CYCLING
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Dynamic Mudgee riders Ayden Toovey and Jordan Payne will be competing in the renowned John Woodman Memorial cycling race from Wagga Wagga to Albury on Sunday.
Toovey will be hoping to eclipse another major Riverina cycling title a month after he collected the coveted road race-criterium double at the Wagga annual classic meet.
Toovey and Payne, members of the Subaru NSWIS cycling team, were listed among 24 scratch riders for the 135-kilometre road race.
The inclusion of Toovey and Payne alongside a crack team from Sydney gives the historic road event, first run as the Woodman Memorial in 1987, an added boost in quality.
Wagga cycling legend Barry O’Hagan described the Woodman Memorial field as “pretty strong” in numbers and depth of talent.
O’Hagan said entries for the Wagga to Albury race were up 25 per cent on recent years.
“Generally there are only 80 to 90 riders,” he said. “This time we’ve got 110 entries.”
O’Hagan is adamant the strength of the “scratch men” would make for a tremendous contest over the long course.
“There’s a heap of St George [club] riders coming down from Sydney,” he said.
“The fact that we’ve got Ayden Toovey is a bonus. He won the big double here four or five weeks back, and will be a major contender again.”
Significantly, last year’s Woodman Memorial champion Baden Burke will not defend his title, but Nicholas Yallouris, who recorded the fastest time in 2013, is set to be in the field.
A year ago Yallouris covered the 135km in two hours, 50 minutes and 47 seconds, which was clearly superior to the times clocked in previous years.