Cyclists chase Austral Wheelrace glory

CYCLISTS from near and far will be on the Darebin Velodrome this Saturday to contest the 127th edition of the Austral Wheelrace.

The long-running cycling wheelrace began around the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1887.

The Quest Ivanhoe-backed classic for men and women will cap three big nights of racing.

Among those vying for glory in the women’s Austral (2000m) will be Bendigo stars Alessia McCaig and Haylee Jack.

A big year for McCaig included bronze in the teams sprint at her first world track championships campaign in Denmark. A multiple national champion, McCaig is in the running for the Bendigo Sports Star of the Year award for 2024.

The honour roll for the great race includes Bendigo clubmates Merv Andrea 1968; Bill Stevens 1970; Phil Saywer 1983; Terry Schintler 1984; Ashley Harding 1994; Tony Hughes 1995 and Zak Dempster 2004.

Two of the country’s greatest track cyclists, Stephen Pate and Danny Clark, are four- and three-time winners of the Austral respectively.

Clark was a five-time winner of the Bendigo International Madison and Pate achieved four consecutive victories.

Madisons are on Saturday night’s Austral program. The elite women will race 30km and will be followed by the men’s elite showdown across 50km.

A year ago, Bendigo’s Blake Agnoletto teamed with Kelland O’Brien to be the national madison champions.

Agnoletto won the Bendigo International Madison with Oliver Bleddyn a few months later.

Agnoletto is the reigning national under-23 criterium champion and is in the Sports Star of the Year race.