Cycling club gets in gear

Bendigo Weekly | Bendigo Weekly | 13-Jan-2012 The race is on as new summer series presents riders with a new challenge

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HOPES: Darren Lapthorne at the 2011 Rob Vernon Memorial Handicap. Photo courtesy Porsche Drapac.
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THE Bendigo Cycling Club is gearing up for the launch of a major summer criterium series, to be known as the Symes Motors Summer Series.
Co-organiser Scott McGrory, a two-time Bendigo International winner and Olympic gold medallist, said the Symes Motors Summer Series  was a new event for cycling and for Bendigo, which organisers hoped would help re-invent the sport in Bendigo.
‘’We have got some great local riders,’’ he said.
‘’And we want to get some good riders from out of town involved as well.’’
He said the Bendigo Cycling clubrooms at the Tom Flood Sports Centre would be open each Sunday before and after racing to enable visiting riders the chance to prepare for racing, ride out to the Mayfair Park circuit, then return for a shower prior to travelling home.
Cycling is in the midst of a major boom, thanks to successes such as Cadel Evans, the Green Edge Cycling team and last week’s National Road Championships in Ballarat.
‘’Bendigo has for a long time been seen as a real cycling hub outside of Melbourne,’’ McGrory said.
It’s hoped local riders including Zak Dempster and Darren Lapthorne will take part in the series.
McGrory said the summer series would offer about $5,000 in prizes, including a $1000 Hume & Iser Home Hardware voucher to the overall series winner. Weekly winners will receive quality Ronde socks and gloves.  
The series will run across eight Sunday mornings on the tight and challenging Mayfair Park circuit, starting this Sunday, and leading up to the March 11 Bendigo International Madison.
McGrory said series co-sponsors Symes Motors and Spencers Café would help promote a carnival atmosphere during racing, with music pumping out of speakers from a Symes Motors recreational vehicle, and good coffee available onsite.
Racing will take place in A, B and C Grades, with points being awarded in all grades and the series winner to be determined on an aggregate basis.
Points earned in handicap races at the regular Thursday night track races would count towards the Symes Motors Summer Series as well.
Racing starts at 9am at Mayfair Park, Sunday, January 15.
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