THEY began the weekend with a Bathurst time trial quinella and finished it by pulling off a state omnium one-two – when it comes to track cycling Kalinda Robinson and Tyler Puzicha are certainly in form.
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The Bathurst Cycling Club duo, who are also members of the Western Region Academy of Sport cycling squad, are no strangers when it comes to success on the bike.
But what the star duo pulled off in the space of two days was still an impressive effort.
On Friday night as the Bathurst Cycling Club staged its first track championship event of 2019 – a 500 metres time trial – Robinson and Puzicha blazed around the circuit.
They not only filled the top two spots of the B grade podium, with Robinson (37:01) edging out Puzicha (37:17), but the times which led them to success were also impressive.
Robinson’s ride actually ranked her third in quickest overall times for the event and her effort is believed to be one of, if not the, fastest set on the Bathurst Velodrome by a female rider.
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On Saturday Robinson and Puzicha joined other members of the WRAS team in attending the Central Coast Track Carnival.
They were battling for the Cycling NSW under 17 women’s ominium championship. The victor was the rider who amassed the most points across four events – the scratch, tempo, elimination and points race.
Robinson continued her hot form as she won each of those four events to amass a total of 140 points and be crowned state omnium champion.
Puzicha snared silver as she finished on 118 points. She ranked second in the scratch and points races, third in the tempo and fifth in the elimination.
“There are points awarded for each event and the last event is a points race where there are points allocated for sprints across the line during the race as well as the placings. That last race, what happens within that race, can often determine the outcome,” Mick Robinson, Kalinda’s father, explained.
“It was close racing all afternoon and it came down to the points race.
“Kalinda managed to maintain the lead she had established during the day and Tyler, she came into that race in equal third, but managed to ride a very good tactical race to come home with the silver.”
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Ebony Robinson also attended the Central Coast event and was backing up from success in the Friday night time trial, comfortably winning the junior 500m challenge in 42:24.
On Saturday she claimed the under 13 girls omnium title, finishing eight points clear of Lidcombe’s Samantha Allwork.
Though it was not a state championship for this age group, she still impressed. She took out the scratch race, 200m fly and wheelrace to be crowned champion.
“The times that they are doing, all the kids, all the juniors are improving. We are coming towards the pointy end of the season, a time where personal bests are coming, the results of the training are starting to shine though,” Mick Robinson said.
“It was good racing. There are a series of carnivals at the moment, there’s a carnival in Orange this weekend and following shortly after there’s another in Goulburn. They are acting as final preparation for the state championships, where state selection is on the line.”
