Tuesday, 19 February 2019 It was wonderful to see a number of shining lights emerge among the men and women’s KordaMentha teams during this year’s summer of cycling. KordaMentha is a proud sponsor of the men and women’s elite teams at both the Jayco Herald Sun Tour and the Cadel Evans Road Race. “We are impressed by the outstanding performance of our riders, many of whom are just out of high school,” KordaMentha Real Estate managing partner, Berrick Wilson, said. “Even just to hold your nerve in those competitive conditions is a considerable achievement. “This year our cyclists were also battling days of extreme heat, on top of the tough competition, so they did remarkably well.” KordaMentha Real Estate women’s team members Emily Roper and Rachel Neylan both finished in the top 10 of the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race. It was also a great season for Sarah Gigante, who wowed the crowds in Ballarat when she took out the FedUni Road Nationals in January, holding off the might of World Tour team, Mitchelton-Scott. Last year, Sarah broke her elbow, shoulder and wrist following a club race crash, and her mum had to scribe her homework for her. It made no difference to her schooling, however, with Sarah taking out a perfect ATAR score of 99.95. She was far from the only female cyclist in the KordaMentha team to have injured herself in recent times. Georgia Whitehouse was hit by car at 17, while Ruby Roseman-Gannon came back from a broken collarbone in 2012 and neuromuscular injury in 2015 to compete. The KordaMenta men’s team also put in strong performances this summer, with Brenton Jones taking out a criterium win at the FedUni Road Nationals. Brenton has also clawed his way back from injury. A mid-race cycling crash in 2011 left him in an induced coma, and he underwent six months of physical therapy before he could even get on a bike. KordaMentha Real Estate hosted a number of the men and women’s cycling team members at the Melbourne office recently, with Berrick praising their resilience in the face of injury, and encouraging them to continue with their cycling careers. “There is no training ground quite like testing yourself on the UCI racing calendar, “ Berrick said. “It means our Australian riders are pitted against the best in the world, with many of them riding alongside cyclists they have admired for years. “Cycling gives you a number of skills that are vital for success in life, such as team work, resilience, endurance and grit.”