The Coffee Ride #75, with Reece Homfray
AUSTRALIAN team Orica-GreenEDGE has started the mammoth task of finalising its squad for next year with 19 of its 26 riders coming out of contract this season.
AUSSIE CYCLING FRESHLY BREWED EVERY WEDNESDAY MORNING, EXCLUSIVE TO ADVERTISER.COM.AU
19 OUT OF CONTRACT AT OGE
AUSTRALIAN team Orica-GreenEDGE has started the mammoth task of finalising its squad for next year, with 19 of its 26 riders coming out of contract this season.
The list includes Australians Cameron Meyer, Michael Hepburn, Leigh Howard and Simon Clarke — who was a surprise omission from the team for this month’s Tour de France.
Clarke, 29, started and finished the Tour the past two years and in 2012 won the mountains jersey at the Vuelta a Espana.
But this year he rode the Giro d’Italia and not the Tour, which finished on Sunday.
Meyer and Hepburn are former track world champions who have forged different paths on the road — Hepburn emerging as a workhorse in the past two Giro d’Italia races and riding the Classics while Meyer has focused on week-long stage races such as the Tour of Suisse.
OGE boss Shayne Bannan told News Corp this week that discussions were ongoing with out-of-contract riders but he would not comment on individuals.
The list of off-contract stars does not include Luke Durbridge, Michael Matthews or Simon Gerrans, who all extended their deals with the team last year.
OGE is facing an interesting junction in its future — particularly when it comes to its identity at Grand Tours.
Next year mountain climbers Robert Power and Jack Haig join the team, in addition to the Yates brothers who could carry the team’s GC ambitions if they remain with the squad beyond 2016.
But the OGE also includes Matthews and the emerging talent of Caleb Ewan, who can both sprint with the best in the world, meaning priorities may need to be split in three-week races rather than purpose-built squads like BMC, Sky and Etixx-Quickstep.
With team transfers allowed to be officially announced on August 1, all eyes will be on rival squads who may be circling.
This Saturday is also when Richie Porte’s new team will be officially announced.
His current team Sky is believed to have been very active in the transfer market with Tinkoff-Saxo owner Oleg Tinkov this week declaring on his Cyclingnews blog: “If I could tell you who they are about to sign for 2016, you’d realise they’re (Sky) going to kill the business”.
Among those linked to Sky has been world champion Michal Kwiatkowski, who could be on the move from Etixx-QuickStep.
THE MEAN MACHINE MKII
AUSTRALIAN sports fans and especially those of the pool will be well aware of the Mean Machine’s exploits in the 1980s.
The nation’s 4x100m freestyle relay team won gold at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane and, after shaving their heads, were dubbed the ‘Mean Machine’. They went on to win silver at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
Now 30 years on, the name is back but in a different sport with a marketing campaign built around Australia’s men’s team pursuit, which is going for gold in Rio.
Branding Australia’s men’s track endurance team the ‘Mean Machine’ is the work of former track and road cycling star Baden Cooke, who works alongside Darian Lobb at MVP Management.
The Mean Machine has created its own Twitter account and website, which swung into action last week when Australia rode an unofficial 4km world record in Mexico.
“I was a once a member of the track team and I understand the amount work and pain that goes into making the Olympic team with little reward and recognition,” Cooke said. “Darian and I saw a bunch of athletes who are superstars on the world stage who were getting minimal recognition in Australia and we decided to work with the squad to help elevate them to household names.”
The idea of the Mean Machine branding is to promote the athletes much like Australian rowing’s Oarsome Foursome.
“We all remember the Oarsome Foursome who were ahead of the times in marketing themselves and gaining the well-deserved recognition,” Cooke said. “We are following their lead and looking to create similar success on a sustainable level.
“The squad was inspired by the original Mean Machine from the 80s who were renowned for their mateship and Aussie spirit. Our boys don’t take the name lightly and will uphold the reputation of the original Mean Machine and will do them proud.”
Lobb, who is managing director at MVP, said he hopes the Mean Machine going for gold in Rio will inspire the next generation of young track cyclists.
“Our goal is to have the Mean Machine name resonate with young children who are watching next year’s Olympics and have them want to be part of the team pursuit,” he said. “Traditionally the team pursuit is one of the most watched events at the Olympic Games but this exposure has rarely been capitalised.
“Baden and I are very keen to support and assist the entire squad to achieve their common goal of Olympic gold and are looking for corporate partners to work with the Mean Machine in their pursuit.”
