He acquired a track bike in January this year and started training on the Unanderra velodrome along with other Nowra Velo members who were also pursuing that style of racing.

Then a week ago Richard raced an interclub meeting on the Dunc Gray Olympic velodrome at Bankstown along with fellow NVC riders Adrian McMillan and Phil Rice where he scored two wins, one in a sprint final and the other a points race.

Both Rice and McMillan picked up top-three placings on this program also.

Four days later Vitiello was at the state open carnival on the Goulburn velodrome where he was on the winners' list again, scoring in a scratch race and a motor paced keirin event. He also gained some podium positions in two other events.

Also racing on this program at Goulburn were Amelia and Curtis Trkulja, also now of the Nowra Velo Club.

Amelia, who is a national silver medallist from 2019 picked up a minor placing in the elite women's event with just two weeks back on her bike after a 10-week holiday in Italy.

Curtis is in his first year of under 17 racing and he placed second in a scratch race at Goulburn.

Nowra Velo will be represented by both McMillan and Vitiello in the NSW Masters championships on the Dunc Gray velodrome at Bankstown during the coming week in sprint, time trial, points and scratch events while the NVC will field a team in the Masters NSW team sprint championship on Saturday.

A week later the Trkulja siblings will be racing in junior under 17 and under 19 championships, also at the Dunc Gray velodrome.

Local racing returns to the Braidwood Road course next Sunday for a 54 kilometre road race after the criteriums set down for Sunday 9th February were cancelled due to the wet weather.