IT was an event which had been linked with frustration in the past, but now when Bathurst cyclist Eliza Bennett thinks about keirins it will be with a smile on her face.
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It is the keirin which is now linked to the moment Bennett won her first individual Cycling Australia track nationals gold medal.
Bennett enjoyed the special moment of standing on the top tier of the dais at Brisbane's Anna Meares Velodrome last week as she competed at the 2019 Elite and Under 19 Track Championships.
As a first year under 19s rider, the Bathurst Cycling Club and Western Region Academy of Sport squad member was unsure what to expect at nationals.
She had won medals at Oceania and state titles, but knew this was another challenge.
"It was very unknown heading into it, I was a bit nervous because you're not sure how the other girls have trained," she said.
However, it was a challenge Bennett certainly rose to.
She picked up bronze in the 500 metres time trial, silver in both the sprint and team sprint alongside Tasmin Davis plus the surprise gold in the keirin.
"I am known for messing up a keirin, I have done it like multiple times. I did it at nationals last year, I took off too early and got a silver, I got rolled by someone at the end," Bennett admitted.
"So I definitely didn't expect it, it's not my strong event, I probably would have said the sprints were my best chance. So it was a bit of a surprise, which was nice.
READ MORE: Bennett is now an Oceania champion
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"That day had been a been a bit rough, I was pretty tired. The night before I had to do a drug test, so I was there til midnight at the track and I didn't get to bed until like one o'clock that morning then I had to get up and head to the track that day.
"That was actually my first individual national title, I have a team one with Kalinda [Robinson] from last year, but this is my first individual national title ever.
"It was pretty cool, you look out from the podium and see faces you know - people like [Australian representative] Kaarle McCulloch and those kind of people - and you think to yourself 'Oh my God, they're here watching me and I'm on the podium'.
"It's very cool."
As well as getting her hands on a gold medal, Bennett had another moment to relish over the course of the national titles.
In the sprint event she was the fastest qualifier ahead of fierce South Australian rival Heather May, clocking a personal best time of 11.632.
Though May went on to win that gold, coming from one heat down in the decider to win the next two, the Bathurst talent knew she had given her best.
Considering she rode the qualifier, quarter-final, semi-final then final, her legs had done plenty of work.
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"With my qualifier, I was really happy with that time and it was a PB and I was 0.4 faster than Heather, so I was very happy with that," she said.
"As we progressed through the sprint rounds I seemed to get a bit more tired and she seemed to get a bit stronger and it didn't work for me in the end. But we were close, so I wasn't too disappointed with it.
"I think I rode the best I could at that point, and yeah, it was a big day. It was nice to be able to have that one over her."