He was beaten in the closest of finishes in the 2021 event by his son, Kobi. So Glenn was keen to win back the title and he managed to do so over the three stages, starting with a road race followed by a time trial and finishing with a criterium.

He finished on 17 points, winning the road race, finishing second in the TT and also taking out the criterium. Kobi was equal second on 12 points with Jacob Steep.

Mathiske is the Manning River Times-Iguana Sportstar of the Week, earning a $50 open order at Iguana.

While he can claim family bragging rights this year, Mathiske admits time isn't on his side.

"I'll be chasing the young blokes soon,'' he smiled.

Kobi, he added, took the result with good grace.

"But he was a bit less cheeky than usual when we got home,'' he laughed.

Mathiske is just pleased to be racing.

"There was a different dynamic this year,'' he said.

"We haven't had that much racing at all because of weather or COVID. It's just good to get out there.''

However, Mathiske enjoys the sport as much as ever. He trains six or seven days a week, clocking up around 340 to 350km.

"Mate, I just love it,'' he continued.

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While he races as often as possible with the Manning club, he still has commitments with the NCMG Criterion Racing team, competing in the Auscycle National Road Series. In January he contested the Tour Down Under in South Australia. This is the biggest cycling race in the southern hemisphere. It brings UCI World Tour professional cycling (male) teams to race on the streets of Adelaide and regional South Australia, according to the event's promotional material.

"That's the next level, but I did the best I could for my team,'' he said.

He rides around eight events a year in the national series, anywhere from Warrnambool in Victoria to the Queensland border. His next outing is in about six weeks when he contests the Battle of the Border in the Tweed Heads area. However, his main mission is the National Masters Road Race, a 100km event to be held in Wollongong in September. Here he'll ride in the 46-49 years category and is confident of a strong showing.

While it his intention to work with some of the Manning club's younger riders more in the future, don't mention the R word - retirement - just yet.

"Once you get off the bike, it's nearly impossible to get back on,'' he said.

"This can be a dangerous sport we're in and once you stop, you lose the edge. It takes 20 years to build endurance. I love riding and racing, I won't be stopping anytime soon.''