Jack aims high

By Ben Hope
ENDEAVOUR Hills cyclist Jack Cummings is feeling confident on the eve of the road racing season after breaking two national records and bringing home three gold medals at the Australian Junior Track Cycling Championships.
The Carnegie-Caulfield Cycling Club member dominated the national competition in both team and individual events, winning his under-17 2000-metre pursuit by more than a second.
“I didn’t really expect it. I was a bit sick for the week leading up to the event and I wasn’t sure how I would go,” Cummings said.
“Once I finished fastest in the qualifiers my nerves went away and I knew I could win.”
On the first day of competition Cummings joined fellow Carnegie-Caulfield Cycling Club members Thomas Hamilton, Evan Hull and Alexander Morgan to break the Australian record in the junior men’s 3000-metre team pursuit.
“It was our first event so it gave us all a confidence boost for the rest of the competition,” Cummings said.
He earned his third gold medal when he won the junior men’s sprint finals with Evan Hull and Jacob Schmid. Cummings wasn’t surprised by the win after the trio set a new under-17 Australian team sprint record at the Sid Patterson Grand Prix last month.
“We were feeling really confident going in to the national championships as the reigning record holders,” Cummings said. “We had a bit of a stuff-up in the finals and had to restart after I pulled my foot out of the pedal as we came out of the gate. It shook us a bit but we came right once we started again.”
Seemingly unbeatable to his inter-state competition, it was club-mate Evan Hull that managed to steal a fourth gold from Cummings in the 7.5 kilometre scratch race.
“It was our plan all along for Evan to sit on my wheel for the last six laps before taking the lead, so I was really happy for him,” Cummings said.
“When we came around the last bend he still wasn’t coming past and I started to get a bit worried. There was about a tyre width in it at the end.”
The Victorian team also took the Ray Godkin Shield from New South Wales after finishing well ahead of the other state with 10 gold, six silver and four bronze medals.
Berwick’s Courtney Field also beat Tasmanian Macey Stewart in the 15-and-under sprint final to add to the Victorian medal tally.
Cummings can now enjoy a three-week break from intensive training before ramping back up for the start of the road racing season.
“This year will be a big one for me after I lost the national race two years ago by a fraction of a second,” he said. “I will be trying for the national title this time around.”
After being awarded a scholarship with the Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS) Cummings will also attend two cycling camps during the school holidays.
“I am really looking forward to training with the VIS athletes, especially the Australian Junior World Championship Cycling team,” he said.