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