THE hills around Harcourt and at nearby Mount Alexander will test cyclists across this weekend’s Merv Dean Memorial Tour run by Bendigo and District Cycling Club.<\/p>\n
A prizemoney pool of $7,500 will be distributed across three grades racing in the Profound Civil Contractors-backed tour on the King’s Birthday holiday weekend.<\/p>\n
Other key sponsors of the tour are Innes Motors Subaru and AFS Accountants.<\/p>\n
A year ago it was Levi Hone who added his name to the honour board in a tour that honours Merv Dean, who was a top cyclist in his own right and racked up many years as Bendigo DCC secretary.<\/p>\n
The club tour was first held in 1960 and Dean was champion in 1963.<\/p>\n
Across a 50-year involvement in the sport, there were many tasks Dean did with no fuss.<\/p>\n
He was a key figure in the formation of the J Cycle Program, which is a training program for juniors.<\/p>\n
Merv’s wife Ruth and the Dean family are strong supporters of the tour that honours his legacy and commitment to cycling, especially the club tour.<\/p>\n
As riders chase for sprint and hill climb bonuses the under-19s will also be vying for the Allan Peiper Future Star Award for a male and female cyclist.<\/p>\n
A leading contender for the award will be Declan Pritchard from Team Brennan, who is leading the under-19 class in the National Road Series.<\/p>\n
Tour action starts at 1pm on Saturday when a 101km stage starts and finishes near Sutton Grange Hall.<\/p>\n
The hill climb sprint will be on the side of Mt Alexander\/Joseph Young Drive.<\/p>\n
A big test will be Sunday’s stage of 109km starting from 9.30am at North Harcourt Tennis Club.<\/p>\n
The finish will be on top of the south side of Mount Alexander at the telecommunications tower.<\/p>\n
The tour finale on Monday will be a 58km kermesse in which A-grade will race five laps of a circuit that starts and finishes at North Harcourt Tennis Club.<\/p>\n
The action begins with C-grade and women’s at 9.30am.<\/p>\n
That will be followed by B-grade at 11am and A-grade from 12.30pm on the narrow and winding roads.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
THE hills around Harcourt and at nearby Mount Alexander will test cyclists across this weekend’s Merv Dean Memorial Tour run by Bendigo and District Cycling Club. A prizemoney pool of $7,500 will be distributed across three grades racing in the Profound Civil Contractors-backed tour on the King’s Birthday holiday weekend. Other key sponsors of the […]<\/p>\n