Pedal-pumping action on show at velodrome

Pedal-pumping action on show at velodrome

The Blue Lake Sports Park Velodrome became the centre of cycling last weekend after two huge days of pedal-pumping action was held.

The South Coast Cycling and Mount Gambier Cycling Clubs combined to host a two-day track carnival to savour in conjunction with the City of Mount Gambier Council.

South Coast opened the fun by completing its events on Saturday before the hosts took over on Saturday night with the Madison race followed by more racing on Sunday.

A strong field of 39 cyclists came from as far afield as Adelaide, Albury, Hamilton and Ballarat to compete in various events over the two days.

There was a mixture of handicapped races and scratch races over the course of the carnival, with juniors and seniors placed into a variety of grades commensurate with their age and abilities.

Cycling club secretary Tina Opperman said it was a joyful couple of days.

“It all went really well with two glorious days of weather and racing,” she said.

“It was so pleasing to see everyone stay upright on their bike, so there were no accidents or falls.

“It was a great opportunity for the Limestone Coast Regional Council riders to practice what they have learnt and put it into action and their coach Rob Mann was so proud to see everyone shine.

“Everyone walked away really happy, so it was just a great weekend.”

The highlight of the carnival was an 80-lap Madison race held as the finale of Saturday’s proceedings.

Eleven pairs of riders worked together in a relay style to be in front as the 80 laps counted down.

There were a variety of teams, including father/daughter, father/son and friends riding together.

A daring effort to pull away by Niel van Niekerk and Ewan Landman allowed them to put a lap on all the other teams and dictate terms.

The dashing duo controlled all 80 laps to take victory ahead of David Mann and Daniel Bucknall, while locals Rob Mann and Matthew Opperman rounded out the podium.

“The Madison was the main event and local rider Niel van Niekerk and his partner Ewan Landman took that out by one point,” Opperman said.

“David Mann rode well to get second with Ballarat rider Daniel Bucknall, who is a scratch rider and cleaned up a lot of events over the weekend.

“It was a modified Madison event so it was easier for everyone to follow and worked well.”

Opperman said there was no doubt the event would return in the future.

“There will be another one next year because we want to continue it for as long as we can,” she said.

“We stuck to all the advice from SA Health.

“COVID-19 is not going to stop us from running an event like this.”

The Mount Gambier Cycling Club’s focus now returns to road racing, with the first race of the Summer Series to take place on the Attamurra Road course over 25km this Sunday.

It kicks off 10 weeks of cycling in the sun which is all about encouraging everyone to ride.

Interest has been growing and new riders can apply online on AusCycling to participate where they will be gifted a free licence for a month with the chance to ride four races.

All 10 stages are held over 25km with juniors riding from 9am before seniors start pedalling at 9.30am.

Why wait? Get more stories like this delivered straight to your inbox
Join our digital edition mailing list and stay up to date on the latest news, events and special announcements from across the Limestone Coast.

Your local real estate guide - every Thursday

spot_img

You might also like