New criterium track ready for Masters and Junior Nationals

There’s a treat in store for competitors in next month’s AusCycling Masters and Junior Road National Championships.

They’ll enjoy the smooth-rolling, freshly laid asphalt of Wollongong’s newest criterium track, which is opening just in time to host the national event.

The Illawarra Criterium Track is a purpose-built 950-metre circuit at Lindsay Mayne Park, Unanderra. Work on the track started earlier this year and is basically complete, save for the finishing touches of landscaping and tidy-up works.

A small group of junior cyclists racing at the Illawarra Criterium Track

Junior cyclists on the almost-finished Illawarra Criterium Track during the NSW state championships. Photo: Rod Smith

Building the Illawarra Criterium Track is one of the ways that Wollongong is investing into cycling as it prepares to host the UCI Road World Championships, which will begin directly after these upcoming national titles.

The new venue will host all the criterium races on the second day of the national championships.

Designed to be ridden anti-clockwise, the track is between six and eight metres wide all the way around.

It was first put through its paces when it hosted the AusCycling Junior Road State Championships - New South Wales last weekend.

A small group of junior cyclists turn through some bends on the Illawarra Criterium Track during a NSW state championship race

Photo: Rod Smith

“This investment will be one of the legacies of bringing this prestigious international event to our city,” said Wollongong City Council Acting General Manager Linda Davis.

“As a UCI Bike City, we’re focused on delivering a wide range of cycling infrastructure that will support our community to be active and to participate in a range of outdoor pursuits,” Davis said.

An aerial shot of the Illawarra Criterium Track

Photo: City of Wollongong

Davis said the facility would give locals a safe place to ride their bikes, scooters and rollerblades.

“The criterium track will provide a dedicated off-road riding opportunity for local cycling clubs for their race days, training and skills development. However, its use is not limited to elite or aspiring cyclists.”

The 2022 AusCycling Masters and Junior Road National Championships will be held in Wollongong on September 13–16. It will have age-group racing for under-15s, under-17s and masters aged 30 and above.