On Saturday in Buninyong, Cyrus Monk made a name for himself winning the U23 national Australian road title. The 21-year-old only started racing in his final year of school. Prior to cycling, Monk immersed himself in a variety of activities, school and sports. While cricket and football have fallen by the wayside for Monk, music continues to be a key component of his life into his 20s.
A third-year student at the University of Melbourne, majoring in physiology, Monk's pathway into the sport might be unusual, but on the bike, his tenacity and strength hold him in good stead.
A ride as a trainee with Cannondale-Drapac last year exposed Monk to high-level European racing and left him knowing the dream of a professional contract is within his reach. He continued with the Drapac EF p/b Cannondale Holistic Development Team this season but knows that wins are required to step up to the WorldTour level. On the first opportunity, he duly delivered.
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"You try and picture that every training ride for the past four months so it is pretty hard to believe it has actually happened," Monk said of his biggest win to date.
On Saturday morning, Monk was "furious" with the decision by Cycling Australia to cut the length of the U23 men's road race due to extreme weather conditions - high temperatures and blustery winds that threatened to turn into raging bushfires through the dry Ballarat scrubland.
Like his namesake Thelonious and possibly drawing on his own jazz background, Monk improvised, making a long-range, solo, successful bid for the win.
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