This weekend in Nanango, Queensland, the Tour of Nanango will be staged with a criterium on Saturday and the 90 kilometre Nanango Classic on Sunday. Event organisers are expecting a large turnout to support the event, which will see live bands, street markets and music lining the cycling circuit around Drayton Street.
On Saturday at 4pm, the locals will be the first to give the crowd a taste of what's to come when they battle it out for the local title of Nanango criterium champion. Just before 5pm, the professional cyclists will hit the circuit in what promises to be a display of pure speed, stamina and skill. New Zealander Jaaron Poad is the race favourite and is in dominating form after his win in the Noosa Criterium over the likes of Tour de France stars Robbie McEwen and Cadel Evans.
Queensland will be well represented by Luke Stockwell, former national club champion Tony Mann, who won last weekend's prestigious Giro di Brisbane, and Adrian Booth, who will be well supported by the Brisbane Healthworks team.
Heading the Sydney invaders will be veteran Eddie Salas, still one of Australia's finest cyclists who holds no less than 12 Australian titles spanning three decades. However, Salas may end up finding himself playing a support role to teammates Peter Milostic and Phillip Stokes. While Poad was saluting the crowd in Noosa last Saturday, Stokes was doing likewise after winning the Anthony Rappo Memorial Criterium in Sydney.
On Sunday at 8.30am, the Nanango Classic will go out through Brooklands before going through Maidenwell around 9.15am, where riders will contest a town sprint. The tour organiser believes the race will be decided on the climb out of Yarraman. "I expect the leading riders to hit Yarraman around 10.15am. The Yarraman climb is only 1km in length but has a real pinch towards the top where the stronger riders can cause some carnage," he said.
On Saturday night, there will be a function at the Nanango Darts Club where fans can meet the cyclists. The cyclists will test their dart throwing abilities against Nanango's finest darts players. For further information contact Chris on 0411 455 746.
