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‘We just started up our own team’: the force behind Australia’s road cycling success | Kieran Pender

09-Oct-2021 19:00:41 | The Guardian

BridgeLane was born from humble beginnings in Tasmania but has become a nursery for successful Grand Tour riders

Australian road cycling is currently riding high. In the past 15 months, Australians have finished on the podium across the trifecta of Grand Tours: Richie Porte at the 2020 Tour de France, Jai Hindley at the subsequent Giro d’Italia and, just last month, Jack Haig at the Vuelta a España. Emerging star Ben O’Connor won stages at both the Tour and the Giro, and finished fourth overall in France this year. With time on the side of Hindley, Haig and O’Connor, and a number of other young stars waiting in the wings, the future looks bright.

At his home in Tasmania, Andrew Christie-Johnston is half a world away from these triumphs. But he deserves much credit – and not just for staying up until the early hours to watch (although his bleary eyes betray that, too). Three of the four riders – Porte, Haig and O’Connor – came through Christie-Johnston’s domestic team, Team BridgeLane. In total, the team manager and coach has helped 12 Australians step up to the World Tour. Not bad for a two-decade-long passion project.