'Shocked' ACTAS cycling star Lauren Bates a star on the rise after Youth Commonwealth Games

Because "she hadn't raced on a track at all since April" - so her gold medal haul at the Youth Commonwealth Games in Trinidad and Tobago might have exceeded expectations.

Bates emerged as one of Australian cycling's shining lights when she claimed three gold medals and two silvers earlier this month.

The ACTAS scholarship holder blitzed the field in the individual time trial to start Australia's gold rush - and she didn't stop there.

Bates backed up with gold in the points race and 7.5 kilometre scratch race, and won silver in the road race and 2000m individual pursuit.

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Now the 17-year-old wants to follow in the footsteps of Chloe Hosking, a 2018 Commonwealth Games champion who also rose through the ranks in Canberra.

"She came onto my radar a number of years ago. She won the under 17 individual pursuit championship and broke a national record that had stood for probably 20 years nearly," Doney said.

"I thought 'she has obviously got something'. She got offered a place in the ACTAS program, she accepted, and I started coaching her from there.

"She's finished year 12, got that out of the way, and can concentrate on her cycling.

"She wants to follow in the footsteps of some of the other professionals who have come on through, like the Chloe Hoskings of the world and go over and race in Europe to see if she can make a mark for herself over there and then cross over onto the track as well."

Australia ultimately topped the medal tally at the Youth Commonwealth Games, with a 64-medal haul including 26 gold, 17 silver and 21 bronze.

Bates and NSW product Keira Will are being hailed as Australia's most successful cyclists of the Games after the pair split medals throughout the competition.

The future of Australian cycling looks to be in good hands - and perhaps even better when you factor in the recent success of Canberra's newly-crowned world champion Oscar Chamberlain.

The 18-year-old claimed the junior world championship time trial in Scotland earlier this month and is daring to dream of eventually winning a world title at the elite level.

Bates could tell a similar story, and now her path to get there looks a little clearer following word the UCI will introduce an under 23 category for women in 2025.

It is a well-worn path walked by men's cyclists like Michael Matthews, and it will be introduced just in time for ACTAS prospect Bates, who otherwise would have leapt straight into the elite women's category with the world's best.

"She's only a first year, she's only just 17. She's got a second year in under 19s next year, so she is going to go and do it all again," Doney said.

"Next year she will probably try and race the road junior world championships and the track junior world championships.

"This year we only concentrated on track, you don't want to burn them at both ends because the candle doesn't last very long. We're trying to only burn it at one end.

"The results at road will be paramount for her trying to secure a contract in 2025.

"The good thing is the UCI has just announced in 2025 there will be an under 23 [women] competition brought in. They already have that for the men.

"Previous to that, girls would be 18 and have to step straight into elite competition, racing against Olympic and world champions, women who have been doing it for 10 years.

"This under 23 category will be a nice stepping stone to move across rather than jumping in the deep end and a lot of them giving it away after realising just how hard it is to jump in with the seasoned women.

"It's going to be a much better venture, and she is just going to be in the right place at the right time for that."

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