And, that trend continued recently at the 2017 Cycling Australia Track National Championships, which took place at the Anna Meares Velodrome in Brisbane this month.

The event marked the first major fixture at the venue that will host the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games program in April, 2018.

Ex-local juniors Ben Young and Charles Hofman both contested the elite men’s sprint races, the former representing Western Australia and the latter his home state New South Wales.

Young, now working with the RAAF, placed third in the final of the keirin to snare a bronze medal.

He also reached the semi of the sprint event, after beating Australian champion Matthew Glaetzer in the opening round.

Hofman, who is training in Sydney with the NSW Institute of Sport, performed admirably on the national stage, too.

Muswellbrook Cycle Club (MCC) secretary Alistair Christie said it was a “great achievement for the local organisation”.

“Ben also won his ‘adopted’ state title in the lead-up to the championships,” he explained.

“He rides for Western Australia these days due to his military posting there.

“Ironically, both boys competed against each other, with Ben riding for WA and Charles for NSW.

“We’re proud of their feats; they’ve done very well.

“Ben and Charles still come up and have a ride [with the club] when they come home.

“They represented Muswellbrook for many years.

“We always knew they had talent, so it’s terrific to see them fulfil that.

“It’s also worth noting another former junior Sam Hill won the NSW Roadman of the Year crown in 2016 for the under-23 men.”

Christie said the future of MCC was in good hands.

“We have a strong core of junior riders in our midst, including Oliver Collins, Fintan Conway, Campbell Jones, Matilda Jones and Georgina Pratley,” he admitted.

“In fact, we’ve been asked on numerous occasion what we put in the water [at Muswellbrook].”