Kelly Cycle Coaching returned from a hectic 2 weeks in Bright (running two back to back camps) to attend the State Junior and Masters Crit champs in Castlemaine.  The showmans crit was also held on the same course for the elite women and men. With only a small group of riders deciding to race, we came home with 3 podium results.

The course in Castlemaine was a square of approximately 1km in length.  The course consisted of a gradual false flat on the finishing straight, a short climb of 100m on the second straight, a gradual false flat descent on the back straight and a sharp desecent coming into the final slightly off camber corner.  The terrain of the circuit means the race is either won or lost on the back straight.  The rider who goes into corner 3 first wheel, can retain the lead through the fast sweeping corner 4 and then there was only a short 60m sprint to the finishline.

Ben Andrews and Nick White competed in the U17 State Crit Champs.  Ben attacked on the 3rd lap and stayed away for nearly 15 minutes.  The training in Bright had taken the edge of him and he was reabsorbed into the pack with about 10 laps remaining.  Whilst Ben was off the front, Nick White did a great job chasing all the breaks and this certainly helped disrupt the peleton’s chase.  A few laps later, Ben attacked again with one other rider but there was no cohesive team work going on, so Ben sat up and waited for the peloton.

On bell lap, Ben attacked up the climb and drove it hard to stay away and take his first State title.  This was a great result for him, only 2 weeks after his 3rd place in the Australian Uphill Mountain Road championships, at Mt Buffalo.

Other results on the day included:

U19: Vic Snibson, 2nd

Masters 4: Liz Hall, 2nd

U19 men: David Randall, 6th (Park Trent Team)

The men’s Showmans cup was contested by a strong group of elite cyclists.  Essendon SKODA had two riders compete.  Both Liam and Aaron had been at Bright at a training camp all week, so their legs were lacking a bit of spark, however the camp was designed to prepare them for the Mt Baw Baw classic next weekend.  Out of 50 riders, only 20 finished due to the gruelling pace set by several pro riders.  Both Liam and Aaron rode well, featuring in several key moves and both finishing in the top 10, in the final bunch kick.