The Australian Cycling Academy has announced that Skip Capital, a firm “headed up by Kim Jackson and Atlassian co-founder Scott Farquhar”, has signed a three-year partnership agreement with the team.

 

“Cycling is a huge passion of mine,” says Scott Farquhar, “it’s part of who I am – so I’m incredibly excited to be part of Australia’s cycling community in a new way through this partnership with the Australian Cycling Academy.”

Farquhar and Kim Jackson are involved with Skip Capital, a “private investment fund with a passion for transformation and technology”. Today it was announced that the brand would join ACA’s team – known as ARA Pro Cycling Sunshine Coast in 2022 – as part of a three-year sponsorship / partnership arrangement.

Scott Farquhar, co-founder of Atlassian, is a passionate cyclist who is part of Skip Capital, a new partner of the Australian Cycling Academy.

We wait to see if this means the title will incorporate the Skip Capital logo or any other branding but the good news for the team is that it’s additional investment for a project established by former pro rider Matt Wilson and his associates a few years ago.

“This partnership will allow us to further grow our program and create opportunities for the next generation of young athletes,” said Wilson in a release issued on Wednesday. “We’re incredibly humbled to have their support.”

The collaboration with Jackson – who is described on Skip Capital’s site as an “ex-investment banker, ex-rock musician” – and Farquhar will bring fresh energy to a team that has already paved the way for a number of Australian riders to progress to top-tier teams after their involvement with Wilson and his cohort.

Based on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, the team has helped to develop the likes of Cameron Scott and Maeve Plouffe – two riders who will move on in 2023 to join Bahrain-Victorious and Team DSM, respectively.

The release heralds the arrival of Skip Capital and although exact details of its involvement are thin, there’s considerable scope to expand on what has already been a successful development program.

“With the continued support of the ACA’s major sponsors, the partnership with Skip Capital boosts the team’s solid foundations, and their ability to create new opportunities for young Australian cyclists riding for the current ARA Pro Racing Sunshine Coast team.”

It’s one step forward for a team that is doing things differently. The Australian Cycling Academy was founded by Wilson and Ben Kersten as a “not-for-profit cycling development program” with the intention of “creating a better future for Australian cyclists, on and off the bike”. With new investment and the chance to partner with Skip Capital, the future seems bright. The question is: what’s next for a team that has already achieved a great deal at a difficult time for the domestic cycling scene?

We wait to see what develops but, based on the early years of the Academy, good things should be expected.

 

– By Rob Arnold

 

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