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Australian Junior and Teams Road Championships - NE
Sunshine Coast, Australia, September 2-September 10, 2006
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Race 4 - September 5: Junior Road Championships Pairs Time Trial
World champion Meyer brothers win pairs gold
By John Flynn
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The result might have been predictable, but it was the style with which Western Australia's Meyer brothers won the final event of Australia's national junior road championships, that impressed most.
Eighteen-year-old Cameron and seventeen-year-old Travis produced a tradesman-like performance on the undulating roads of the Sunshine Coast hinterland, to cap off their remarkable year with victory in the under-19 pairs time trial.
The Meyer brothers came to the national championships with five rainbow jerseys in their keep from the World junior track championships in Belgium and left with three more jerseys in their ever expanding wardrobe, after Cameron's victory in Saturday's under-19 men's road race and today's two-up effort.
"To come here and win two national championships on the road has just polished off a really good year," a smiling Cameron Meyer told Cyclingnews. "We won this two years ago as under 17's and have come back and done it again. It really hurt today and we got through and we did it comfortably."
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Maintaining almost perfect form in an event that demands peak powers of concentration, the confidence the brothers showed in each other as they traded turns clearly stood out.
"I crashed yesterday [in the criterium] but I got out on the road today and felt really good," Travis Meyer said. "I had the confidence in Cameron being the great time trialler that he is."
The gap to their nearest rivals in the pairs event was 1 minute 33 seconds. But there was every reason for the second place getters to celebrate, with Matt King and Daniel Johnston taking home silver medals to the Northern Territory.
South Australia's Jack Bobridge, who teamed up with the Meyer brothers to win teams pursuit gold at the world championships, combined with his Norwood club-mate Timothy Roe to win bronze.
Another golden day for Midlands club
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Overall honours on the final day of competition at the Australian Junior Road Championships once again went to Australia's juggernaut of junior cycling, the Midlands Cycling Club from Perth.
Michaela Anderson, fresh from winning the Under 15 women's criterium, teamed with Jessica Allen to get the gold in the under-15 pairs event, while Sarah Kent paired with one of the standout riders of the championships, Camille Pallett, to win gold in the under-17 women's race.
The result was Pallett's third gold for the championships, coming on the back of wins in Saturday's road race and yesterday's criterium.
Midlands Club coach Rick Lee had nothing but praise for his young charges. "Yeah it's been outstanding, especially in the girls divisions," The Midlands Coach told Cyclingnews. "There were eight gold medals in the divisions we contested and we won six of those and were unfortunate in one of the others."
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With his crop of young female stars, not to mention the Meyer brothers on the club's books the West Australian coach could not be happier with the progress of cycling in Australia's west. "Right across the board we've just been bloody happy," Lee said. "It's been a whole team effort, this is what makes it, it's all these people who prepare to help out and chip in. It's not luck, it's a lot of hard work and a hot of hard planning.
Another New South Wales gold
New South Wales also finished the National Junior Road Championships with gold on the final day.
Port Macquarie's Lachlan Morton, who bettered the previous junior road nationals efforts of older brother Angus, came away from the championships with three gold medals and one bronze after teaming with Sam Spokes in the pairs time trial for victory.
Spokes, who made a trip to hospital the previous evening after falling in the criterium, put up with the pain of a shoulder injury to finish the championships on top of the podium. "I was definitely going to ride even if I had to ride with one arm," the determined Spokes said after getting the gold. "It was pretty tough out of the seat, in the seat I was alright. Got the bronze in the road race so the gold finished off the week."
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Morton, who was backing up after winning gold in the road race and the criterium, exceeded his expectations for the National Championships. "I came here obviously wanting to win, but three, I didn't think I would be able to do that," Morton said.
The younger of Port Macquarie's talented cycling Morton siblings will be sure to give brother Angus a few tips when he gets back home. "I think [my effort is] better than his best, something that he hasn't done but he's been really inspiring."
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by John Flynn/Cyclingnews.com
- Norwood cyclists Annette Edmondson and Lyndsey Edmunds in the Under 17 Women's T.T.
- Midlands motoring Rebecca Dracup and Ryla Jakelski
- Queenslanders Zoe Appel and Lucy Moseley in the Hit Racing team strip
- Vikings Tuggeranong's Tim Cameron and Sam Genge in the under 17 men's pairs event
- In Form Broncs! Courtney Dutton and Jessica McKay of the Victor Broncos Club
- Digging deep Sarah Cure and Emma Smith of the Mersey Valley Devonport Cycling club
- Carnegie Caulfield pairing Jake King and Ben Sanders in the Under 17 men's event
- Parramatta pair Justin Meindertsma and Thomas Pritchard
- Canberra cyclists Caitlin Westropp-Evans and Chloe Hosking
- Gunning it Midlands pairing Rebecca Dracup and Ryla Jaleski
- Blasting home Midlands Sarah Kent (front) and Camille Pallett leave the Queenslanders in their backwash
- Tasmanians Alex Benson and Mathew Kent
- Leongatha's Nick Aitken and ben Wight
- Canberra pair Alastair Loutit and Michael Phelan
- Adelaide alive Sean Boyle and Rohan Dennis impressive winners
- Canberra boys Matthew Meisel-Dennis and Thomas Palmer - last cab off the rank in the under 17 men's event
- Tasmanian under 17's leaving nothing out there in the race of truth
- Powering uphill Canberra pair Alastair Loutit and Michael Phelan
- Midlands Under 17s Alex Carpenter and Jonathan Dunlop
- Victory in sight for Adelaide pair Sean Boyle and Rohan Dennis
- World Champion Jack Bobridge and Timothy Roe turn on the pace in the under 19 men's pairs event
- Arrarat pairing Lachlan Stewart and William Ford
- Territorians Matt King and Daniel Johnston
- The Meyer Brothers making a smooth start
- Winding it up for the Northern Territory's Matt King and Daniel Johnston in the under 19 men's pairs t.t.
