Watts leading the blind

Watts at the Yamba Triathlon Festival.

NEW CHALLENGE: Local cyclist Aaron Watts chats with Australian Triathlete and Olympian Craig Walton. Watts is about to start working with Paralympian Bryce Lindores. PHOTOS: JOJO NEWBY

TODAY Aaron Watts is settling into his new surrounds on the Gold Coast.

The Yamba cyclist has made the move north to undertake an unusual role.

Watts will work with two-time blind Paralympian Bryce Lindores to prepare for a third tilt at Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

"I'll be living in Miami for the next year and training with Bryce to get him as fit as possible," Watts said.

"He spent about a week with me in Yamba about a month ago. I'd never ridden a tandem bike before and it was a different experience, I'll tell you that."

Watts may even ride with Lindores at the Olympics as the able-bodied guide at the front, controlling the gears, brakes and steering while the power load is shared evenly.

"Hopefully," he said. "I've never ridden a track bike which is what he specialises in. I'll have to try it and see how it goes."

Watts is confident the different training schedule will be a benefit, rather a hindrance, to his own road cycling career.

The 23-year-old steps up from Elite A to National Road Series Men when the season starts with the Battle of the Border Tour on May 15. Last year he finished fifth overall in Elite A for the four-day event based in the surrounds of Murwillumbah.

On the weekend he attended a training camp at Port Macquarie with his team Racing Kangaroos.

"Working with him on a tandem bike will make me a lot stronger.

"Training's in full swing. My coach Morgan Pilley has got me doing a lot of ks. At the moment I'm riding between 600 and 650 per week and as the season progresses it will start to become more."

Originally published as Watts leading the blind