Ararat cyclist Alice Culling finished with two medals including her first under-19 gold medal at the Cycling Australia Track National Championships in Brisbane at the weekend.
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The 17-year-old won the women’s points race to win the gold medal to go along with the silver medal she won in the women’s team pursuit.
Culling said it exceeded her expectations going into the championships.
I was not really planning on any big results, so the gold medal was great,” she said.
“Everything sort of went to plan performance wise.
“Coming home with a couple of medals is a good way of showing all the work that I have done.
“I wanted top four in the elite women’s pursuit which I got and just missed out on a medal.”
Culling’s dad Harold said it was a very proud moment to watch Alice win the gold medal.
“I had a few tears up there in Brisbane and had all the major coaches come up to congratulate me on her win,” he said.
“It makes it extra special to be up there. It is always special to see a great ride and was also good to see all the other competitors looking where Alice was, because they knew she was the danger during the race.”
It has taken a lot of work from the Culling family to support Alice in chasing her dreams.
Culling said there was a lot of travel involved to get her to this point.
“We have done a lot of kilometres, probably around 45,000 over the past 12 months to get her to the different events,” he said.
“But living out in the country helps, we have the best roads to train on which helps her develop quicker.”
Culling still has one year remaining in the under-19 section.
Culling will be on the track against when she competes at the Bendigo International Madison at the weekend.
After that, Culling will turn her focus to the road cycling season and prepare for the winter season.
