Dalby's pedalling principal

Dean Russell has picked up five medals in the Queensland Masters Racing Champsionships

BACK ON THE BIKE: Dr Dean Russell won five medals in the five events he participated in last weekend. Picture: Contributed

DALBY'S very own Dean Russell took to the Anna Mears Velodrome for the Queensland Masters Racing Championship cycling event.

Despite only racing competitively for a few years, Dr Russell was impressed with his results.

"It went really well,” Dr Russell said.

"I was pleasantly surprised.”

Dr Russell competed in five events, winning four gold medals and one silver for his efforts.

While the cyclist trained for a long time leading up to the competition, it was no easy feat.

"It was pretty tough,” Dr Russell said. "The Masters divisions get quite tough and are quite popular.

"There's a lot of strong riders so I definitely had to work for it.”

Dr Russell first took to the bike when he was quite young, before taking a 12-year break from riding to focus on work, study, and family life.

He then jumped back on the bike to restart his competitive cycling career about six years ago, while juggling his own work responsibilities.

Dr Russell's star event was the Omnium race, which features four individual events.

He won a gold medal in this event for two consecutive years in 2017 and 2018 and this year was no exception.

"It's a really hard event,” Dr Russell said. "You do four races across the course of the day. It's a real test of speed and endurance.”

"It's always hard to win a race when you're the defending champ. I was very, very happy to pick that one up. That was probably my highlight of the titles.”

Despite years of experience, Dr Russell still gets nervous before a big event. But he has some tried and tested techniques to help him focus before a race.

"I've obviously done these competitions many times but I take it pretty seriously,” he said. "I just try to think about other things. I think about my family, that usually calms me down a bit. Or I listen to music.”

Dr Russell will compete in the Australian Masters Track Racing Championships at the Anna Mears Velodrome in Brisbane, this April.

Originally published as Dalby's pedalling principal