BOLTON teenage cyclist Amy Hunt has received a surprise call-up for next year's Commonwealth Games.

The 19-year-old has been selected to ride for England in the road race in Melbourne in March.

Her selection signals the rapid progress Amy has made since turning professional this year.

Less than 12 months ago she represented her country in the Junior Commonwealth Games, also at Melbourne, where she won a bronze medal in the road time trial and a silver in the mountain bike event.

She then went full-time, training 20 hours a week and regularly competing abroad, and the move has paid off with her improved results culminating in being selected for the Games.

Amy has been a winner on the bike since she was at primary school, winning a host of trophies for mountain bike racing from an early age right up to last year.

Her progress on the road and on the track has meant she has had to give up competing in mountain bike events.

But she does not expect she will ever have to give up either of the road or track events.

"You can't do mountain bike racing as well as road and track events," she said. "They just don't go together.

"But you can mix track and road quite well. They complement each other and there's no reason why you should have to give up one of them. In fact, most of the women do both."

She has concentrated on her road racing this year but she says she never expected to get a call-up for the Commonwealth Games so early in her career.

"I really did not expect to get picked," she said.

"They told me a couple of weeks ago and I had to keep it to myself. It was a big surprise.

"I'm in a team of six and I think they are taking me to get experience.

"I intend to do track and road racing in the future, but this year I have been working on road racing so it was definitely the event I wanted to be picked for."

The race in Melbourne will be over a course in excess of 100km when the six riders have to work together to get one of them across the finishing line as quickly as possible.

"We have a team leader and the job of the rest of us is to get her to the finish.

"The idea is for the rest of us to do all the work for her and we all have our individual jobs to do."

Amy looks to be beginning her career at the right time as British cycling takes more interest in its women competitors.

"It is the first time we have sent a full women's team.

"I think one of the reasons for that is that there are more women riders coming through."