BATHURST rider Ebony Robinson has bid farewell to the under 15s age group in the best way possible by taking out Sunday's NSW Junior Criterium title at Sutherland.
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Robinson always looked like a strong winning chance in her event after joining two other riders in a breakaway powerful group who were capable of holding onto their advantage all the way until the finish.
That's exactly what the trio were able to do, and when they were called on to show how much sprinting power they had left in the tank it was Robinson who prevailed in the headwind.
The rain thankfully stayed away at Waratah Park and it produced excellent, high speed racing across all divisions.
Michael Robinson said his daughter tactically played her cards well in the under 15s race as the finish drew near.
"The break came halfway through the race and they worked together to stay away. They spent the last couple of laps sizing each other up while a couple of attacks were coming from the other riders," he said.
"They bided their time and Ebony timed the sprint perfectly. It's a strong field in that under 15s girls age group, and the road state championships a few weeks ago were also highly competitive.
"Because there hasn't been a lot of state-based racing over the year it's always an unknown when you go in. She was confident that she'd do well but she certainly wasn't expecting a gold medal."
The under 15s event was a 20 minute ride with three additional laps at the end of the timed portion.
The short track isn't without its challenges but they played somewhat into Robinson's hands.
"Criteriums are a more technical event and this circuit was quite tough because it's only an 800m circuit with a hill in it, so every couple of minutes they have to power up that. That was where all the attacks would come," her father said.
"Ebony is a taller rider so she's more of a power climber than an endurance one, so the course suited her to that degree because they'd be going fast into that climb every lap. She was able to shut down every challenge that happened there."
Robinson is riding in under 17s as part of the track racing season, which is already underway.
Normally the road and criterium championships would have been held earlier in the year but COVID-19 led to their delay.
Robinson said the difference in regulations between those age groups added another interesting tactical element to Sunday's criterium for his daughter.
"Their allowable gearing combinations go up in under 17s. She's been racing in bigger gears on the track but she comes back here and has to gear down. In some ways that suits her because she usually rides with a high cadence," he said.
"Bathurst junior coach Marian Renshaw has done an awesome job, keeping the kids motivated and keeping them all on song during everything that's happened with COVID."
It was a great day for Central West girls' cycling, with Dubbo rider Isabelle Russell going solo to claim the under 17s criterium title.
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