IF nine medals at the Junior Track Nationals doesn’t spell out a positive future for the Bathurst Cycling Club then nothing will.
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Tyler Puzicha, Kalinda Robinson (both under 15s) and Eliza Bennett (under 17s) did their club proud at the Dunc Gray Velodrome against the best junior track cycling talent Australia has to offer.
The Bathurst trio, between Wednesday and Saturday, had a stack of highlights to cherish.
Puzicha and Robinson managed to lock out the top two spots on the podium – not once, but twice.
Little could separate the pair in both the sprint and 500 metre time trial events, with Puzicha narrowly coming out ahead in both finals.
In the sprint Puzicha and Robinson were the only girls in their age group to break the 13-second barrier.
Puzicha also claimed a new Australian record of 12.689 seconds in the qualifying stages.
The record-breaking efforts from Puzicha didn’t stop there as she produced a time of 37.34 seconds in the time trial.
Puzicha made it three gold medals for the competition with success in the Keirin – with Robinson taking bronze – and came home with four medals in total by earning silver in the scratch.
Bennett was out to prove a point in her first year of under 17s.
After a strong sixth place finish in the 500m time trial Bennett came back to claim an impressive silver in the sprint against her more experienced opponents.
That wasn’t the last time Bennett found herself on the podium. The Bathurst rider joined forces with New South Wales teammate Tamika Wallace to earn a silver in the team sprint.
Bathurst junior track cycling co-coach Damien Bennett said he and fellow mentor Marian Renshaw continue to be amazed by the efforts of the trio.
“We’re so proud of them all,” he said.
“Glen Carter coaches Tyler and he’s done an amazing job with her. Marian and I work with Kalinda and Eliza and we couldn’t be prouder of them both.
“Eliza went in hoping to get a medal of some colour, in her first year of under 17s, and for Kalinda it was pretty much the same, even though she hadn’t been to this level before.
“I think Marian knew that they could do it and she’s proud to see these three quality riders representing Bathurst.”
Bennett said the 1-2 results for Puzicha and Robinson were amazing to witness.
“It’s an awesome result for our club. We haven’t had something like that happen before. Tyler and Kalinda have been evenly matched over the past year,” he said.