THE Victorian Road Cycling Championships were held at Winton and Glenrowan over the weekend. Over 200 cyclists participated in the championships which is the culmination of the Victorian Junior Road Series. There was strong representation from clubs around Victoria and New South Wales. At the just completed Paris Olympic Games, four out of the six riders for Australia in the Men’s and Women’s road races began their road racing career though the Victorian Junior Road Series and the State Championships at Glenrowan. There is good reason to believe that over the weekend’s racing, we saw some of the riders who will be representing Australia at the Brisbane Olympic Games in 2032. The 20km Individual time trial along the Old Hume Freeway at Winton was held on Saturday. Sunday was the road race around the Glenrowan – Taminick Gap loop. In the under 19 time trial, Emma Ochoa from the 99Bikes Women’s Academy won in a time of 30:43 and an impressive average speed of 39.1 km/hr. The male under 19 race was won by Otis Jones of the Geelong Mountain Bike Club in a time of 27:12 and an average speed of 44.1 km/hr. For the record, Otis was riding on a road bike and definitely not a mountain bike to clock up these speeds. Jordan Villani from St Kilda Cycling Club won the Elite Men’s time trial in a time of 25:06 and an average speed of 47.8 km/hr. Jodie Walker of the Northern Bike Club won the Elite Women’s Time Trial Championships with an average speed of 40.7 km/hr. On Sunday, in the under 17 male road race, Lachie Stewart of the nearby Alpine Cycling Club continued his excellent form over the past year with an exciting win in a bunch sprint to win the title narrowly over Ollie Jurovic of the Brunswick Cycling Club. The average speed of the main peloton for the 63km circuit was an impressive 36 km/hr. In the female under 17 road race, Elsie Apps of the Goulburn Cycling Club won in another exciting bunch sprint over Vegas Henry of the Carnegie Caulfield Cycling Club and Madeleine Douglas from Bendigo. These three riders were all given the same time. The average speed for the female under 17 race was 30 km/hr. The Victorian Road Championships were hosted by the strong Carnegie Caulfield Cycling Club with the local Wangaratta and Shepparton Cycling Clubs. The three clubs are grateful for the support provided by the Rural City of Wangaratta.
