Sixteen-year-old Echuca native George Griffiths was crowned the under-17 Victorian Junior Time Trial State Champion.
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The cycling greatness of brothers Lenny and George Griffiths cannot be contained to Australia, as both have received two-wheeled opportunities abroad.
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The Echuca natives, born 18 months apart, have been performing well in their young individual careers so far, with Lenny (17) currently riding in Belgium and George (16) having just taken out the under-17 Victorian Junior Time Trial State Championship.
George finished in a time of 18.26.5, beating second place by a staggering 12.4 seconds at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit on Sunday, August 10.
The results, coupled with other strong performances, granted George selection for the AusCycling U17 Road Development Academy Team for the Yunca Junior Tour in New Zealand.
George will join 21 other talented young male and female cyclists from across Australia, travelling across the ditch this September to represent their country.
“Obviously, we are very proud of him because he trains quite consistently and is very determined, he has a specific training regime that he follows, and he’s done really well,” George and Lenny’s father Troy Griffiths said.
“This has been building for a while, he’s had some really good results lately whether that be wins or being among it, and this is his first big win so that was great.
“It was great to see him get the win because you can see how hard he trains; we don’t have to push them at all.
“It is always good to get an accomplishment when you’re putting in all the hard work.”
Lenny Griffiths has been riding for Cannibal B Victorious, the junior development squad of Team Bahrain Victorious. Photo: Supplied.
Meanwhile, Lenny took a big step in his young cycling journey after being selected to head to Belgium and race and train with Cannibal B Victorious, the junior development unit of Team Bahrain Victorious.
Based in Leuven, he has been travelling with young riders from across the world and competing throughout Belgium over the past five weeks.
Lenny has been participating in kermesse, a type of road bicycle race often held on the same day as a town festival and is particularly popular in the region of Flanders, roughly 40 minutes north of his home base of Leuven.
While he hasn’t gotten a win or podium in his 14 kermesses thus far, he has had numerous top 10 finishes, including a sixth-placed finish, and has won some money from sprint races littered throughout his time in Belgium.
Troy reflected on Lenny’s achievements in Belgium and highlighted his and his wife, Karen’s, joy in seeing their son fulfil his dream.
“It has been an amazing opportunity for him; he’s virtually lived the life of a professional cyclist for the five weeks,” Troy said.
“It's pretty special for us to see him succeeding in the sport he loves, kermesse isn’t his forte because he’s not a sprinter, but it’s not always about the win. It’s more about his comfortability at that higher level.”
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