GEARED UP: Steve Martin (left) and Ian Reed will compete in the NSW Masters Championships starting tomorrow. Photo: STEVE GOSCH
ORANGE riders will work towards average speed goals rather than placings at the NSW Masters Championships starting tomorrow.
Five cyclists from Orange will compete in the event in Goulburn and three of them will be making their debut.
Charlie Gascoyne and Mick Cain are familiar with the NSW Masters but Steve Martin, Ian Reed and Andrew Foxall will be competing for the first time.
The Masters will start with the individual time trial tomorrow before the criterium on Saturday and road race on Sunday.
Riders compete in age divisions in each event.
Gascoyne, Cain and Martin will line up in all three events while Reed and Foxall will contest Sunday’s road race.
Reed will compete in the men’s 55-59 years category and he has a goal in mind for the 58.4km road race.
“My main goal is to average 35kph for the race,” Reed said.
“It’s hard because I don’t know what the course is like. I’ve looked at the riders and I have no idea of at least three-quarters of them.
“This could be like a scratch race.”
Martin said he hasn’t done a lot of endurance work so he wasn’t confident of how he would perform in the road race where he has to ride 116.8km.
The 39-year-old said he had limited experience in time trial racing but hoped to average 40kph for the 22.4km ride.
Martin said riding in age divisions, rather than the handicapping system based on ability, would make the events more interesting.
Reed and Martin expect the other three Orange riders to be competitive.
Gascoyne and Foxall will compete in the 45-49 years category and Cain is in the 50-54 years division.
“Charlie has done quite a lot of training and we expect him to go well,” Martin said.
“Mick has been doing a fair bit of riding. He’ll go hard.
“Foxy will have fresh legs on Sunday. He’s another strong rider.
In Friday’s time trial, all competitors will complete a 22.4km ride.
In Saturday’s criterium, Gascoyne and Martin will ride for 40 minutes plus three laps, while Cain will have 30 minutes plus three laps.
In the road race on Sunday, Martin will ride 116.8km, Gascoyne, Foxall and Cain will cover 87.5km and Reed will race 58.4km.