CYCLISTS from near and far will be on the Darebin Velodrome this Saturday to contest the 127th edition of the Austral Wheelrace.<\/p>\n
The long-running cycling wheelrace began around the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1887.<\/p>\n
The Quest Ivanhoe-backed classic for men and women will cap three big nights of racing.<\/p>\n
Among those vying for glory in the women’s Austral (2000m) will be Bendigo stars Alessia McCaig and Haylee Jack.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Two of the country’s greatest track cyclists, Stephen Pate and Danny Clark, are four- and three-time winners of the Austral respectively.<\/p>\n
Clark was a five-time winner of the Bendigo International Madison and Pate achieved four consecutive victories.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
A year ago, Bendigo’s Blake Agnoletto teamed with Kelland O’Brien to be the national madison champions.<\/p>\n
Agnoletto won the Bendigo International Madison with Oliver Bleddyn a few months later.<\/p>\n
Agnoletto is the reigning national under-23 criterium champion and is in the Sports Star of the Year race.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 […]<\/p>\n