Hart of gold: Riley’s racing rise continues
CYCLING sensation Riley Hart is continuing his rise to fame, pulling off several incredible rides on the national stage over the past few months.
CYCLING sensation Riley Hart is continuing his rise to fame, pulling off several incredible rides on the national stage over the past few months.
After recently taking out the under-15 title of the National Junior Track Series (NJTS), Hart then went on to win a silver medal at the National Junior Track Championships in Adelaide.
Hart, who is in year 8 at The King David School and rides for the Brunswick Cycling Club, led from the first round of competition in the NJTS, which was a five-round event that ran from October last year until last month, and ended up winning his category by a whopping 36 points.
“I’m very happy with my win at the track series,” Hart told The AJN.
“One of my biggest goals at the start of the season was to take it out, and I took the lead by five points after the first round and managed to maintain it all the way through.”
“And I’d like to thank King David for letting me take time off, they’ve been very accommodating.”
In between the rounds, he also managed to win gold, silver and bronze medals at the Victorian Junior Track Championships, where he earned representation for the state at last week’s national championships.
It was at the national event that Hart took on the country’s best young riders, managing to come second in the individual pursuit behind his teammate who clocked an Australian record.
“I was one of four Victorians selected for that, and I ended up taking on my teammate in the final,” Hart said.
“I didn’t go quite as quick as I was hoping in the qualifying, but it got me through to the gold medal race. He rode an Australian record and in the end he beat me in the final.”
Hart also managed to ride solid times in the sprint and 5km scratch race, as well as the 500m time trial.
After riding for seven years, Hart is finally achieving the results that could launch his cycling career, which he hopes will one day take him to the Olympic Games.
“I’d love to continue my track endurance pathway and see where it leads me,” Hart said.
“My long-term goal is to ride in the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2018 and then the 2020 Olympics, and maybe even the junior world championships earlier.”
Ashley Shenker
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