Elite sport embraced from the comfort of home

LOCAL GP, Anna Yates looks forward to the Road Nationals every year.

Living on Mount Buninyong Road with her husband Mark, the competition comes right to their doorstep.

“We make a whole day of it.

We invite friends to come and visit us, we sit and watch, bring the BBQ down to the road, have tea and drinks,” she said.

“We’re just past the top of the King of the Mountain, going around the corner to the Yendon number one road.

“It’s often where the riders will have challenges and they’re at a lower speed, so they’re not too fast and you can really see who’s who.”

The Yates crew hang banners and love cheering on the riders, ringing their cowbells and tooting their vuvuzelas as they whiz pass by. Even their cat, Houdini, mingles with the crowds.

“Locals walk up the mountain and stop and chat. It’s fantastic,” Mrs Yates said.

Organisers provide the option of an escort if locals need to leave their properties, but the Yates never do.

“We choose not to get out. We embrace it.”