- The Meyer boys about to exceed the speed limit
- Powering uphill . The Northern territory pair of Matt King and Daniel Johnston riding to a silver medal
- Tasmania's Nathan Earle and Simon Brown
- Midlands cyclists Tod Francis and Mitchell Brooks showing the club's depth
- Bathurst boys Blair Windsor and Tim Guy on the climb
- Jack Bobridge does the work for Timothy Roe on the final climb
- The Tasmanians surging towards the finish
- Windsor and Guy trying to make up valuable seconds on the final climb
- Jack Bobridge and Timothy Roe en-route to winning bronze
- The Meyer brothers riding in perfect formation
Results
Junior Men U15 1 Morton / Spokes (Port Macquarie, NSW) 16.16 2 Brett / Ockerby (Mersey Valley Devonport CC, TAS) 0.16 3 Tepper / Rix (Bendigo & District CC, VIC) 0.45 4 Moore / Vicino (Brunswick Cycling Club Inc, VIC) 1.05 5 Bissett / Horne (Midland CC, WA) 1.20 6 Edmondson / Parker (Central Districts C.C., SA) 1.21 7 Mellish / Harding (Central Coast CC, NSW) 1.39 8 Walker / Mather (Mersey Valley Devonport CC, TAS) 1.48 9 Howson / Mcphee (Central Districts C.C., SA) 2.15 Junior Men U17 1 Boyle / Dennis (Adelaide CC, SA) 15.19 2 Durbridge / Freiberg (Midland CC, WA) 0.07 3 Meisel-Dennis / Palmer (Canberra Cycling Club, ACT) 0.16 4 Loutit / Phelan (Canberra Cycling Club, ACT) 0.40 5 Donnelly / Law (Illawarra CC, NSW) 0.44 6 Grenda / Lyons (Launceston City CC, TAS) 0.48 7 O'dell / Greef (Victor Broncos, QLD) 0.53 8 Downing / Edwards (Carnegie Caulfield CC, VIC) 0.57 9 Carpenter / Dunlop (Midland CC, WA) 0.58 10 King / Sanders (Carnegie Caulfield CC, VIC) 0.58 11 Meindertsma / Pritchard (Parramatta CC, NSW) 1.02 12 Genge / Matthews (Tuggeranong Vikings CC, ACT) 1.11 13 Fawkes / Garland (Hunter District CC, NSW) 1.14 14 Aitken / Wight (Leongatha Cycling Club Inc, VIC) 1.14 15 Tremayne / Gill (South West CC, WA) 1.22 16 Benson / Kent (Mersey Valley Devonport CC, TAS) 1.27 17 Cutajar / Wardrop (Gold Coast Goldstars C C, QLD) 1.43 18 Cameron / Bomball (Tuggeranong Vikings CC, ACT) 2.26 Junior Men U19 1 Meyer / Meyer (Midland CC, WA) 27.10 2 King / Johnston (Darwin Cycling Club, NT) 1.33 3 Roe / Bobridge (Norwood C.C., SA) 1.51 4 Windsor / Guy (Bathurst CC, NSW) 2.15 5 Stewart / Ford (Ararat&District Cycling Club, VIC) 2.19 6 Francis / Brooks (Midland CC, WA) 2.29 7 Earle / Brown (Hobart Wheelers, TAS) 3.13 8 Trott / Marshall (Darwin Cycling Club, NT) 3.18 9 Hudson / Kerswill (Sunshine Coast CC, QLD) 4.32 Junior Women U15 1 Allen / Anderson (Midland CC, WA) 17.06 2 Mohr / Stewart (Balmoral Cycle Club, QLD) 1.48 3 East / Nitis (Balmoral Cycle Club, QLD) 2.09 Junior Women U17 1 Kent / Pallett (Midland CC, WA) 17.06 2 Dutton / Mckay (Victor Broncos, QLD) 0.40 3 Hosking / Westropp-Evans (Canberra Cycling Club, ACT) 1.02 4 Appel / Moseley (Balmoral Cycle Club, QLD) 1.14 5 Edmondson / Edmunds (Norwood C.C., SA) 1.45 6 Cure / Smith (Mersey Valley Devonport CC, TAS) 1.45 7 Dracup / Jakelski (Midland CC, WA) 2.06 8 Todd / Meisel-Dennis (Canberra Cycling Club, ACT) 2.57 Junior Women U19 1 Blumel / Paskin (Sunshine Coast CC, QLD) 20.43
