Fruits of the Valley

For many cyclists around Australia, the chilling winds of the winter months signal the time of year to pack up the bike and to wait for the warmer weather to arrive.

But at the Shepparton Cycling Club, home of four Olympic cyclists since 1976, the coldest months of the year are providing an incredible opportunity to showcase their otherwise under-utilised facilities through innovative thinking.

Their vision, born from the minds of members in early April 2021, was to create their own version of the increasingly popular Cyclo-Cross discipline that would utilise both the Shepparton Velodrome as well as the BMX Track and its surroundings.

The club sought inspiration from other Cyclo-Cross events around country Victoria such as King GRAValley at Whitfield and the Dirty Pig & Whistle at Creswick.

Club vice president, Bradley Higgins, would continue to develop the inaugural Fruits of the Valley Cyclo-Cross event over the coming months, with the intent for it to be held under the lights of the Shepparton Velodrome and BMX Track in mid-July.

Sponsors loved the idea too. The club was able to onboard thirty-six different sponsors from the local area. A remarkable achievement in the short timeframe between the event’s conception and its proposed competition date of July 10.

Despite the perpetually fluid COVID-19 restrictions across Victoria, Fruits of the Valley went ahead and was met with an overwhelmingly positive response from those who participated in and contributed to the event.

Several of the 60 entrants agreed that it was comparable in difficulty, if not better, than other events on the national calendar.

The difficult 1.6km course consisted of BMX trails, to begin with, followed by steep climbs on loose gravel with several water and sand-traps spread throughout.

Allowances were also made throughout the planning process which ensured that juniors would be able to participate in their own events throughout the evening if time permitted.

Time did indeed permit and the juniors were given an early taste of just how exciting CX events could be.

In line with a clear focus to be a community-driven event, the live results were handled by Michal Trnka from Alpine Timing in Tawonga South, while cycling community stalwart Noel Sens of the Bendigo Cycling Club provided real-time commentary on the night, contributing to a fantastic atmosphere.

Organisers are confident that with further resources allocated in the future, Fruits of the Valley will continue to grow in popularity and profile given the success of the inaugural event.

The Shepparton Cycling Club are keen to have Fruits of the Valley included in the state or national calendar with clear intent to establish the town as yet another country Victorian destination for cyclists and the community to regularly enjoy.

A full gallery of images from the Fruits of the Valley CX event can be found at https://www.widgeespix.com/ courtesy of Richard Bailey.

Shepparton Cycling Club (https://www.sheppartoncyclingclub.com/)

Shepparton Cycling Club Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/SheppCC)

Alpine Timing (https://www.alpinetiming.com.au/)