Cycling Australia

The Adelaide Super-Drome ignited on Tuesday night as one hundred and thirty junior riders burnt up the boards at Gepps Cross for Round 4 of the National Junior Track Series (NJTS), run in conjunction with the Santos Tour Down Under.

The evening was full of superb junior racing with the future of track cycling burning brightly under the watchful eye of Australian cycling royalty in Anna Meares, Shane Perkins and Sean Eadie and a support crowd of about four hundred spectators and support staff.

Meares, Perkins and Eadie were part of the evening’s events, visiting the junior riders in the pits during the evening, shaking hands, signing autographs and sharing their experiences, knowledge and even a few tactics with the young riders.

 "It was just amazing to see so many young athletes involved in track cycling and the vibe around the track was simply magnificent, I loved it" said Meares, who was more than impressed with the talent of the teenagers tearing around the track over the 6 hour program. 

As expected, there was outstanding racing in all age divisions as regular the NJTS starters continue to grow their skills, confidence and ultimately, the quality of the races.

Under 15 men’s Isacc Buckell (Regional Victoria), under 17 women’s Courtney Field (Carnegie Caulfield), under 17 men’s Jeone Park (Central Mix) and Cameron Scott ((Illawarra Academy) and Under 15 women’s Bridget Mullany (Illawarra Academy) put a mountain of pressure on the overall leaders with all rider’s commitments to the NJTS taking this series to another level.

Under 15 women’s Jessica Saunders (Northern Inland) still holds a firm lead in her category, as does Under 15 men’s Riley Hart (Brunswick Orange). There's a new outright leader in the under 17 women, with Danielle McKinnirey (Sturt Holdfast Marion) holding onto the lead by one point while Matthew Jackson (HSC Perth) maintains his seat at the top of the rankings table for the under 17 men. 

The final round of the NJTS will be held on Saturday 23 February at DISC where the individual series leaders will be crowned, along with the overall teams winner.