May 5th, 09.  Madeleine Brunton came away from the U19 Australian National Championships with two bronze medals.  NZ U19 Women's coach Eddie Bright reports on her and her teammates' success.
"Working well together they proved to be excellent ambassadors for both NZ and their sport" Eddie Bright

The 2009 Australian Under 19 Road Race Championships, a separate championships for only Under 19's, was held in the NSW country town of Murwillumbah south of the Gold Coast.

The championships this year included a time trial on the Thursday, road race on the Saturday and a criterium on the Sunday. All three events classed as Australian Championships.

First event for the U19W was a 14km Individual Time Trial starting in Mooball. The course was particularly hilly with a steep climb at the turn around over fairly rough country roads. The midday start resulted in the girls riding in very hot conditions. The small but talented field ensured strong competition for the four Kiwi women.

Fourth rider away and first back was Maddy Brunton from Te Awamutu. Maddy's time of 25.34 proved to be the 3rd fastest of the day being pipped by two strong Australian juniors. Courteney Lowe was 7th overall, followed by Lillie Summerville in 14th place and Kate Chilcott in 18th. A bronze medal was a very good start for the youngsters.

The 70km road race was over a more familiar course, four laps starting and finishing in Murwillumbah. The strong field included Australian triple world junior track champion Megan Dunn plus a number of other talented riders. The race started off at a very strong pace with the first lap taking its toll. 

A break of five riders including Maddy Brunton and Courteney Lowe soon gained a two minute lead on the fragmented chasers. The high pace soon tailed off Courteney and shortly afterwards two of the Australians. The three leaders stretched their lead to over four minutes at one stage. The two powerful Aussie girls maintaining the pace throughout. Courteney was soon caught by a chasing group that included Lillie Summerville with Kate Chilcott slightly further back.

The sprint for the line was an all Aussie affair with Maddy taking her second bronze medal of the championships. Lillie and Courteney came in shortly afterwards in the main group with Kate battling gamely further back.

The final event, a 30 minute plus three laps criterium on a purpose built circuit in Nerang was an excellent venue. The 1.4km lap circuit included a testing hill that would ensure a hard race. The four Kiwi girls rode very strongly throughout but unfortunately were no match for the fired up Aussie girls with the sprint going very much the Aussie's way.

Overall, a very strong and professional performance from the NZ Under 19 Women. Working well together they proved to be excellent ambassadors for both NZ and their sport. Two bronze medals was a good result against such proven talent.
 

The Women's U19 team:

• Madeleine Brunton Te Awamutu
  
• Courteney Lowe Tauranga
  
• Kate Chilcott Auckland
• Lillian Summerville Auckland

Results

Road race, 70km: Dunn (AUS) 2:15.10, 1; Hodges (AUS) same time, 2; Brunton (NZL) at one sec, 3.
Other New Zealanders: Lowe at 3m20s, 5; Summerville at 3:21, 9; Chilcott at 12:24, 16.

Thanks to Eddie Bright for this report.

Related article:

• Kiwi wins U19 Australian National Championship road race