SIBLINGS Cadel and Charlotte Lovett were eager to test themselves in new territory at the weekend's Cycling NSW Club Team Sprint and Team Pursuit Championships, and the Bathurst riders were rewarded for taking the leap.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
They each came away with gold in their team pursuit rides, joining forces with Western Region Academy of Sport riders and Hunter Cycling Club members in the four-rider event, while Cadel also claimed silver in the team sprint.
While the siblings were guaranteed a gold for finishing the event at Dunc Gray Velodrome it still didn't stop them or their teams from trying to throw down times worth being proud about.
Cadel Lovett, 14, said the team pursuit was an enjoyable challenge.
"It was the first time we'd done 3km because we normally ride over 2km," he said.
"The boys held up well and we didn't drop anyone, which was good. We just wanted to go out there and see what we could do. That extra kilometre wasn't too bad. It's much easier with four people."
Lovett also had a busy program at the weekend's National Junior Track Series, and rode well on his comeback from an injury.
"My best performance was probably in the first scratch race where I was fifth out of 21 and I was first out of the bottom age rider," he said.
"It was definitely a tough race. I'm not used to racing against 20 other people at once. There was a crash in that race... but it was behind me."
Charlotte Lovett, 13, loved having the opportunity to try something new with the team pursuit.
"I've had experience doing the individual pursuit but never as a group," she said.
"Since I don't normally ride with those girls it's was really good fun and I was quite impressed with our time.
"I had a good idea of what we could do because I have raced against these girls for the past few years."
Bathurst's great results continued with Ebony Robinson claiming gold in the scratch and a silver in the elimination, while older sister Kalinda defended her keirin and scratch wins from last year's championships.
Dan Googe came close to claiming a pair of podiums, finishing fourth in the open men's keirin at the end of a long sprint attempt and finishing in the same position for the Clarence Street Cup Wheelrace.
Despite a year away from the boards Luke Tuckwell finished sixth place in the scratch and achieved three top five placings in the omnium.
Sienna and Lara Allen showed improvement, with the former coming fourth in the Clarence St Cup and the latter putting in a great elimination performance.