Kellett wins battle of the fittest

TORQUAY cyclist Kate Kellett has claimed the green and gold stripes at the elite AusCycling 24 Solo National Championships in Lithgow, New South Wales.

About 300 mountain riders from across the East Coast of Australia and Tasmania earlier this month challenged their endurance and speed skills in a battle of the fittest over a brutal 24-hour racing period.

Kellett left nothing out on the track as she sped through the women’s field from the very first lap of the race, finishing on 37 laps of the course after 23hrs 51 minutes and 22 seconds, a gap of over 35 minutes from her US born athlete Kaydee Raths from Tasmania.

Kellett has now qualified for her fifth World Championships which will be held in November 2023 in Armidale NSW.

The 40-year-old said her training in ultra-endurance techniques during the past few months had assisted her completion of the 320 kilometres course and 4,500 metres of vertical climbing.

“We hadn’t had a nationals event since 2019 due to the pandemic, and you start to doubt or question if you can still do the 24 hours of riding,” Kellett said.

“In the lead up, I had seven weeks of training where I covered about 880 race kilometres, climbed around 15,000 metres and raced for around 50 hours.

“Not racing for three years and the competition being the strongest at this one compared to the other two nationals that I’d won, made this a big achievement.”

Kellett finished with a time of 23hrs, 51 minutes and 22 seconds.

Mrs Kellett said she did most of her training on the Surf Coast and in the Otways and felt extremely lucky to have such an amazing leverage of tracks to ride close to home.

“You can easily go tap out a 200km gravel ride in the Otways and it’s all there right on your doorstep,” she said.

“We are very lucky here on the Surf Coast to have such amazing access to tracks.”

With the win, the 40-year-old will now head to her fifth World Championship event which will be held in Armidale, New South Wales (NSW) in November 2023.

She will go into November’s event with plenty of confidence that she can mix it with the world’s best, having achieved a top four position in the titles on four occasions, including being a silver medallist in Scotland in 2018.