A Shepparton institution is changing hands.
After more than three decades of running nearly everything to do with cycling in the region, former professional BMX rider Leigh Egan has sold his Leading Edge Cycles business to close friends Brett and Ally Lancaster (husband and wife).
Brett has a long list of achievements in the world of cycling, having won a gold medal at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, competed at six Tour de France events (winning one stage) and was sports director of British cycling team Ineos Grenadiers (formerly Team Sky).
Brett returned home to Shepparton in late 2022 after stepping back from the professional cycling scene (having been involved in European racing for more than 20 years).
The decision to move back to the town where he grew up has allowed Brett to focus more on family life.
“Moving back to Australia, I wanted something where I could come home every night,” he said.
“It’s a decision for my family because, as I said, I was an absent father as I spent my life being away as a professional athlete and then a sports director.
“It’s good to have the same bed (every night) for the first time in my adult life.”
Having spent some time settling back into the regional lifestyle, Brett soon became president of Shepparton Cycling Club.
After hearing that his lifelong friend Egan might be looking to sell Leading Edge Cycles, Brett’s interest was piqued.
“I started looking at the business (Leading Edge Cycles) and Leigh had been doing it for a long time and I had heard rumours that he wanted to sell it,” he said.
“I looked at it and thought, ‘You know what? Let’s give it a crack’.
“We have a lot of ideas (for the business); it’s about piecing them all together to see which direction we want to go with.
“There is a big cycling community in Shepparton.”
The Lancasters won’t just focus on Shepparton, with Brett emphasising his eagerness to offer Leading Edge Cycles’ services to towns throughout the Goulburn Valley.
“We are serving a massive area,” he said
“We have got a van and we are looking at doing a bigger service area; look at Nagambie, where there are a lot of retirees, so we are looking at doing some bike pick-ups there in the future to help them service (their bikes).
“There’s Benalla without a bike shop and there are quite a few surrounding areas without one, such as Seymour, Nagambie, Euroa.
“We have a lot of customers from Euroa, which is a great place to ride as well.”
As part of the Lancasters taking the reins at Leading Edge Cycles, Brett said he and Ally hoped to make their business a community hub for bike lovers in the area.
One way they are doing this is by forming “Crystal Cranks”, a gravel cycling club named after the group’s easy-going riding style (you pedal like your cranks are made of crystal).
Brett recently formed Crystal Cranks for cyclists looking to ride as a group through the bush and away from the dangers they can sometimes face on main roads.
As the weather starts to improve and the days get longer, Brett hopes that casual cyclists and families will take advantage of the bike-riding opportunities available in the region.
“Shepparton is a great place to ride a bike,” he said.
“I was just saying the other day to Mayor Sali about how they had extended the bike path out to the golf course now; I said, ‘Well done on that’.
“You can get from the north end all the way to Kialla now on bike paths.
“The network is getting better for your average cyclist and family that wants to get out there.
“We have got some beautiful country roads and there is no traffic out there, especially along the Goulburn River.”
For more information on what Brett and Ally Lancaster are up to at Leading Edge Cycles, check out their Facebook page.