CHASE Costello-Manning has ridden to success in the 2019 Tour of Tasmania.
The Echuca-Moama cyclist finished in 39th place of 85 entered riders in the competition, which is ridden across the northern half of the state.
Costello-Manning opened the tour with an 18th place finish in the tour’s prologue in Launceston, a 600m time trial up of the city’s steepest hills.
He finished with a time of 1:30, just 12 seconds behind the stage winner.
The first main stage of the event, a 116km road race along the Tamar river from George Town to Grindelwald, saw the young rider finish 45th in a time of 2.55:33.
The second stage of the event, between Longford and Poatina, both south-west of Launceston, saw Costello-Manning finish the event in 35th place.
Stage three, a 70.5km road race from Ulverstone to Riana on the state’s north west coast, saw him again in 45th place.
While in the final stage he finished 45th for a 39th place overall finish.
Chase has also recently signed with his first professional team, Veris Racing.
ECHUCA’S Mia O’Mara is fast becoming one of the most talented young martial arts athletes in the state.
The past several months have been a whirlwind experience for the Echuca College student who has earned her junior black belt and represented Victoria at the National All Styles Championships.
At the event, O’Mara faced off against competitors who have also been competing for five years as she took a major step forward in her development.
“Karate is something I really enjoy doing. It’s fun in every class and at every competition,” Mia said.
“I feel like I’m learning something new all the time and I think that is what makes it much more exciting.
“I’ve started doing the adult classes and I think that has helped me improve a lot.”
Remarkably, karate was the last of three martial arts disciplines learnt during her time training at Wickham’s Martial Arts.
Her journey started with kickboxing lessons before turning to jiu-jitsu and now she is participating in all three sports on a weekly basis.
O’Mara’s talent certainly hasn’t gone unnoticed at Wickham’s as she has started instructing the centre’s youngest members in some classes.