The juniors recorded some impressive results, with Ryan Britten claiming three victories, Sarah Cliff finishing with two first and two second-place finishes and youngster Gabriel Jakobsen claiming two gold medals.  

Illawarra Cycle Club's Simon Britten said the meet was well attended and he was impressed by the way Illawarra's cyclists performed against some high-quality opposition. 

“It was a successful event, with all the cyclists enjoying their racing,” Britten said. “We had people coming from places like Bathurst, Coffs Harbour, all the way from Wagga, thanking us for the event, so it was quite a regional carnival. 

“There were approximately 150 riders overall, including juniors and seniors and we had a good showing from the local riders, both juniors and seniors were prominent in every race.”

“On the local track, the riders knew the quirks of the track and used it to the best of their abilities.” 

The Illawarra boasts a talented crop of emerging riders, with Cliff and Britten among a group of juniors who have won medals at national championships in recent years.

Britten said the juniors all work hard at training and push each other to perform both on the road and in the velodrome. 

“Illawarra is typically always one of the best clubs, we were recently voted the seventh best club in Australia.

“In the juniors, there’s two riders that are probably quite unique and stand out. We’ve got Sarah Cliff in the under 17 women and Ryan Britten in the under 17 men, both of those riders went on to do well on Saturday.”

The youngsters will have no time to rest, with the Brisbane round of the National Junior Track Series taking place this weekend.

There, they will have the chance to race at the Anna Meares Velodrome, the track used for April’s Commonwealth Games and Britten is expecting a number of Illawarra riders to record podium finishes.