sport, local-sport,
THE western regions of New South Wales dominated, but Port Macquarie battled away at the NSW Junior Tour in Port Macquarie on Saturday and Sunday. Port Macquarie duo Trent Alley and James Cockshutt finished first and second in the under-11s while Alani Cockshutt claimed a more than respectable fourth-place finish. Cycling NSW chief executive officer Graham Seers was also impressed with 15-year-old Lachlan McDonald who mixed it with the best in his division. “Lachlan has been right up there, but he hasn’t had a lot of road racing at this level, so this event will help him reach another level,” Seers said. “What I like about him is he lays it all out there on the road; he gives it everything he’s got.” Seers returned to Port Macquarie for the first time in 10 years last year and was pleased to see the region had continued to support cycling a further 12 months down the track. “Last year having been away for 10 years it was a bit mind-blowing, but now I’ve travelled to so many other areas of NSW so when you come here and witness this … it’s such a great facility,” he said. “There’s an off-road criterion circuit with a clubhouse and having the road race circuit available at the front of the clubhouse as well is a great environment.” The future of cycling in Port Macquarie and on the national stage looked bright if what Seers witnessed was an indication. “You look at what has been achieved by this club in 30 years with people like Lauren Kitchen, Angus and Lachie Morton and Brendan Brooks,” he said. “And most recently Liam Magennis is representing Australia, so what the club has done is show the kids what’s going on by enticing them to go into the next level in the sport.” At the weekend, the under-15 and under-17 road races doubled as state selection trials with half the clubs from around the state competing. “The amazing thing is that there are 63 clubs in New South Wales of which nearly 30 were represented,” Seers said. “Naturally with so many other sports it’s difficult to entice people to cycling as a sport, so part of what Cycling NSW are investigating is a strategy of how to do it. “What you see here is the future of Australia.” While you’re with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox from the Port Macquarie News. To make sure you’re up to date with all the news, SIGN UP HERE.
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