McCaig keeps charging to glory

GUN cyclist Alessia McCaig has added another monthly win in Bendigo’s Sports Star of the Year to a list of superb achievements.

McCaig’s outstanding feats on the track in March at the Australian championships and later Oceania titles have earned a third monthly honour in Sports Star.

At the nationals, Alessia won gold in the elite women’s keirin.

A personal best of 33.867 seconds in the 500-metre time trial clinched a second gold at Anna Meares Velodrome in Brisbane.

McCaig won silver in the sprint and a week later won gold in the elite women’s team sprint at the Oceania titles in Brisbane.

Her time of 47.603 seconds set an Australian record.

McCaig was a Sports Star of the Year finalist in 2019 and 2020 after multiple gold medal-winning performances at under-17 and under-19 level at track nationals.

A career high was racing on the track at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games in the sprint, 500-metre time trial, and keirin.

The Australian line-up was fourth in the team sprint.

A goal for McCaig, who is now based in Adelaide, is to work toward selection for the 2024 Paris Olympics, and 2026 Commonwealth Games to be held in regional Victoria.

Cycling action at the 2026 Games will be in Bendigo on a purpose-built track at the Prince of Wales Showgrounds.

The McCaig family links to Sports Star stretch back to 1965-66 when Alessia’s great uncle, the late Frank McCaig became the first winner of what is now the longest-running awards of its type in the country.

Alessia’s grandfather, Alan was the promoter and key instigator of the Bendigo International Madison which began in 1972.

Almost 50 years after the Madison was first run, McCaig was named the Maxine Crouch Trust Fund recipient in the 2018-19 Sports Star of the Year awards.