Sunday's Federation University Australia Road National Championship road race will likely be the last time U23 women will line up scattered among the elite women. A stand-alone race in this category could be held as early as 2025.

"We were one of the first countries to recognize women under 23, and we have had podiums in criteriums, time trials, and road races." I think that was a good, proud starting point."

However, it appears that this journey needs to take another step forward.

The first road world championship to include a U23 women's title was held in Wollongong exactly two years ago, in 2022. However, the recognition of the U23 women's title is a positive step, as the U23 men have long had titles and independent races on both national and world platforms. However, the format of a combined U23 and elite race certainly has its pitfalls.

First, that famous photo of them celebrating with their hands raised as they cross the finish line in first place does not exist. In fact, in a field made up of elite and U23 athletes, the battle for the elite title often takes precedence over any other contenders, so that sometimes athletes do not even know if they have won until after the competition is over.

The Road World Championships will transition to a stand-alone women's U23 event in 2025, and according to AusCycling's Kaufman, a decision will be announced next year in early 2024 as to whether the transition will occur. If so, the stand-alone U23 women's race would be held in parallel with the National Championships, the first time in nearly 20 years that the event has moved away from Ballarat.

"We want the U23 women's road race in particular to be a stand-alone race because of this transition," Kaufman said.

However, there are issues and important considerations that need to be addressed before that possibility becomes a reality.

"We need to do two things. To make sure that we can make this work from an operational standpoint: ...... And to make sure it's the best option from a player development standpoint and from a team development standpoint," Kaufman said. 'I don't want to speak for them, but we will also engage stakeholders as part of the process.'

Even if there are hurdles in terms of logistics, that issue is not likely to be allowed to be a showstopper.

"We probably haven't done that stakeholder part because we haven't overcome the logistics part, the operational challenges yet," says Kaufman.

"But just because there are operational challenges doesn't mean we shouldn't be doing it. [We've] found a way to do it with the under-19s, and we've found a way to do it with paracycling. We certainly need to be leaders in the under-23 women."

Twenty-two U23 women are on the start list for Sunday's U23/elite women's road race. Ella Simpson won the U23 women's road race title in 2023.

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