SINCE it began in 1887 the Quest Ivanhoe Austral Wheelrace has become one of the most sought-after victories in track cycling circles.<\/p>\n
This Saturday night\u2019s 126th edition of the 2000-metre classic features several of Bendigo\u2019s best competing in the men\u2019s or women\u2019s showdowns on the Darebin velodrome.<\/p>\n
Among the Bendigo stars to watch will be Blake Agnoletto and Alessia McCaig who hold places on Cycling Australia\u2019s podium potential program for track sprint and track endurance respectively.<\/p>\n
CA\u2019s podium potential for road includes Bendigo-raised Jack Haig.<\/p>\n
Gold in the keirin at this year\u2019s national titles has McCaig in the running for Bendigo Sports Star of the Year award.<\/p>\n
A multiple finalist in Sports Star, McCaig was the Maxine Crouch Trust Fund recipient in 2018-19.<\/p>\n
A runner-up in last year\u2019s women\u2019s Austral to Lucinda Stewart when both raced off scratch, McCaig will not just be chasing wheelrace glory at Darebin.<\/p>\n
A big meet for McCaig who competed at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games includes the UCI sprint and keirin.<\/p>\n
Another highlight of Saturday night\u2019s Austral carnival will be the national elite madison championship.<\/p>\n
On Friday night, Agnoletto will contest the elite men\u2019s national omnium which is a series of track disciplines.<\/p>\n
Among the many career highs for Angoletto was second place in the Austral final of 2022 from the 40m mark.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been a big year for the 21-year-old who was third in the under-23 criterium at the national road titles in Ballarat and went on to race across Europe and Asia.<\/p>\n
Angoletto is presently racing for ARA\/Skip Capital.<\/p>\n
Austral champions from Bendigo are Merv Andrea in 1968, Phil Sawyer 1983, Terry Schintler 1984, Ash Harding 1994, Tony Hughes in 1995; and Zak Dempster in 2004.<\/p>\n
They are in a unique group of winners of what is the oldest wheelrace in the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SINCE it began in 1887 the Quest Ivanhoe Austral Wheelrace has become one of the most sought-after victories in track cycling circles. This Saturday night\u2019s 126th edition of the 2000-metre classic features several of Bendigo\u2019s best competing in the men\u2019s or women\u2019s showdowns on the Darebin velodrome. Among the Bendigo stars to watch will be […]<\/p>\n