Yet again, even with small numbers, the Burnside High Cycling Team performed outstandingly throughout the year of 2017.

We started the year with a strong team of 12 cyclists, which were co-captained by myself and Matthew Trenchard, along with Leonard Brockerhoff, Dylan Day, Blake Day, Sami Donnelly, Erin Downie, Theo Giannakogiorgos, Zebulun Hamill, Thomas James, Liam Morrison and Luka Phillips. We raced weekly on Wednesdays with either a scratch race out at Tai Tapu or a hill climb up Kennedys Bush Rd.

Sami and Erin led the way producing a top 3 finish in the majority of the races and punching well above their weight against a lot of the older girls. Myself and Liam got in a few top 5’s but were always competing against the team work from the likes of Boys' High who had huge numbers.

Leonard, Dylan, Theo, Zeb, Thomas and Luka always threw everything at it and showed great determination across all their grades.

Special mention must be made to Thomas James who had an outstanding year and rode no matter what the weather conditions. His commitment to the sport and team earned him the Male Cyclist of the Year for the schools' racing.

Matthew Trenchard earned a place in the New Zealand U19 Track Cycling Team after an outstanding performance at the Track Nationals, but was unfortunately unable to compete.

An aim of the school racing was to compete at the South Island Road Championships in July where myself, Matthew, Sami and Erin were representing the school. The Team Time Trial didn’t go our way but Sami secured Gold in the Road Race with a perfectly timed sprint finish.

Another highly sought-after prize was a result in the Southern Tour which saw us make the long trip to Blenheim. Liam, Sami, Erin and I always look forward to this racing as the courses are tough but results are very rewarding.

Yet again the girls produced the results we were hoping for and both rode tactically smart races and their strength showed through. The highlight was seeing Sami win the New Zealand Schools National Criterium Championships U17 Girls and Erin win the same New Zealand title in the U16 Girls. Both girls fought hard for these results but showed their domination against the respective fields.

Sami went on to control the U17 Girls winning the Tour overall but also picking up the Queen of the Mountains and Sprint jerseys. Erin battled hard and hung on for 2nd in the Tour. Truly great stuff to watch!

Burnside wasn’t just successful on the road, but also made an impact on the track. The girls held it together for us again and headed down to Invercargill in October for the South Island Secondary Schools' Track Cycling Championships. One more time they put the boys to shame with Erin cleaning up the U16 Girls overall title with a gold medal and Sami picking up a bronze in the U17 Girls. Burnside continued to collect points for their top finishes and came out 7th of the 18 teams competing -considering we only had two riders this reflects their top places against the schools that have a lot more competitors.

Sami and I have been selected in the NZ U19 Track Cycling Team for the Oceania Champs in November. We head up to Cambridge to the big indoor velodrome to compete against other Oceania teams. Cross your fingers for us and we’ll be giving it absolutely everything!

Our team would not enjoy the success it has without the huge support from Burnside High, but in particular Mr McBrearty. His passion and encouragement means so much and he never misses a beat. We thank him for his help with everything involved with our team and appreciate his commitment, especially on those freezing Wednesdays out in Tai Tapu.

This is Matthew and my last year with Burnside and we look back at the great times we’ve shared, lollies and punctures! As a team we know it’s in great hands moving forward.

If you’ve ever wanted to give cycling a go, this is the perfect way to start!