Ararat phenom Lucas Hamilton has shifted his attention to one of cycling's most prestigious Grand Tours, after a late withdrawal from the Road World Championships.
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The 24-year-old was set to represent Australia this week, but a stellar showing at the Tirreno-Adriatico earlier this month prompted a change of plans.
Hamilton dominated the Italian mountains to win stage four of the event and with it the first WorldTour stage win of his career.
"I was super happy," he told cycling outfitter Sidi about the stage win.
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"It's been a tough year, so getting my first victory after the lockdown in this way was really nice."
Cycling Australia did not offer an official reason for Hamilton's withdrawal.
The world championships were only given the green light in early September, and moved from Switzerland to Italy, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hamilton finished last year's Giro - which was the first Grand Tour of his career - as the highest-ranked Australian, in 25th place.
Despite his personal stocks rising, Hamilton said he was committed to helping Mitchelton-Scott teammate Simon Yates finish on the podium.
"My next and final race of the year is the Giro," he said.
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"I think we showed, at the Tirreno-Adriatico, that our team is looking very good to help Simon achieve something he's been trying for the last few years and was very close to pulling it off. So, for me it's a big goal to help him to get the pink jersey."
This year's Giro is set to get underway with a 15-kilometre individual time trial on October 3.
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