Locals shine in Alpe de Buffalo road races

LAST weekend saw the 13th edition of the annual Alpe de Buffalo junior cycling race. This is a 3–stage race held over two days for emerging cyclists ranging from Under–11 through to Under–19, sponsored by Wilson Asset Management and co–hosted by local club Alpine Cycling Club from Bright and Hawthorn Cycling Club in Melbourne. The race attracted 94 competitors from the area, wider Victoria and further afield including Canberra, Sydney, South Australia and Tasmania. They were testing their legs in the first stage, a race against the clock which went from Porepunkah to various points halfway up Mt Buffalo. Local cyclist Scarlett Stewart won the Under 13 girls race with her brother Lachlan taking the medal in Under 15 men. Julian Baudry, another Alpine Cycling Club member put more than two minutes into his closest competitor in the Under 19's group. "After a gruelling morning on the lower slopes of Mt Buffalo, the race moved into Bright for the Criterium – a short, high speed dash around Pioneer Park," said a spokesperson for the race. "The race was opened up to Under–9 riders to give them a taste of what racing is all about." Locals Hanna Caswell and Otis Gray were joined by Shepparton Thea Davis. "Here the riders compete for vital time bonuses which can make all the difference in the General Classification, or GC which is an accumulation of the total time taken to complete the 23 stages," said the spokesperson. The third and final stage was the Victorian Junior HillClimb Championship which climbs Mt Buffalo to Dingo Dell. The distances covered are based on age, with the Under 11's riding 5km, through to the Under 17's and 19's covering a gruelling 56km and 67km respectively. Julian Baudry won Men's Under 19's with second, third and fourth separated by mere seconds after more than three and a half hours racing. In the women's group, Charlotte Lang suffered a mechanical in the early part of the race but recovered to pass fellow Hawthorn member Ella Reeman to take out the top step on the podium. Lachlan Stewart won GC for the Under 15 men while Darcy Yorston managed 2nd in her first big race, with interstate riders filling the rest of the podium spots.

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