Girls have wheels of gold

By Jarrod Potter
ST Margaret’s and Berwick Grammar Schools rode to glory on the streets of Carlton Sunday morning, winning four state titles in the road racing events at the Victorian Schools Cycling Championships.
The four cyclists from St Margaret’s School – Amelia-Jane Bates (under-13), Jessica Cox (under-15), Sophie Weston (under-17) and Alexandra Weston (under-19) – won gold on the Lygon/Grattan Street course used for the last stage of this year’s Jayco Herald Sun Tour.
“It was a really flat course, which is different to our training which is really hilly,” Alexandra Weston said. “It was on Lygon Street, so we did a T-shape with some really tight corners.”
The girls found the experience exhilarating, with two of the girls, Bates and Cox, attending their first state championship and winning in the process.
Coming around the final corner and sprinting to the win is an experience the girls won’t forget.
“I think the final corner down at the end, when you’re sprinting up the hill towards the finish line was pretty amazing,” Cox said.
Sophie and Alexandra Weston are no strangers to the event, with Alexandra winning it three times prior and Sophie once before in 2009, after coming second to Alexandra in last year’s event.
The schools had five more medallists, with Saffron Button (under-17), Jaime Gooding (under-15), Olivia Weston (under-13), and David Somers (under-13) winning silver with Max Blackwood (under-13) taking home a bronze.