The versatile cycling ace was one of three Bendigo riders on Monday to be named in the Australian team for the September 5-10 championships, alongside brothers Tasman and Russell Nankervis.

Mullens will contest the elite women's cross-country division, with Russell Nankervis earning selection in the elite men's cross-country and Tasman Nankervis in the under-23 men.

A fourth Bendigo rider, 17-year-old Isaac Buckell had his under-19 world championships selection confirmed in June.

Mullens appearance in Cairns is the latest evolution in her star-studded cycling career that has spawned national mountain bike, road racing and cyclocross championships.

The 29-year-old has spent the bulk of her past 12 months overseas, capturing 10 road-race wins for her United States-based road team Hagens Berman Supermint.

She also signed with cyclocross team Focus Attaquer and this month added an Australian National Cyclocross Championship to her ever-expanding resume with a win in Adelaide.

Mullens said she was little unsure what to expect in Cairns, having been absent form from the mountain bike racing scene for the past five months.

"I have been off the mountain bike, so it's a kind of unknown for me," she said.

"But I have done long stints off the mountain bike before and ended up in good form for mountain bike races before.

"It's a home race (in Cairns), that was really important to me, and it's also one of the lead races into the Commonwealth Games, so a result there is very important.

"I suppose I will be confident in front of a home crowd, but I certainly don't underestimate the other riders .

"Something like a top-20 (finish) would be a pretty good race for me."

Regardless of her performance in Cairns, Mullens and her rivals face a wait on their Commonwealth Games fate, with no official selection criteria having been released to riders.

Her focus will remain on mountain biking up until the Gold Coast Games in early April.

First-up for Mullens though will be a start in this Sunday's 97-kilometre Rob Vernon Memorial Handicap, run by the Bendigo and District Cycling Club.

The race, which is one of only five open handicap events staged in Victoria each year, has been won by Mullens on two previous occasions in 2009 and 2012.

Having missed the past three memorials, Mullens said she was looking forward to the race.

"I know the course has changed a bit since I last raced, but it's still one of the toughest handicaps on the calendar," she said.

"A third victory would be a bit of a feather in the cap, but I'm not going ahead of myself.

"It's a unique situation I'm in that I can sprint hard at the end of a race against the guys."

Mullens is one of only three female riders to win an open handicap race in Victoria.