National Junior Racing Series – Round 2 Recap

The second round of the National Junior Racing Series (NJRS) saw riders tackle the iconic Paterberg course in Belgium. The racing met all expectations with the Paterberg climb, with an average gradient of 12.5% and a max gradient of 20% the legs, proving decisive.

Round 2 Category Recaps

JM15 Race

Benjamin Meakin (Ballarat Sebastapol Cycling Club, VIC) continued to show his strong form after taking the general classification in round #1 to take an impressive 30-second win. After narrowly missing the podium in Round 1, Ethan Lang (Hobart Wheelers, QLD) took an impressive second-place finish with Harrison Ney (Mackay Cycling Club, QLD) showing some strong form to round out the podium in third.

JW15 Race

In the most thrilling race of the day Isabelle Russell (Dubbo Cycling Club, NSW) narrowly edged out Round 1 winner Laren Bates (Canberra Cycling Club, ACT) by three seconds with a final kick on the Paterberg climb. Milena Freer (Bendigo & District Cycling Club, VIC) finished in third after a strong first race in the NJRS.

JM17 Race

After winning two stages in Round 1, Ryan Britten (Illawarra CC, NSW) was back to his winning ways on Paterberg narrowly beating South Australian Sam Golding (Norwood, SA) by a mere four seconds. Harvey McIntosh (Hamilton Wheelers CC, QLD) held onto third place over a fast closing Matson Macadam (Balmoral CC).

JW17 Race

Lucinda Stewart (Carnegie Caulfield Cycling Club, VIC) was able to move up one place to conquer Paterberg and gain the victory over Talia Appleton (Mansfield Mount Buller CC, VIC) and Ruby McLean to give Victoria a 1-2-3 podium. Appleton and Stewart battled until the final lap when Stewart grew her lead which was never relinquished.

JM19 Race

With under 30 seconds between the riders on the podium, the JM19 race was electric. It would, however, be Round 1 winner Callum Milne (Peel District Cycling Club, WA) once again being too strong for the field and winning by 5 seconds over Mitchell McGovern (Blackburn Cycling Club, VIC). Dylan Eather (Dubbo Cycling Club, NSW) came back from a power outage in Round 1 to show he will be a force in the final two rounds to take third.

JW19 Race

WA’s Zoe Davidson (Perth MTB Club, WA) put in a dominating performance winning by over three minutes to win on Paterberg. Amy Wright (Launceston Cycling Club, TAS) took out second over and Briana McDonald (Townsville Cycle Club, QLD). McDonald continued her strong form by repeating her third place from Round 1.

Up Next

Round three of the National Junior Racing Series will take place on the 8 Bar Crit course in Germany. The course is located at Tempelhof Airport in Berlin and is the home to Germany’s largest fixed gear bike race; The 8 Bar Crit.
If you’re here to race you better warm-up. There are loads of tight, technical corners that you will be braking for so be ready to go hard from the gun and push out of every turn to stay with the group. There is no climbing so the course can suit those with bigger absolute power.

Round 3: Schedule
JM15 and JW15 – 11:00 AM AEST – 15 Laps: 15km
JM17 and JW17 – 11:30 AM AEST – 18 Laps: 18km
JM19 and JW19 – 12:00 PM AEST – 20 Laps: 20km