11/08/2009
Chris Goodrope
Regional Development Officer – East
CycleSport Victoria
On Tuesday 11th August CycleSport Victoria in conjunction with the Lindenow Primary School held the first of nine zone finals across the state in the Victorian Schools Cycling Championships. The day ran very smoothly with all participants eager to be involved and enjoy a day of racing.
The students ageing from 11 – 18 years of age, all competed on a well constructed 3.9 Kilometre course which comprised of winding narrow corners, long stretches of straight and a testing hill climb. Participants came from all areas of the Gippsland region to compete in the days activities, including Traralgon, Sale and Warragul. Special thanks must go to those schools that did make the effort and travel long distances to be involved in the championships, without them the day certainly wouldn’t have been the huge success that it was.
TheUnder13 Racing and Novice category began the day’s proceedings for the first race of the day. Completing one lap around the course, William Lumby won the Male racing event, followed by Jerome Bechaz and Thomas Mcfarlane. Natalie Young was the only girl competing in the racing category and put up a real fighting effort that saw her win first place competing in her fourth consecutive year running. In the Novice category Peter Davine took out the win comfortably in front of Thomas Henry and Lachlan Griffiths for the Male’s. In the females we witnessed the local girls of Lindenow Primary School fight it out, with Ashleigh Hall sneaking in by a nose in front Stacey Holzaphel.
The second event of the day was the Under15 aged group. In a tight battle for the entire three laps Joe Patrick of Drouin Secondary College held off Jake Strini and Cyrus Monk to take out the racing category. The novice category also saw an exciting race with Jake Webb winning ahead of a very close finishing Connor Mclean of Nagle College and David Hamilton from St Paul Anglican Grammar School. In the females Toni Doderico won in front of her counterpart from Lavalla Catholic College Sophie Johnston in the novice category.
Next event was the Under17’s which produced a large number of entries from both males and females. Jarryd Jones won a thrilling battle in front of James Lalor and Baden Nicholls in the racing category. It was an extremely fast finishing race which saw all three separated by less than a second on the time clock. In the women’s racing, Katrina East of Bairnsdale Secondary College put in a stunning performance to win comfortably in front of Olivia Verey and Sophie Bechaz. The novice category saw Charles Davine take out first place ahead of Shannon Cox and Zac Strini in the males. In the females Lavalla Catholic College dominated with Katrina Barrett producing a really strong performance to finish in front of Kim Cunico and Molly Clavrino.
The Under19’s were the final event for the day with Brenton Jones capping off an already fantastic year with a win the racing category. Brenton was recently named in the National Mountain Bike Team to compete in the National Championships later in the year. Second place went to Callam Barker followed by Stephen Mcshane in third. Shannon Mccurley took out the win for the women’s racing in a great ride as well.
The conclusion of the day consisted of presentations of jerseys to the winners and medals to place getters, with all advancing onto the State Final which will be held in Melbourne on Saturday 17th October.
The day was a huge success and it certainly cannot go without mentioning the hard work and long hours put in by Leigh Thomson. Leigh played a major role in making sure the day was a highlight for all the students and it was a credit to him for showing a great deal of enthusiasm and dedication to ensure its success. A thank you must go to all the volunteers and marshals who helped out on the day to ensure the students safety. Finally a big thank you to all the schools who competed on the day and also the hospitality shown by Lindenow Primary School for holding the event and allowing us to use its facilities throughout the day.
