By JARROD POTTER
SOMETIMES the number of medals around your neck does not speak the most volume about your spirit.
Even without the great success of other riders in the Victorian cycling scene currently, Jaime Gooding is set to make her mark on the national track championships in other ways.
While the allure of a national track medal is tempting, she will be happy helping other Victorians reach the top step on the dais.
Gooding, 15, from Berwick, earned her place on the Cycling Victoria junior track team for the junior-17 women, in spite of her lack of medals from the recently held Victorian Junior Track Championships, but she had form on the board to earn the selector’s eye.
“I was actually pretty surprised as I actually didn’t perform too greatly at the state championships,” Gooding said.
“But luckily I had done some other track carnivals before then, including the Echuca carnivals and the Christmas carnivals – which had the state scratch race and state points.
“I came second in the state scratch race – I went off the front for the last three and a half laps and caught just before the line, it was a bit heartbreaking but it did help me.”
Gooding’s teamwork and mateship may very well be reasons for her selection at the national championships and she’s willing to put those characteristics on the line to toil for her team-mates.
“When they told me, I was over the moon.
“Although I might not be racing the races to win the gold myself, I will, hopefully, be bringing back some gold for the other girls in Victoria and helping them out, which I’m happy to do,” Gooding said.
“I know I’m not as good as some of the other girls from the other states, but I know we have some of the strongest girls in Australia and I’d be happy to help them get it (gold) as we’re good friends.”
The cyclist’s national events have not been finalised yet, but Gooding would be ecstatic to get onto the team pursuit squad and also race in the scratch race and points race.
“I’d really love to be on the teams pursuit because that would really be my best chance of getting a medal, and I love the girls that I’d be on the team with,” Gooding said.
“Although I’m not that good at pursuit, I’m much better at the teams pursuit when you’ve got other people there and to chase and you’re only on the front for one lap.”
Gooding and the Cycling Victoria team will compete at the Cycling Australia Junior Track Championships in Sydney from 26 February to 1 March.
