The Echuca Moama Cycling Club is gaining topflight ahead of its annual Crit Festival next month.
Just weeks out from its most prominent event, committee member Clint Flanigan said everyone at the club was raring to get the festival up and running after missing out last year.
“Unfortunately, COVID put a stop to it last year, so we’ve replanned it for this year,” he said.
With four senior and two junior grades battling it out at the Moama Velodrome and Crit Circuit on Saturday, April 17, entries upwards of 80 cyclists loom likely.
“Aside from Casey Fields (in Cranbourne), this is the only purpose-built closed-road crit track,” Flanigan said.
“It’s pretty tight. We cap each event at 20 so you’re a high chance of placing if you have the opportunity.
“With a bit of luck, we’ll have riders from Melbourne, Bendigo, Shepparton and into NSW. It’s good for us.”
Following the festival, the club will then head into its winter season, with most of its activities based on the road.
With members already ticking up the kilometres this summer, Flanigan said it was fantastic to have cycling back on the agenda this year.
“After last year it’s sensational, a lot of people missed it,” Flanigan said.
“Our numbers, thus far over summer, has been well in excess of what we’ve seen in the past.
“And the thing is as well, because exercising in groups was limited so much, even if you didn’t compete, you’d be able to train locally in some of the groups - but even that got nailed because you couldn’t train with more than one other human.
“It limited everyone, and a big part of cycling is socialisation more than the competition.”
Flanigan said the club was open for anyone interested in joining.
“One of the beauties of cycling is it's a bit like golf - you can pick it up one week and drop it the next, then pick it up again,” Flanigan said.
“It does provide a bit of a benefit if you work weekends, or you can’t commit to every single Saturday in winter, there is the option of doing that instead.”
For information on the Echuca Moama Cycling Club head to echucamoamacyclingclub.com.au
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