Friday, 31 July 2020

The Adelaide Track League cycling event set to bring a piece of the Olympics to South Australia this Friday, 31 July.

The Australian Cycling team would be competing in Tokyo for the Olympics, but due to its cancellation, some of Australia’s best cyclists will now be competing at the Adelaide Superdrome in Gepps Cross.

Drawing inspiration from the London Six Day Series, Adelaide Track League event will be held on Friday, 31 July and Tuesday, 4 September, combining South Australian DJs, food and beverage providers with fast-paced track cycling.

Nugg Lyf and Sookii La La will supply food at the nighttime event, while Alpha Box and Dice and Big Shed Brewing will provide boozy beverages.

The mad March-esque event is not solely aimed at cycling aficionados, and Cycling SA CEO Lachlan Ambrose tells CityMag he hopes it will appeal to those who have had no previous interest in track cycling.

“What we wanted to do was really create an event with a bit of atmosphere and put on a race program which has a bit of everything,” he said.

“It’s something that you can knock off from work on a Friday and [do] if you’re looking for something a little bit different.

“Track cycling is probably the most exciting of disciplines, it’s really great for spectating, because you can see everything.

“It’ll drive a bit of engagement with the general population and will show the sports still here and it’s a lot of fun.”

Olympic athletes including Kelland O’Brien, Maeve Plouffe and Alex Porter, who have missed out on the opportunity to compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, are also set to headline the event.

The event will also aim to provide participating athletes with the thrill of performing in front of an energetic home-crowd, something which isn’t always possible.

As COVID-19 restrictions prevented Adelaide Track League’s initial plans to go ahead over Easter, the two nights of cycling will act as a training ground for the event in future years.

Lachlan says Cycling SA is lucky to be able to host the track cycling mini-series at the despite some sizeable challenges that rose as a result of the pandemic.

“There’s been a few issues with some of the providers and food trucks that we had intended to use, as COVID hit them quite hard. So, we’ve lost a couple of our regulars which is disappointing,” said Lachlan.

“It’s probably quite lucky with cycling that it’s not such a regimented season, so we don’t need to have x amount of rounds and can treat each event as a discreet offering.”

For more information, see the event page.