How Adelaide cyclist Tom Chapman won his way onto Katusha’s team for the Bay Crits starting in Geelong on Tuesday

AUSTRALIAN WorldTour cycling star Nathan Haas was on a bunch ride in Adelaide last week when he saw a young guy take a gravel corner at high speed and he had to ask.

Adelaide cyclist Tom Chapman (right) will ride with professional team Katusha Sports and Nathan Haas during the Bay Crits this week. Picture: Laura Fletcher.

AUSTRALIAN WorldTour cycling star Nathan Haas was on a bunch ride in Adelaide last week when he saw a young guy take a gravel corner at high speed and he had to ask.

“I was next to Alex Edmondson and I said ‘who the hell is that?’,” Haas said.

“And he was like ‘oh, that’s my mate, Tom Chapman’.

“Then we got home and I still hadn’t put two and two together and worked out that it was the same Tom who had entered our competition.”

When Haas eventually joined the dots he decided Chapman, 23, would be a worthy winner of Katusha Alpecin’s nation-wide competition to recruit two local riders for the Bay Crits which start in Geelong on Tuesday.

The other winner is 19-year-old Victorian Dylan McKenna and they will join WorldTour professionals Haas, Alex Dowsett and Marco Haller for the three days of racing this week.

They will ride for the Katusha Sports Team - which is separate to the WorldTour team - but in a summer kit inspired and designed by Haas who has been top five overall at the Tour Down Under and Amstel Gold Race.

Chapman works for his dad’s fabrication business while going to university in Adelaide and was urged to enter Katusha’s competition by his local Focus team manager Mark Chadwick.

“It was like a mini resume and an explanation of why you want to race, so I jotted down a couple of things and didn’t think too much of it after that,” Chapman said.

“I’m beyond stoked, I’m feeling very lucky, it was a bit of a shock but I’m very happy.”

Haas, 29, has spent the past 10 days training in Adelaide and admits his form is unknown but he’s looking forward to starting the new season.

“I was super happy the Bay Crits came back, they can be the best way to get that last bit of sharpness before nationals and you can start the season with no pressure and still get a good hit-out,” he said.

Nathan Haas during last year’s Tour Down Under. Picture: Daniel Kalisz (Getty).

“Sometimes I’ve felt like I’m flying and the racing has been moderately good, and other times I’ve thought I’m not going well but the racing has been great.

“So January form is the hardest thing in the whole world to predict. I’m healthy and starting to go fast, but how fast, I don’t know yet, we’ll see.”

He also hopes Katusha’s left-field idea to recruit two local riders will inspire them to take their cycling careers as far as possible.

“Young riders will be able to integrate with us and see with WorldTour riders the level is high and definitely elite but we’re still just bike riders and we want them to know that it is touchable, and there for them if they want it,” Haas said.

“We wanted to find some young guys with experience, on the cusp of doing something special or looking for an experience to motivate them to put some more work in and see where it goes.”

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Originally published as How Adelaide cyclist Tom Chapman won his way onto Katusha’s team for the Bay Crits starting in Geelong on Tuesday