A GROUP of Riverland Cycling Club members took part in the State Road Championships at Mypolonga recently, with a handful tasting success across various categories.
The highlight came from Mick Gray, who won the state championship in the Masters 9 category, while Clint Bambrick finished runner-up in the Masters 1 race.
Brad Temple came in fifth in the Masters 1 event, while Lee Stevens was dropped from the main group in the Masters 3 race and Tyler Stevens crashed out of the junior competition.
Gray said it was a special moment to cross the finish line first.
“It felt pretty good,” he said.
“I had been training pretty hard, so I thought I would go reasonably well.
“It was a tough race, with some steep parts and gravel sections, but I felt pretty good the whole way.”
Gray, a previous state road title winner, said it was nice to get back to that level of competition.
“I haven’t done any open racing in quite a while, I have been mainly concentrating on riding locally,” he said.
“It was probably the first time I did an open race in about 10 years and that was when I won as well when I turned 60.”
Bambrick said it was his first time taking part in the event.
“It was my first ever time having a crack at the state race, so to finish runner-up was great,” he said.
Bambrick said finishing runner-up in his race was made even better considering the calibre of the eventual winner.
“He is an Australian track rider, so we basically just waved him goodbye, then there was four of us going for the other two podium spots,” he said.
“Brad finished fifth, so it was good to have both of us do well.”
Bambrick said he and his fellow Riverland riders also had the element of surprise on their side at the event.
“It is good to go into a race unknown,” he said.
“No one knows who we are down there and what our strengths are, so their facial expressions are pretty good when you ride straight past them.”
Riverland Cycling Club president Lee Stevens said he was proud of Gray and Bambrick, along with other club members.
“They did really well and Brad Temple did well,” he said.
“It was a pretty tough field for all the riders, so they did particularly well.
“We knew that they were in with a good chance.
“They might not have thought so, but we were confident they would do well.”
The Riverland Cycling Club is on the hunt for new members.
To get involved, contact the club via its Facebook page or get in touch with any members of the group.