Leongatha is a proud club with a very strong history and we host what we believe is one of the best, if not the best, Junior Tour on the calendar.
In 2013 we are proud to announce that this year it is being fully sponsored by the
INVERLOCH AND DISTRICT COMMUNITY BANK BENDIGO
Throughout the years it has had many riders compete, many who have gone on to pursue professional racing careers, Simon Clarke, Glenn O’Shea, Zac Demster, Nick Aitken, Peter Johnstone, Patrick Lane, etc. Some of whom are now world champions.
But our event is not all about developing elite athletes; its priority is to ensure all riders enjoy the weekend.
The Junior Experience is now in its 16th year and was one of the first junior tours to be run in Victoria.
In many respects it pioneered the way for the range of junior tours that our now on the Cycle Racing Calendar.
Throughout its history the Junior Experience has been about promoting cycle racing for junior riders who are new to the sport as well as riders with a great deal of racing experience.
As such the tour consists of a series of events from a time trial, graded scratch races, criteriums and sprints, and hill climbs. It caters for all abilities.
Also The Hill Climb event has Championship Status and we award medals,
The Victorian Junior Hill Climb Champion for the Victorian Junior Hill Climb Championships.
The philosophy of our event is to ensure all riders enjoy the weekend and “go home a winner”.
We do this by ensuring the event is held where good sportsmanship is a priority and everyone “wins a prize”
As a result we are very appreciative of our sponsors
This event attracts many competitors from across the state we get a large number of new and experienced riders. We have obtained permission and insurance cover to allow for novice, non-licenced riders, to compete in our events. So we regularly get over 100 competitors from throughout the state of Victoria and some interstate entries.
Over the years we have managed to provide all our competitors with a prize of some sort, to take home as a record of their participation.
However, for a small regional club, Leongatha Cycle Club has had to work very hard to provide prize money and prizes for all its entrants. It is a matter of great pride and satisfaction that we have been able to achieve this aim throughout the events history.
Kevin Feely
President Leongatha Cycling Club
Address for correspondence and postage
Mr Kevin Feely
224 McCraws Rd
Wattle Bank Vic 3995
Phone AH 03 56192010 Phone BH 0400 227327
Here is a link to some photographs taken during our 2012 event. http://leongathacycling.com/~lynton/wonthaggi280412.html
Hoping this will give you a good idea of the type and nature of the Junior Experience.
As a matter of interest this photo http://leongathacycling.com/~lynton/slides/IMG_1215a.html shows one of our promising juniors, Tom MacFarlane who recently won 2 gold medals in the 2011/2012 Victorian U15 Track Titles. His father Dave Macfarlane, holding him up in the photo, raced the giro during his career.
Here is some feedback from previous years
“Hi Kevin, I’d like to congratulate you and the club on the excellent Leongatha Junior Experience. My son Alastair is new to racing and although he was a late arrival he really enjoyed the opportunity to race on Saturday afternoon and Sunday and meet some of the other boys. It was also great that Maccie Carter was able to race even though he hadn’t already entered. It was a well-run and very friendly event and we look forward to attending in the future!
updated 8am 2nd June
