Road Nationals isn’t just for professional and elite riders to seek glory. It’s also a chance for club riders to have a crack at a national title in the club teams time trials.
Today, teams of four from myriad cycling clubs took off from the Federation University campus in Ballarat, testing themselves against the clock and their rivals.
Among them were seasoned racers and first-timers; teenagers and veteran club riders.
These are some of the stories from day four of racing at the 2023 Federation University Road National Championships.
‘ONE FOR THE MEMORY BOOKS’: VETERAN RACER PETER MILOSTIC MAKES DEBUT WITH TEENAGE SON
It was a particularly special day at Road Nationals for seasoned campaigner Peter Milostic, who for the first time raced with 16-year-old son Lyndon.
The pair, together with Peter Wakefield and former Giro d’Italia competitor Tom Leaper, took out the Open Men’s Time Club Team Time Trial racing for Penrith Cycling Club.
Milostic, 48, who has countless road racing achievements to his name including second in the individual time trial at the 2004 National Championship, said today’s race was one of the best.
“Today to be up on the podium with my son, it’s a bit emotional. My mum passed away a while ago but she would have loved it; it’s special,” Milostic said.
“I’ve been in this sport ever since I was 16. To be racing with my son at 16, it’s a special day. This is one for the memory books. I’ve won a lot of races but this one is right up there with the best.
“It was an absolute honour to race with my son, something I’ve dreamt about ever since he was born.”
Lyndon has now switched from watching his dad race from the roadside, to following his wheel on the course.
“My motivation was sitting on their wheel. It was pretty fun chasing my dad and Peter Wakefield because I’ve watched them for years, and now I know how hard they really do race, and it was good fun out there,” Lyndon said.
The Penrith Cycling Club team finished 1:45.96 ahead of Carnegie Caufield CC in second and 2:11.17 ahead of third-placed Ballarat / Sebastopol CC.
QUEENSLANDERS SOAK UP FIRST NATIONALS EVENT
It was a tough, but rewarding, day on course for the first-time racers from Kangaroo Point Cycling Club who made the journey from Queensland for their first Club Teams Time Trials National Championships.
Kym Krey, Sally Caraher and Selina Green and Kelly Taylor pulled together a team just five weeks ago for the event, after some club TT events were cancelled.
“This is the first women’s team we’ve sent interstate for a team event, and this sets a bit of a profile for our club and women in cycling,” Kelly said.
“This is about raising the profile of female participation at another level in cycling.”
Out on course, the women said it was a battle against the headwind and early climbs on the course, but they used each others’ strengths to push through.
“I found it tough from the start line. It was a climb out of the University and then it was a really tough climb over the hill, and then once we got up over the top of Gear Avenue we could start to settle in,” Sally said.
The team finished second in the Masters Women 120 category.
HUGE ST KILDA CONTINGENT MAKES PRESENCE KNOWN
There was a sea of red, yellow and white on the time trial course with a strong showing of St Kilda Cycling Club riders taking part in the club teams time trials.
Twenty-eight women across seven teams competed in the event, as well as one team of four men from the Melbourne club.
Daniela Mollica, whose team conquered the Masters Women 150 category, said it was great day on the course.
“The ride was amazing, we won! We built our three-times nemesis, Harlequin,” she said.
“The team that I was with, we do one of the St Kilda training rides – the Wednesday morning one – together on a regular basis, so we’re used to riding with each other as a team.
“We’re all on the wrong side of 50, so it was very easy to put our team together. Because we’re used to riding with each other, we know how to work together. Even though we don’t do a lot of team time trials, because we train together as a club, we know how to ride together.”
St Kilda CC won five of the 10 categories contested today.
For full results, visit the 2023 Road Nationals results page.
Photos: Josh Chadwick
