Mt Buninyong stands as an imposing 719-metre mental obstacle for many of the competitors who will compete at the Road National Championships in Ballarat.
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But for the noted hill-climbers, like Tamworth’s Steven Roberts, the mountain represents an opportunity to excel.
Roberts, 17, is among the three Tamworth Cycle Club members who will compete in the under-19 section of the five-day championships, which start on Friday. The others are Luke Deasey and Conor Noonan. For all three, it is their championships debut.
And for Roberts – who finished second at the under-19 mountain bike state championships at Orange last month – the nationals is a continuation of a crash course in road racing that began less than 12 months ago.
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“I haven’t really had much experience in road races, but I’m looking forward to hitting some of the hills out there [Ballarat],” he said.
Sam Spokes, a former cycling professional who coaches Deasey and Noonan, believes that Roberts could be a surprise packet in the road race on Saturday.
“I think he’s got a lot of ability,” Spokes said, “and the course suits him down to the ground. I think his biggest thing is the lack of road racing experience.
“But again, he’s definitely someone who could pull something out of the bag if in the right situation. He’s a very powerful climber.”
All three TCC riders will also contest the criterium at the nationals on Friday, while Deasey will also tackle the time trial on Monday.
“For both of them [Deasey and Noonan] it’s going to be a big learning experience,” Spokes said, adding: “I think they’ll both surprise themselves. They’ve done a lot of hard training. And I think they’ll see that hard work pay off and they’ll have something else to bounce off for the rest of the year and improve on.”
Spokes said that while the championships would be an “eye-opener” for his charges, “you never know what could happen if you get in the right breakaway at the start of the day”.
