Cycle festival gets Cambridge psyched
Barry Baldo woke up extra early on Wednesday.
He had to get in some last-minute practice before his big race.
At 1.23pm, Barry was scheduled to compete in the 8 to 10-year-old event at the Cambridge Cycling Festival.
For weeks he’s been looking forward to the race and, after receiving a new bike for his birthday on Saturday, he’s barely been able to sleep.
‘‘He got really inspired watching the Commonwealth Games athletes,’’ Barry’s dad, Celso Baldo, said.
‘‘He’s always wanting to wake up early to practise.
‘‘Fortunately, we’re all pretty keen, including his mum, so we all go out and ride together.’’
Barry was one of the first to register on Wednesday and it was his first time competing in the event.
Marshals signalled the beginning of the race and he was off, pedalling as fast as he could, looking the part in a blue outfit to match his blue helmet and new blue bike.
After tackling three laps of the course down Cambridge’s main street, he is spent.
Puffed and slightly red-faced, Barry finished the race exhilarated.
He’d raced alongside some of his Commonwealth Games’ idols.
Rushlee Buchanan was one of the New Zealand athletes who rode with the kids.
‘‘It’s pretty special for me to be a part of this,’’ Buchanan said.
‘‘I’ve lived in the Waikato my whole life and have seen cycling evolve.
‘‘When I started as an 11-year-old, there were only two others who did it with me. To see events like this and all the kids involved – it’s pretty inspirational.’’
Buchanan only recently returned from the Commonwealth Games, where she won silver as part of the New Zealand women’s team pursuit.
On Sunday, she’s off overseas again to rejoin her professional team in the US.
‘‘Today is just about supporting the community, which has supported me all my life.
‘‘To have a community allow to have a whole main road closed down for this is special.’’
Hundreds turned up to participate in the event, which is in its third year.
As well as the kids races, there were schools and businesses battling it out in four-lap relays, open men’s and women’s races, elite men’s and women’s sprint races and a novelty sprint race.
More than 400 kids registered and over 200 adults, one of the organisers, Anna Cleaver, said.
‘‘It’s really all about the kids,’’ Cleaver said.
‘‘They can dress up, decorate their bikes, they each get a goody bag and a certificate, and they can watch short, sharp racing on the same track they were just on.’’
Olympic gold medallist Sarah Ulmer also helped to organise the event.
The idea for the festival started after the Cycling World Cup Competition was held at the Avantidrome in 2015, Ulmer said.
‘‘We wanted to link the community with cycling and a worldclass event.’’
There’s a group of five volunteers behind the cycle festival, Ulmer said.
‘‘The kids get the chance to ride on the same course as Olympic athletes, they’re riding against the best cyclists on the planet, and they get the opportunity to feel like they’re awesome.
‘‘It’s a cool community event and we all chip in to put on a fun, wicked day for the kids and the fastest cyclists in the world.’’