Cycling Australia

Round 4 of the National Junior Track Series (NJTS) rolls off at the Adelaide Super-Drome on Tuesday 22 January, with 138 starters set to hit the boards and continue the battle for NJTS  honours.

Held in alignment with the Santos Tour Down Under, Round 4 consists of five hours of fast paced events, including keirins, points races, scratch races, cyclone sprints, eliminations and a demonstration Italian Pursuit to cap off an entertaining night of track racing for our up and coming junior cyclists.

Individual battles in each age division continue, with Bridget Mullany (Illawarra Academy) and Danielle McKinnirey (Sturt Holdfast Marion) in the Under 17 women (JW17) tied on 76 points going into this round.  Courtney Field (Carnegie Caulfield CC) is just three points behind Mullany and McKinnirey and a tight tussle is expected from this talented trio.

In the Under 17 men (JM17), 56 riders will line up to contest the round, with Matthew Jackson (HCS Perth) heading into round 4 as the favoured rider, 19 points clear of his nearest rival, Cameron Scott (Illawarra Academy). JM17 racing is hotly contested and local riders Derek Radzikiewicz (Central Mix) and Jeone Park (Central Mix) will be looking to use the home town advantage to improve their rankings of fifth and six respectively, to move past third and fourth ranked James Robinson (Launceston City CC) and Chris Bryan (NSW North Coast).

Under 15 women (JM15) also sees a clear leader at the top of the table, with Jessica Saunders (Northern Inland) leading the division 28 points clear of her nearest opponent, Natasha Mullany (Illawarra Academy).  The competition is hot for third place, with Charlotte Thompson (Regional Victoria) currently holding this position, but strong performances from Georgia O’Rourke (Mersey Valley Devenport CC) and Sarah Gigante (Brunswick Orange) could see a change following the completion of this round.

Riley Hart (Brunswick Orange) continues to hold steady in the Under 15 men (JM15), leading the division ahead of Isaac Buckell (Regional Victoria) and Mitchell Wright (Illawarra Academy). A solid performance from Kai Chapman (Hunter Region) could see a change in the top three rankings with only 8 points separating second, third and fourth place. 

In the teams’ category, Illawarra Academy continues to lead the rankings ahead of Brunswick Orange, Northern Inland and Carnegie Caulfield CC in the teams rankings.

Rider/coach workshops and athlete visits also continue in round 4, with a short presentation by National Performance Director Kevin Tabotta at 3pm, followed by athlete visits in the team pits by Olympic Sprint Gold medallist and World Record Holder Anna Meares, Olympic Sprint Bronze medallist and member of the World Champion Team Sprint Team at the 2012 World Championships, Shane Perkins and former World Sprint Champion Sean Eadie occurring throughout the evening.

Racing commences at 5.00pm at the Adelaide Super-Drome in Gepps Cross and entry is free for spectators.