Cummings is all right, Jack

By Jarrod Potter
JACK Cummings pedalled to victory in the $11,000 Devonport Wheel on 30 December at the Devonport Carnival in Tasmania.
Cummings, 17, from Endeavour Hills, started off a 60m handicap for the 3000m final and was able to hold off the scratch riders to record a memorable win.
He was caught with over a lap left in the race by the backmarkers, but was able to out-sprint the other riders to take out the event.
“It was awesome,” Cummings said about the race win.
“I’ve been trying to win one of those races for the last two years, so to get the win in front of such a large crowd was amazing.
“The crowds in Tasmania are some of the best in Australia to race in front of, so it was great to win down there.
Cummings has participated in the Devonport Carnival for the last four years, with this year’s victory his first taste of success in Tasmania.
“This is my fourth year going down there,” Cummings said.
“Last year I raced in it and my friend, Caleb Ewan, got the win.
“He didn’t do the carnivals this year, so I wanted to be another young prospected junior to go out there and win it.
Cummings was worried about getting caught by the stronger riders too quickly, but had enough in the tank to hold them off.
“Two laps to go, the guys off scratch got onto the group and I thought maybe I wasn’t going to get the win, ’cause there were a lot of fast guys that came across,” Cummings said.
“There was a Russian rider (Alexander Serov) who is an Olympic prospect. (Luke) Ockerby as well, he was really fast.
“I really didn’t think I was going to win, but I somehow powered away.”
Cummings is racing this week in the Jayco Bay Cycling Classic for the Jayco-AIS team and has been in two crashes in two stages.
“I’m racing in the Bay Classic in Geelong at the moment,” Cummings said.
“I’ve crashed the last two days so I haven’t had good luck down there. In the first stage I slipped out and crashed into a couple of guys. The same happened today and I slipped out and crashed.
“I’ve been very unlucky so far, so it’s not ideal.”
After the Bay Classic, Cummings will focus on the Australian Track National Championships in late January to earn himself a chance to defend his junior world championship.
“I’ve got the nationals coming up later this month, so they’re going to be a big focus,” Cummings said. “Because they’ll qualify me to race at the junior world championships again. That’s a big event.”