The younger crop of Bathurst’s track talent will be out to impress this weekend at the NSW Under 9-13s Junior Track Championships in Dubbo.

A group of 16 riders will be representing the Bathurst Cycling Club, ranging from newcomers to some already considered experienced competitors at a young age.

The Bathurst under 15s and 17s recently had their championships at Dunc Gray Vel-odrome, coming home with four medals.

Club vice president juniors Mick Robinson said making use of the new Bathurst Velodrome has done wonders for the group in their training for Dubbo.

“We’ve got 16 juniors from the Bathurst clubs heading across, so we’ll be one of the larger contingents heading across from around the state. They’ll be competing against around another 90 to 100 riders this weekend,” he said.

“The Bathurst club in the past has always had a good showing there. The preparation for these kids – both in keeping cycling fun and competitive for this year – in being able to use this facility here has assisted in their preparation far better than in the past.”

The junior group is looking to build upon the strong showing they had on their home circuit during the NSW Country Championships.

Thanks to the work of coaches Marian Renshaw and Damien Bennett, the team is searching for growth and improvement in their younger group.

Given the experience the older portion of the travelling group has, Robinson said some riders will be going over there with winning ambitions.

“We’ve got a few [first-timers]. It’s a funny way to say it, but we’ve got some veterans going as well that are lining up for their third, fourth or even fifth championships,” he said.

“There’s some strong clubs going from Sydney and then there’s the stronger clubs from around the state like Wagga, Coffs Harbour, Central Coast, Dubbo and Mudgee among others.

“It’s quite a competitive field and if you look at the times these [Bathurst] kids do for their racing, all of these kids are among the best in the state.”

Robinson is hopeful that one of the leading hopes in their oldest age category, Tyler Puzicha, can end her time in the Under 9-13s state competition on a high. 

“This will be her last year in under 13s and she’s been very dominant on the track all season, at carnivals here and away. There’s some strong hopes that she will do extremely well there,” he said.

“Right down through the ranks we’ve got riders in every age group that are on fire at the moment.

“Every year we go to Dubbo each of these kids pull something out of the box and all set PBs.”