By JARROD POTTER
NOT many people have the cycling leg-strength to break away and stay away from the peloton going uphill, but Alana Field wanted the Mountain Climb Championship enough to achieve this impressive feat.
Berwick cyclist Field, 13, stormed up Mt Buffalo in the Cycling Australia Junior Mountain Climb Championships to win the under-15 female category and earn herself another national cycling championship.
After finishing the time-trial in fourth, with a time of 10.42 minutes, Field was 34 seconds behind the series leader Sarah Gigante going into the second and deciding event.
It required an extended breakaway to take the championship and Field was able to power along from the six-kilometre mark to finish the course in 46.31 and claim the overall championship by 33 seconds.
“I did pretty well in the time trial finishing fourth – because I’m not the best time trialist – but I’m very happy that I won the road race,” Field said.
“I broke away at the six km mark and it was a 15km race and I won by about a minute and eight seconds from the person who got second.”
She picked her point up the climb just as the riders around her started to falter and she kept hammering the pedals to the summit as she did not know if she was far enough ahead to win the overall championship.
“I didn’t want it to come down to a sprint as I wanted to win the overall prize,” Field said.
“I saw that a couple of the girls were struggling, so I thought I could go and if anyone came with me (on the breakaway) it was fine, as I thought Sarah wouldn’t come with me.
“It was really hard not knowing how far in front I was, knowing that I’d have to catch the gap that I lost in the time trial. So I just had to keep on pushing and not look behind.
“Once I got over the line I was thrilled as I knew that I had won overall.”
Endeavour Hills cyclist and Field’s training partner Georgia Cummings finished third in the event 1.22 minutes behind.
Field has gone from strength to strength in 2014 after winning the JW15 500-metre time trial at the Australian Junior Track Nationals Championships in March.
She wanted to thank her family, her coach Hilton Clarke and sponsor Felt Bicycles for their support.
