IN conjunction with South Coast Cycling, and with sponsorship from the City of Mount Gambier Council, a two-day track carnival was hosted by the Mount Gambier Cycling Club at the Blue Lake Velodrome over the weekend.
On January 15 and 16, 39 cyclists came from as far afield as Adelaide, Albury, Hamilton and Ballarat to compete in various events over the two days.
A mixture of handicapped races and scratch races took place over the course of the carnival, with juniors and seniors placed into a variety of grades corresponding to their age and abilities.
A highlight of the carnival was an 80-lap Madison race held as the final race on Saturday.
A relay style event took place for 11 pairs of riders, who worked together to stay on top as the laps went on.
There were a variety of teams, including father/daughter, father/son, and friends riding together.
A daring effort to pull away by Niel van Niekerk and Ewan Landman allowed them to put a lap on all the other teams, taking the victory ahead of the duo of David Mann and Daniel Bucknall, with third place going to Rob Mann and Matthew Opperman.
This Sunday, the Mount Gambier Cycling Club’s focus will return to road racing, with the first race of the Summer Series to take place on the Attamurra Road course over 25km.
