Wagga Cycling Club's Luke Nixon is hopeful of a strong result

Nixon finished third in the feature race in 2022 and he was hopeful of once again challenging for the podium.

"Yeah off my solid performance last year I'm looking to back up and have another good result," Nixon said.

"It's going to be a very warm day on Saturday and it's projected to be about 35 degrees.

"The heat will affect the racing on the day but we will see how it goes."

While there will be cooler conditions for the final at 8.30pm, the majority of the earlier running will be held in temperatures above 30 degrees.

Nixon revealed that he had been preparing for the warmer conditions and said that he felt confident it shouldn't affect him too much.

"One of the things my coach has been doing is acclimatising," he said.

"Just doing some long K's on the weekend during the warmer hours of the day and making sure my body can be used to the temperature.

"I'm fully aware that's what a lot of the other blokes have been doing as well, so I'm not expecting to be affected by the heat.

"Regardless there'll be lots of water, fluids and food consumed throughout the day."

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There were roughly 100 confirmed entries for the event as of Wednesday with around 40 of those vying for the outright honours in the feature race.

Nixon believed there should be a quality field for the final and was backing himself in to post another strong result.

"At the moment I'd say my form is pretty good," he said.

"I've come off a strong block of training recently and I'm hoping for a top five, maybe a top three or I could even win it this year.

"It just depends on the entrants that rock up but that's just a part of racing I guess."

Last year was Nixon's first time finishing on the podium in the Golden Wheel and he said that he learnt a lot from the experience.

"Yes I did actually," he said.

"The Golden Wheel has been something I started racing four or five years ago and it's been something I've always wanted to win.

"It was the first year I was on the podium and it was good to get a taste of what it would be like to win the local race."

Nixon has commenced university studies this year and he admitted that it had been hard juggling his training commitments alongside his study and work.

"Look it's pretty difficult," he said.

"It's a lot of late nights and early mornings.

"Typically I work 20 hours a week, train 20 hours a week and have uni full time as well.

"You've got to sacrifice some of the little things in life whether it's hanging out with friends or spending time on the Playstation.

"You've got to make those decisions and those sacrifices to pull yourself through in the end."

The Golden Wheel has a large number of local sponsors who support the event and Nixon wanted to thank them and all of the volunteers behind the scenes who will ensure that the day is a huge success.

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