The Australian national champion's green and gold striped jersey will be unveiled at the Tour de France Femme. Nicole Frayn will make her debut in this race after signing with Parkhotel Valkenburg mid-season.

The team, which has a reputation for nurturing talent, announced that the 29-year-old, who won the Australian road race title with Late Attack in January, has signed a contract for the remainder of this season through the end of 2023.

"I'm very happy with the deal," he said. 'I would rather make mistakes and learn from them than be stressed out under pressure. Now I have time to settle down and work in Europe.

But now that he has signed with the team that propelled Lorena Wiebes and Demi Volering to the top ranks, there is little expectation that Frayn will do anything other than grab this opportunity with both hands.

"I'm very driven by nature," she says. Someone will say: 'That's my motto.'"

"I'm not going to let this happen to me.

Having taken up the sport only four years ago, Frain briefly worked in Europe with TIBCO-Silicon Valley Bank at the end of the 2021 season, competing in the first Paris-Roubaix Fam, the Women's Tour, and the Ronde van Drenthe. However, in a European race earlier this year with Australia-based Roxalt Rive SRAM, she was rarely outside the top 20.

Frayn finished ninth overall in the Lotto-Thuringian Ladies Tour, with her best result coming in sixth place on stage 5. This was also the case at the Vuelta a Andalucía.

Now Frayn has the opportunity to find out what she can do with a long period of international racing and the experience that comes with it.

"I am one of the older racers in terms of age, but not in terms of cycling. I can learn a lot from my teammates."

Frayn, who joined Parkhotel Valkenburg, is not the only Australian to compete in the European peloton in July. Often overshadowed by Sarah Gigante (Movistar) in the Australian national championships, the 21-year-old won both the Australian U23 time trial and criterium titles in 2022.