Sport
4 March, 2026
Cyclists tackle the mount
RACING took on a different format for Camperdown’s cyclists last week, with both junior and senior club members taking on Mt. Leura in an individual time trial.
For some this was an intimidating first time while others had been ‘up the mount’ as many as 40 times in one day.
Riders were truly racing themselves as each had been allocated a benchmark time to which their actual time would be compared in order to decide first, second and third place getters.
Riders were released by the starter at one minute intervals, from the slower juniors first to the faster seniors last.
The excitement of a novel event and having the road closed (many thanks to the Corangamite Shire) saw most riders smash their benchmark times.
A notable exception was Matt Gstrien who somehow got lost on a single lane dead end road while Tanya McKenzie felt sorry for one of the roadside marshals and stopped for a chat (while lying down).
The junior riders pushed hard on the pedals for the whole 1.8km with Eleanor declared the winner, smashing her time by six minutes and 39 seconds.
Quinn Clark was given second and fastest time beating his benchmark by three minutes and 29seconds.
Nathaniel Bouchier earnt third riding two minutes and 58 seconds faster than expected.
Despite acting cool and non-committal at the start line, the senior riders turned into competitive beasts at the sound of ‘3,2,1, GO!’
For the most part, they crossed the line far enough apart to have to await the adjudicators to find out how they actually went.
While many formulae were applied to the spread sheet, riders enjoyed cold drinks and ice cream provided by Ray White Real Estate while the ‘come and try’ riders made their way over the finish line.
Young gun Quinn Clark was declared the winner.
Josh Thompson second, 2:13 better than his time, and Matt Clark third, 2:09 better than his estimated time.
Keeping it in the family, Oliver Clark was the fastest rider for the night, climbing the mount in five minutes and 28 seconds.
Read More: Camperdown, local