BROTHERS Dylan and Kurt Eather were again the toast of the cycling community after taking out a combined five national titles at the Cycling Australia National Junior Track Championships on the weekend.
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The Eather brothers, along with fellow Dubbo Cycle Club riders Danny Barber and Haylee Fuller contested the championships at Sydney’s Dunc Gray Velodrome over the weekend and all four featured on the podium throughout the event.
“It’s a really good feeling,” said Dubbo Cycle Club’s Vaughn Eather, who was assistant state coach under fellow local Gus Dawson.
“What we do, we do for the kids and to see four kids in the state team is great and the Western Region Academy of Sport (WRAS) had seven kids in the squad and WRAS won 22 medals so things are going pretty well out west at the moment.”
Dylan Eather took gold in the under-15 men’s sprint event and keirin final as well as a silver medal in the 30-lap points race and three bronze medals in the 500m time trial, scratch race and 2000m individual pursuit.
2015 National Under-15 Junior Road Race Champion Kurt Eather was the winner of three gold medals with victories in the under-17 men’s points race, Keirin final and team sprint and also brought home silver in the 2000m individual pursuit and bronze in the 3000m team pursuit.
“Dylan has always been at the top of the tree in his divisions both first and second year,” Eather stated.
“Kurt came on in his second year of 17s and after winning a national road race he’s really improved in leaps and bounds and has been the big improver of the two while Dylan has always been there.”
First time NSW representative Danny Barber showed some particularly strong form throughout the championships and was rewarded with a silver medal after finishing second to his friend and training partner Dylan Eather in the under-15 men’s sprint.
Barber also performed well in the 500m individual time trial (fourth), scratch race (fifth) and won his first round of the keirin qualifiers before being edged out in the second round.
“In the last 12 months he’s really improved,” Eather said of Barber.
“Especially having Dylan to train with, that pushes him on his dedication has got him to where he is. He’s done the hard yards and now he’s got to rewards.”
The tenacious Haylee Fuller was apart of the very strong NSW women’s squad and came away from the Championships with a bronze medal after a gutsy ride in the under-15 women’s scratch race.
Fuller also finished fifth in the points race (2 points), sixth in the 2000m individual pursuit and 13th in the 500m individual time trial and Eather is adamant it isn’t the last time she will be seen on the national stage.
“She’s really gutsy. She’s such a small girl who still has a bit of growing to do but she always puts in 100%,” he said.
“She works hard and in the next 12 months I think we’ll see a lot more from Haylee.”
The Dubbo foursome and their coaches ensured NSW again took out the overall title as the most successful state at the Championships, with Ashlee Jones also starring in the under-17 women’s division.
Jones had a number of weeks training with the Dubbo Cycle Club over the summer school holidays, under the watchful eye of Vaughn Eather and Gus Dawson, who has had a hand at developing a large number of world and national champions.
