FOUR students from The Riverina Anglican College joined forces for the NSW All Schools mountain bike championships and were amazed to take out the junior mixed event on Sunday.
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Winning the highest possible level of competition was a real milestone for John Reid, 13, Angus Bull, 12, Finn Buckley, 13, and Tess Buckley, 12 who competed together for the first time.
The team scoped out the course beforehand and played to their strengths.
“We had our fastest, John, ride a double lap at the end,” Finn said.
They forged an early lead and were ahead of the pack for the whole race.
“It meant we could be conservative, ‘cause if you stack you’ll lose your lead,” Finn said.
Tess enjoys the sport because “you can go at your own pace,” Finn loves “the thrill of it, it’s good fun,” and Angus likes that “you can get exercise while you’re doing what you love.”
Mountain bike riding has its highs and lows, with Finn splitting his helmet and losing consciousness, and Angus breaking his arm in the past but nothing has stopped them from riding again.
The kids practice on Tuesday nights and Sundays with the local club, and on Fridays as part of the school sport program.
The kids thanked the organisers for a well-run event and their parents for “dragging us up there.”
