Todd, Evan and Kelvin Dawson will hit the road as part of the upcoming Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
Evan Dawson will be out in front at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games cycling road races in April, leading the riders about 50m clear of the nearest competitor.
“My job is to be familiar with the course and lead the way so the riders behind me know exactly where they are going,” Mr Dawson said.
“I’ll be the first person across the line for most of the race and then I’ll peel off a block early on the last lap and give the riders a clear path to sprint to the finish.
“The course itself is pretty impressive, there’s a couple of little areas that professional riders will fly across on lap one but they will feel the pinch on later laps.”
Mr Dawson’s two sons, Todd and Kelvin, will join him on the road as games volunteers.
A former Australian junior track cyclist, Todd’s Ducati will take Moto Commissaire 1 (the chief referee) “anywhere he wants to go”.
Kelvin’s role remains unclear, but he could be pillioning a Channel 7 commentator around the 18.7km course.
“You don’t want to be part of the action, you’ve got to be aware of your surroundings and what’s going on around you.
“Being out front my role is fairly straightforward, but Todd and Kelvin could find themselves in the middle of 150 riders and if that happens they need to anticipate what the bunch is going to do and stay out of the way or ride smoothly among the peloton until clear.”
Mr Dawson knows a thing or two about anticipation.
The 58-year-old is a long-time supporter of Ipswich cycling and was a competitive rider from 1971 to 1979.
He started motorcycle marshalling in 2008 at the five-day Tour of Toowoomba.
“Push bike riding experience definitely helps when it comes to the marshalling,” Mr Dawson said.
“A lot of the guys who do this are old riders so there’s great camaraderie among the group and of course you don’t have to worry about staying fit so we can have a beer and talk about old times at night.”
The Gold Coast Commonwealth Games cycling road races will be held on Saturday, 14 April. Men will complete nine laps (168km) of the loop while women will ride six (112km).
READ MORE:
Who’s the strongest of them all? Hopefully our own Alyce Stephenson
