The dreams of three talented Mount Gambier riders will go on the line against the best in Australia later this week at the 2022 AusCycling National Junior Track Championships.

Locals Niel van Niekerk, Kai Arbery and Sarah Dally have honed their skills as part of the Limestone Coast Regional Sporting Academy at Blue Lake Sports Park, but today will fight for national glory representing South Australia at the Anna Meares Velodrome.

Arbery and van Niekerk will be wearing SA colours in the Under 17 Men’s category, while Dally is competing in the Under 19 Women’s field.

Both Arbery and Dally have experienced sudden rises to state selection.

They were both identified in 2019 through the Talent ID program conducted by the South Australia Sports Institute in conjunction with LCRSA, but have quickly transformed themselves into some of the most promising talents on the track.

Arbery will be focus on Sprint events, joining van Niekerk in racing the 500m Time Trial as well as the Team Sprint and Individual Sprint events.

Meanwhile, Dally’s program is predominantly endurance based, competing in the Scratch Race, Keirin, Individual Pursuit, Teams Pursuit and 500m Time Trial.

When speaking with the SE Voice last month, LCRSA coordinator Tony Elletson revealed how the nationals-bound trio represent the program’s success.

“We partnered with SASI to do some testing, identify riders and start a program and now our riders are on the track and in the gym twice a week,” he said.

“Niel was already a cyclist and is a super talent being the second best in the state, but we were able to identify both Sarah and Kai at the school tests after they had not done any track cycling before.

“Sarah only started a couple of years ago and now she is considered to be one of the best riders in the state for pure ability, so do that in such a short space of time is a credit to everyone.

“Kai has only been doing cycling for just over 12 months and is a sprinter.

“He is a speed machine and his first ever competitive track competition was the state titles.

“They are probably going to advance even quicker in the next six to eight months.”

The rider with the most on their plate is van Niekerk, who has a packed racing schedule, competing in a variety of individual and team events including Teams Pursuit, Individual Pursuit, Points Score, Scratch Race, Keirin, 500m Time Trial and the Omnium.

Despite the possibly overwhelming time on track, van Nierkerk is full of anticipation for the upcoming challenge.

This is the third time he has been selected by South Australia, but the first time he will get the chance to cut a lap after COVID-19 implications have denied his pervious shots at national medals.

“I am really excited because I have not been able to go to nationals in the last few years,” van Nierkerk said.

“I have been selected to go to nationals before, but they were cancelled due to COVID-19.

“I was quite disappointed and found it hard to stay motivated then.

“But I have done lots of training leading up to Nationals and hopefully it goes pretty good.”

With seven events to complete in just three days, van Niekerk admitted it will be a tough endurance test, but believes he has strong enough recovery plans to cope.

“I have been worried sometimes being unsure if I would be able to rest enough to be good for the next day, so hopefully I will be able to do everything,” he said.

“I think there are five events on my first day, but the others are not going to be as hectic.

“I will need to keep up my eating and drinking plus oxygen levels to stay hydrated and ready for each race.”

This kind of flawless preparation has helped van Niekerk steam into nationals with the wind behind his back big time.

The latest medal around his neck was a bronze in the State Criterium earlier this month, while he also featured prominently in the Victorian State Track Titles alongside Arbery.

But van Niekerk’s biggest moment this season occurred just before Christmas where he won seven medals one week after having a cast removed for a broken wrist.

The youngster said the recent success puts him in a confidence frame of mind heading towards nationals after completing a busy training program.

“I think I have been in the best form I have ever been in for a while,” he said.

“On Mondays and Wednesdays, I ride with the other academy kids, while I also like to go to the gym or ride for 100km on Saturday to get my endurance up.”

Van Niekerk said his passion for pedaling started from an early age.

“I just loved riding my bike since I was young,” he said.

“When I was about seven or eight my friend did cycling and asked me to come along and try it out which is where it all started.”

Now with his eyes set on his biggest challenge yet, van Niekerk is taking a relaxed approach and is keen to taste all aspects of it on and off the velodrome.

“I am looking forward to racing, but also going up with my friends from home and Adelaide,” he said.

“A great thing about this sport is you get to travel a lot and meet many new people at different events.

“But I am also a competitive person and love racing against people.

“I love riding the Individual Pursuits and the 2km Time Trail in particular.

“I love trying to get the best time I can and I hope to get a personal best and qualify in the top four.

“I also feel we have a good chance in the Team Pursuit where four riders do 12 laps together.

“It would be great to ride the qualifying time for the South Australian Institute of Sport.”