THE annual Bathurst Cycling Club Australia Day criterium races are expected to bring some of the city’s fastest riders to Mount Panorama in a great test of their high-speed capabilities.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Bathurst road racing co-ordinator Ryan O’Donnell is expecting some competitive racing at the Sulman Park course.
“We’re hoping for some good numbers. With a few guys back from holidays and the Tour Down Under we could see about 10 to 15 riders per grade,” he said.
O’Donnell himself will be hunting for the A grade victory alongside what could be a strong field.
“Josh Corcoran is riding really well at the moment. For Craig Hutton this is his forte. He’s got a great sprint and he’ll be hard to stop if he turns up,” he said.
“Dean Windsor’s the former Australian under 23 criterium champion, plus Steve Bennett and Richard Hobson to tend to go very well in this. Jay Austin, who’s recently come across from Randwick, could be up there too.”
The club used a road circuit at Kelso for last year’s edition of the race but due to safety concerns have brought the criterium back to Mount Panorama.
The 2016 edition of the race was taken out by Bathurst’s professional World Tour rider Mark Renshaw, who finished ahead of Hutton and Bennett.
The A grade race will be over 35 minutes with three additional laps. Each grade lower will subtract a further five minutes off that time.
Racing at Mount Panorama gets underway with D grade at 8.30am. The A grade race is expected to start around 10.30am.
