I'll explain.
But before that, I'll recap the Australian national cycling titles.
Kato competed as an under 19 in the time trial and the road race. He had 6 weeks of healthy training; he's been dogged for the last few years with health problems and other physical difficulties, so 6 good weeks was all right. Probably not enough, but he felt good and was riding well.
He really wanted to come in the top ten of the time trial, and felt that if he got in the top five he had a real chance of being taken on by an amateur team in Europe. He rode an excellent race I thought although his time was a little outside what he was hoping for. It was an impossibly hot day with the wind coming in the opposite from expected direction and I saw riders come in whom I thought had done worse than him, but whom I knew were "ranked" higher.
He ended up 6th in the Australian championship, 7th in Oceania.
He was a little disappointed even so as there had been an incident early in the trial which had rattled him and lost him some seconds if not a minute or so. So he thought that although he had come within the top 10 he could actually have moved up a couple of places. Who knows.
His perception was definitely that no one from Europe would be tapping him on the shoulder. And I guess that even in Australia he was still largely invisible.
4:35:09 AM 
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