ORANGE Cycle Club riders Owen Macphillamy and Michael Troy will be the driving force behind 10 local peddlers pushing for a total of $20,000 prize money this weekend.
The pair will be looking to continue their recent run of solid form when they compete in the Wagga Wagga McDonalds Classic today and tomorrow.
However, with the amount of money on offer, Macphillamy knows a number of tough riders will be in attendance.
“It’ll be a pretty high standard of racing. Not the best but there will be a lot of good riders coming to Wagga with the amount of prize money that is up for grabs,” Macphillamy said.
“Most of the guys would have been training so that they are peaking at this event.”
Macphillamy will race in today’s 116km handicap road race and says it has been a while since he has ridden in Wagga.
“I’ve raced in Wagga before but not in this format. Having raced well in Dubbo I think we can do well in Wagga, too,” he said.
“For the road race Mick (Troy) is in the block bunch and then I’m in the second block bunch and then the fastest riders are in the scratch.
“The idea is that they’ll catch up by the end and one of the scratch riders should win the race.
“It could come down to luck, though. If everyone comes together one of us probably will be up in the mix.
“We all train together, so I think we’ll be working together to get the best possible result we can.”
Both will back up and ride in the criterium tomorrow with Troy likely to be one of the leading contenders.
“There are a lot of corners and criteriums are traditionally very quick, lots of attacks and it really suits the sprinters,” Macphillamy said.
“Mick has been sprinting pretty well at the moment and the aim will be to get him the win because he is sprinting the best out of all the Orange guys going.”
A serious accident on the bike last year has hampered Macphillamy’s performances in 2010 but he believes riding in these events is helping with his recovery.
“It’s getting better. I was racing overseas for a team but had a pretty bad fall but my leg is getting better and I’m looking forward to Wagga. Mick and I ride well together,” he said.
