It was far from the perfect start for his new team, but Canberra cyclist Rory Sutherland has vowed to bounce back from a broken leg.
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The 37-year-old fractured his femur while riding an electric scooter in Israel.
In stark contrast, young Canberra mountain biker Kye A'Hern hoped being named junior Australian cyclist of the year would be the perfect start for when he joins senior ranks in 2020.
Sutherland was on a camp with his new team - Israel Start-Up Nation - when the accident occured on the same day as the team's launch last Wednesday.
He took to social media to say he was recovering well from surgery in a Tel Aviv hospital.
The veteran was brought to the new cycling team to be a road captain in their inaugural season on the World Tour.
But he will likely miss the start of the season.
"A small speed bump in life, we've all had them and will continue to have them," Sutherland said on Instagram.
"Normally I bounce well, but this accident I didn't and fractured my femur. It's been an experience to say the least.
"Right now I need patience, these things take time, in a few days I should be home and the rehab will continue for quite a while. It's far from the end."
It's only the beginning for A'Hern, who added his junior-of-the-year gong to the world championship title he won in September.
He wasn't sure what was more exciting - being named both junior cyclist of the year or junior male mountain biker of the year in Brisbane on Monday night or getting his braces off on Tuesday.
Fellow Canberran Zoe Cuthbert won junior female mountain biker of the year as well.
A'Hern will join senior ranks in 2020 and will train over summer before joining his Canyon team for a training camp in France at the end of January.
The world cup series starts in April.
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He was hopeful he could one day win the Sir Hubert Opperman Trophy as the senior cyclist of the year.
It would mean he'd be the first mountain biker to do so since Caroline Buchanan in 2013 - the year she was a dual BMX and mountain bike world champion.
He's overcome the broken wrist from the worlds and is back in full training.
"I got so used to braces I don't know what to do with myself at the moment. It feels good though," A'Hern said.
"I definitely didn't expect to get the overall cyclist of the year ... but that was really special.
"To finish off the junior ranks on a high and being the best Australian junior cyclist finishing your junior career is nice."
David Polkinghorne
Covering the Raiders, Cavalry, cycling and racing, plus everything else that involves sport in the ACT, for The Canberra Times. Basically I love sport and watching it is a full-time job. Email: david.polkinghorne@canberratimes.com.au
Covering the Raiders, Cavalry, cycling and racing, plus everything else that involves sport in the ACT, for The Canberra Times. Basically I love sport and watching it is a full-time job. Email: david.polkinghorne@canberratimes.com.au
