Cycling into the history books is a Bendigo tradition

Eddie Barkla | Bendigo Weekly | 20-Jan-2012

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TEAMS GONE BY: Ian Grindlay, Billy Stevens, Merv Dean (Dec), Brian Sonnerman and Frank McCaig (Dec).
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The Bendigo and District Cycling Club has been extremely fortunate in the calibre and stable of riders that have been members over many decades.
The history books of cycling, locally, state wide, nationally, and internationally include many great cycling athletes belonging to the Bendigo Club.
While events may no longer be run, the history still remains showing that Bendigo has been a competitive strength to be reckoned with.
It is risky to try to capture all the riders’ names as there is always the chance of missing a significant contributor to the sport.
Some notable names are that of Jack Trickey, Phil Sawyer, Colin Fitzgerald and Noel Sens who made the Olympic Games teams in road and track and Noel a Paralympic team member and a gold and silver medal winner.
We claim as our own son, of Gold Medal claim, Scott McGrory in the 2000 Sydney Olympics with Brett Aitken in the Madison.
Jack Trickey, still racing today along with Phil and Noel, was the National Road Cchampion at the time of the 1956 Olympics.
Robert Burns and Rick Flood were both medal winners representing Australia at the Commonwealth Games.
Zak Dempster was also a medal winner in the Junior Commonwealth Games held here in Bendigo, hosted by the Bendigo Club and the City of Greater Bendigo for the cycling events.
The club has had many attend World Titles at Masters Elite and Junior levels of road, track and mountain bike. We boast names like Tim Decker a dual world title holder, Noel Sens, Colin Fitzgerald, Tony Hughes, Brent McCaig, Matt Wallace, Robbie Hucker, Jack Haig, Shelly Flood, and Glenn O’Shea most recently.
Bendigo riders Merv Andrea and Zak Dempster were the youngest ever to win the Austral Wheel Race – the world’s oldest.
They are accompanied by such names as Billy Stevens, Phil Sawyer, Ashleigh Harding, Tony Hughes, Terry Schintler, all worthy winners and champions in their own right to hold places in the history books.
The Melbourne-to-Warrnambool Wheel Race – the world’s longest single-day road race – has the names of Bendigo riders  Zak Dempster, Tim Decker, Andrew Stirling, Chris White and many others with podium placings.
Our own Bendigo International Madison winners’ list has many Bendigo-named riders who have partnered visiting riders to this great event.
Chris White and Tim Decker are the only Bendigo Club members to win this event and thrilled the local crowd. Glenn O’Shea was the only Bendigo club member to win back to back with Leigh Howard of Geelong – both international stars in their own right.
You would find that nearly every major wheel race across Victoria and beyond has a Bendigo club rider’s name in the records and this proud history making continues even today.
At state and national level, the list is far too big to contemplate making a summary of riders’ names. In junior ranks riders took out every event as a national title holder and some riders holding up to nine national gold medals and titles in their careers.
Rik McCaig was a criterium specialist competing against TDF sprint champions Baden Cooke and Robbie McEwen and being the champion the name McCaig suggests.
There are many more stories of the men and women champions associated with the BDCC.
Looking forward to seeing you on the road soon, God willing.
b.Entertained

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