Rarely is cycling the Velodrome at 60km without brakes the first thing that comes to mind when you think about youth sports.

Yet, a growing number of young people in Victoria like John Willcox are doing just that. Inspired after a bike tour in Europe, Willcox switched from mountain biking to street cycling and the Velodrome. Later a friend mentioned an academy sport program for youth where applications are accepted after reaching a certain level in a chosen sport and obtaining a Canadian Sport Institute card.

Now fifteen, Willcox is showing impressive numbers in the U17 (under seventeen) category; what’s more impressive is that it’s only a year after he had open-heart surgery. “The more people involved and watching it, the more exciting it becomes,” expressed Willcox. He encourages more people to try it out and learn about the mental strategy involved in the wide range of racing types (i.e. Team, Sprint, Madison and Omnium, of which he ranks in the top 10).

Next, Willcox intends to win at the Nationals, the highest competitive level for his age category.