Local star: EMCC member Lenny Griffiths (left) represented Victoria in the under-17 category at the junior national cycling championships in Shepparton last weekend. Photo: EMCC
Echuca Moama Cycling Club members Lenny and George Griffiths donned the ‘Big V’ over the weekend, representing Victoria in the AusCycling Junior Road National Championships in Shepparton.
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Going head-to-head with the best juniors from around Australia, the brothers raced a full program including a time trial, road race and criterium across three action-packed days.
George, riding in the under-15 category, got things under way with a fantastic ride in Thursday’s 10km time trial to place inside the top 20, finishing 18th, one minute and 34 seconds behind the winner.
Lenny, racing in the under-17 category, finished 22nd out of 46 competitors over his 15.5km time trial course, one minute and 45 seconds behind the first rider across the line.
Friday saw both brothers compete in a road race, with George racing across 38km, while it would be a 68km ride for Lenny.
George again rode strongly to record a top-20 finish, claiming 19th place in a big bunch sprint while recording the same time as the winner.
Lenny finished in 51st in his road race, just 11 seconds behind first place after one hour and 52 minutes of racing.
Young gun: George Griffiths was in action for team Victoria in the under-15 section in Shepparton. Photo: EMCC
Saturday was the final day of racing for the pair, with a criterium in the Shepparton CBD serving as the finale of the junior championships.
Riders would have to qualify to race in the final crit, with George placing fifth in his heat to secure a spot in the under-15 division, while Lenny finished 8th in his heat, narrowly missing a start in the under-17 race.
Racing over 15 minutes, George rolled across the line in 18th place in the final, eight seconds behind the winner, and ensuring he finished inside the top 20 in each of his three races.
Great ride: Nathan Oman (left) claimed the silver medal in the 30-34 age group criterium at the Masters national championships at the weekend. Photo: EMCC
There were also a number of strong performances from EMCC riders in the Masters National Road Championships, which were held simultaneously alongside the junior championships.
Michael Taylor claimed gold in the para time trial, earning the national champion mantle after covering the 15.5km course with an average speed of 30.9km/h.
Nathan Oman took home the silver medal in his criterium in the 30-34 age group, finishing on the same time as the winner.
Trent Stevenson finished fourth in a bunch sprint in the 40-44 age group road race, and also secured fifth in the criterium, while Trudy Stevenson crossed the line in fifth in her road race in the 50-54 category.
Neville Laffy, Kevin Laffy and Cam Smith were all in action in the 55-59 age group, finishing ninth, 11th and 20th respectively in the road race, while Kevin also claimed 11th place in the criterium.
