JULY 2017 | David Claridge

MEANDER VALLEY has a couple of mountain bike riders coming up the ranks, having performed well locally and gone on to win medals Nationally in Queensland.

Stepbrothers, Jak Oxford and Tom Stylianou’s hard work have paid off with first and second places respectively in the U15’s in May at the Tasmanian Schools Mountain Biking Championships held at Kate Reed Nature Recreation Area.

A month later in Queensland, at the Australian Schools Mountain Bike Championships, Tom won a Gold medal in the Cross Country Olympic event and a Silver in the Cross Country Eliminator.  With Jak and two other students, Riley Cowling and Neil Douglas, they claimed a bronze in the U17 Teams race on the final day of competition.  Jak also claimed 4th place Nationally in the Cross Country Olympic event.

Father, Michael Stylianou, who was pleased with their achievements and excited about what they had accomplish shared how the brothers started their cycling separately.

“Tom was originally a track and road rider, following on from his brother Ben who competed in the National road titles a few years ago.  Jak started initially competing in Cycle-cross events before transitioning to a more traditional style of mountain biking.

“Tom and Jak both compete in local Mountain biking events including the annual summer Twilight series at locations around Launceston and are looking forward to the season ahead.”

Photo | Mike Moores