Weston sisters in photo finish

By Gavin Staindl
AS THE world’s best cyclists rolled around Geelong for the World Cycling Championships, another breed of junior cyclists were leaving their mark at the same venue.
In the shadows of big-name riders like Cadel Evans and Fabian Cancellara, 25 students from five local schools began turning heads at the annual Victorian School Cycling Championships.
Heading the list of schools was the combination of St Margaret’s and Berwick Grammar who entered under the one name – St Margaret’s/Berwick Grammar.
The school finished with four gold medals, two silvers and one bronze – the best result ever achieved by a school in the championship’s 15-year history.
Cycling co-ordinator for St Margaret’s and Berwick Grammar Terry Trevena said the weekend’s result was indicative of the effort put in at training by his students.
“The kids are training three mornings a week in the gym and on Wednesdays we go down to the track and all those kids who have been doing that raced extremely well,” Trevena said.
Two students who have dominated local cycling this year are the Trevena-trained Weston sisters, Alexandra and Sophie.
The pair again showed their strength by finishing first and second respectively in the under-17 novice category.
After overtaking riders from the previous race, the sisters decided to break from the pack and work as a team until the 200-metre mark where a sprint to the finish line split the pair.
Alex, who had been pipped by her younger sister at the zone championships and the mountainbike championships, this time earned the bragging rights after a photo finish declared Alex the winner by a margin of six centimetres.
Haileybury students Lucy Pearce and William Russel both finished first in their respective categories while Courtney Field from Beaconhills and Taran O’Donovan from Berwick Secondary both received medals for their rides.