Less than 2 years ago, Jason Lowndes was an amateur, a totally unknown rider from Australia, and a late bloomer who spent most of his days riding mountain bikes and even BMX.

About the same time, 2 oceans and 10,000 km apart, Cycling Academy, the first Israeli Pro team, was taking its first baby steps, just weeks away from its first ever race.

Fast forward to today, and the improbable scenario has become a reality: the Israeli team takes the Australian as their last foreign rider to complete its international roster for its first Pro Continental season. The announcement of two more Israeli riders in the next few days will complete the 16-rider roster.

Lowndes was born in the gold mining town of Kalgoorlie and later moved to Bendigo as a kid, which proved to be pivotal on his path to becoming a professional cyclist. In Australia, Bendigo is a town known as a mecca of cycling, located just a short 150 km away from Melbourne:

“Cycling is not very popular in Australia, but luckily it is in Bendigo!” he says. Lowndes firmly believes that move played a key role in his decision to race: “For me, biking was just fun. But then I noticed the cyclists that pass my home on the way to the weekly race, so I got interested”.

“Who would have thought it would happen?“ laughed the 21-year-old Australian while trying to summarize his two years of almost meteoric rise through the ranks. “I was sitting here at home in Bendigo after having a few good national races and thought to myself: I just love to travel, so why not give it a try? So I wrote a letter to a Canadian team to see if they might be interested in giving me a chance. And believe me, if they would have said “no” I wouldn’t have been surprised at all”…

That continental team from Quebec, Garneo Quebecor, was willing to take the risk. From there, it was a (very) fast track affair, which the easy-going Australian openly admits has taken even him by surprise. From the start, he showed that he belonged at the teams level, amassing 9 wins and 8 podiums with his Canadian team. It was impressive enough to earn him a chance to ride for a much bigger team in 2016: Drapac Professional Cycling.

But Lowndes did not slow down there. In his first stage race in San Luis, he beat the World Champion Peter Sagan in a sprint — “One of my biggest moments” — and, he finished the season by taking 6th place in the U23 World Championship.

“A lot of people will say I am just a lucky guy, but I will take this as an insult. Yeah, I got a chance. A lot of people get a chance, but the question is what they do with it. I took it and worked extremely hard, and did not hesitate in taking risks when needed. Certainly avoiding bad decisions”.

His fast development attracted the attention of the Israeli Team, who was looking to bolster their new Pro Conti roster with a bold, young sprinter- the last piece in its Pro Conti puzzle.

“We loved his ambition, self confidence, and of course, his rapid development,” said Manager Ran Margaliot who sets a policy of signing riders who he believes are on the verge of blossoming when given bigger roles.

Lowndes is certainly seeking the chance:

“Till now I rarely got a chance to be the designated sprinter. I was concentrating on leading out others. That was fine, but I am waiting for the opportunity to be the one that is expected to win the bunch sprint. Pressure? I will take it!”

Lowndes, who still lists his curiosity to travel the world as a big part of his racing motivation, will certainly get to travel, as his new team is based far away from his home in Bendigo: ” I cant wait to get to Tel Aviv for our first training camp. I’ve heard so much about it!”