Number one: Echuca cyclist Levi Hone won the VJRS under-17 championship earlier this month. Photo: Supplied
Young gun cyclist Levi Hone has pedalled his way to the top step of the podium after being crowned the Junior Road Series Victoria under-17 champion earlier this month.
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Hone, who is part of the Echuca Moama Cycling Club, finished first overall after the five-race series that spanned five months and concluded with a race in Glenrowan on August 14.
The series was comprised of a variety of races — criteriums, individual time trials and road races — with riders receiving points in each that contributed to their overall total.
Hone earned 28 points at the Glenrowan State Championships to close out the season, bringing his total to 261, 26 points ahead of his nearest interstate competitor and 44 points ahead of the next best Victorian rider.
Hone said he was pleased with his performance during the series, adding that consistency was the key to his success.
“It’s pretty exciting really, definitely looking back at some things in retrospect,” Hone said.
“I was pretty much thereabouts the whole time. I think I was just more consistent than the others.
“I was always in that top three throughout the races and that helped to take out the overall win.”
Hone opened the season by finishing fourth in the general classification at the Alpe de Buffalo Bright Junior Tour in April, backing that up by finishing third at the Ararat Junior Tour.
A dominant performance saw him finish first overall at the Broadford Junior Tour in June, before closing out the series with strong performances at the Eildon Junior Tour and at Glenrowan.
Big stage: Levi Hone will compete at the 2022 Junior Road National Championships in September, which is part of the UCI Road World Championships. Photo: Supplied
Hone said his win in Broadford was the highlight of the series.
“I really enjoyed the Broadford race. I think I had a lot of bad luck in that one in the first three stages,” he said.
“In the time trial I had to take the battery out of my derailleur and I only had two gears and I still only finished 20 seconds down, so I was pretty happy with that, given the circumstances.
“In both the road races I was close a lot of times and then in the final criterium race I managed to break away solo for the last 10 minutes, so that was a nice stage win.”
Hone also competed in South Australia and his strong performances earned him a spot in the Victorian team at the 2022 Junior Road National Championships in Wollongong in September.
The championship is a huge event being held in conjunction with the UCI Road World Championships, one of the biggest events in world cycling that will see some of the top riders from across the globe compete in Australia.
“For sport in general, I think it is amazing to be able to represent your state. Especially in Victoria, where footy is big, you want to wear the Big V, so to get to do that in cycling is pretty good,” Hone said.
“I’ve never done anything this big, so it will be pretty exciting. I think the coolest part will be that a lot of the pros will already be there, so we’ll get to see so many top cyclists riding around while also getting to race.
“The road circuit probably doesn’t suit me the best, but I’ll go and have a crack. I’d be happy with a top-10 finish, but if I was in the top five, I would be over the moon with that.”
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