COMMENT: RICHIE’S FINEST HOUR ON THE BIKE
RICHIE Porte has done plenty of winning as a professional cyclist but his sacrificial performance for Chris Froome on Alpe d’Huez on Saturday night was his finest hour on a bike.
Froome set up his second Tour de France by winning Stage 10 two weeks ago but what Porte did on the race’s most iconic climb on Stage 20 saved the mission.
As Colombian climber Nairo Quintana launched attack after blistering attack in a bid to make up two minutes and steal the yellow jersey from Froome’s shoulders, Porte rose to the occasion.
Like an AFL premiership captain or world champion boxer, he embraced rather than shied away from the challenge, took responsibility and rode himself into the ground.
With his jersey unzipped, his face bearing that familiar teeth-clenching grimace and his treasured Tasmanian pendant swinging on the chain around his neck, Porte emptied himself of every last ounce of effort.
He repeatedly covered Quintana’s attacks and when the Colombian did get away in the final 13km — where the road climbs to 1850m above sea level and the oxygen disappears with it — Porte never panicked and kept pushing the pedals to keep Froome in the race.
Afterwards, Froome was asked whether that was the hardest climb of his career.
“Yes,” he replied. “There was a moment where I felt ‘this could go the other way here, I’m in difficulty here’. I was on my absolute limits, I felt like I was dying a thousand deaths.”
But with Porte at the helm of the Team Sky machine piloting Froome to the finish, it really was the ultimate team victory.
Loyal lieutenants Ian Stannard, Peter Kennaugh, Leo Konig, Wouter Poels, Nicolas Roche, Luke Rowe and Geraint Thomas also played their role over three weeks and Thomas and Poels were still there swinging with Porte and Froome at the finish.
Porte has been there before — for Bradley Wiggins in 2012 and for Froome’s first victory in 2013 but this was something else.
He had already had an outstanding season, winning the national TT title, conquering Willunga Hill (for the second time) and winning Paris-Nice, the Tour of Catalunya and the Giro del Trentino.
Considering both the number and quality of those victories, it’s a big call to say this Tour and Alp d’Huez was Porte’s best performance of the year. But given the circumstances it’s hard to argue.
The 30-year-old was devastated in May when he abandoned the Giro d’Italia — the first time he’d been outright leader of Team Sky in a Grand Tour — after being brought undone by a combination of bad luck and a crook knee.
He admitted it took a while to get over that, but to recover, both physically and mentally, in time for the Tour de France was testament to his character.
Even more impressive was his dedication to the team, having two weeks earlier revealed that he would leave Sky for greener pastures at season’s end. He warned against anyone questioning his commitment to the cause for the rest of the Tour.
“It speaks volumes about the kind of person Richie Porte is, that he’s just laid it all down on the line, completely selflessly time and time again,” Froome said on Saturday night.
“Obviously we’re good friends off the bike as well as on the bike, he said that he is going to be leaving the team after this season.
“I’ll be really sad to see him go and who knows, maybe in the future we’d still be riding together in a way even though we’re in different teams.”
As good a wingman as Porte has been for Froome and Team Sky over the years, he’s decided it’s time to leave the nest and become a GC rider in his own right.
It’s a gutsy call, but as they say if you never ever go then you’ll never ever know.
In some ways it’s the same as Mark Renshaw deciding he could not possibly retire without leaving Mark Cavendish’s side to at least have a crack at sprinting for himself.
And when Porte does finish up with Sky at the end of the season to embark on a new journey, the first man lining up to shake his hand will be Froome who will look him in the eye and simply say “thanks”.
TOUR DE FORCE IN FIGHT AGAINST CANCER
MARK Haseloff considers himself lucky to have survived his teenage fight with cancer and now feels a responsibility to help others, which is why he’s saddling up for a bike ride from Adelaide to Melbourne.
The 24-year-old is joining sports stars, cycling fans and corporates for the inaugural six-day Road Raise in October, an event which aims to generate awareness and funds for CanTeen.
Haseloff was just 17 and about to start Year 12 in 2009 when he found a lump on his chest and was diagnosed with stage four Hodgkin lymphoma.
“I was 17 and thought I was invincible but you soon learn otherwise,” Haseloff said.
Given a 50/50 chance of survival, he underwent a month of radiotherapy and six months of chemotherapy, and is now in full remission.
“It put life into perspective and since then I’ve been quite heavily involved in youth cancer and CanTeen and improving services,” he said. “I feel it is a responsibility, I got through my journey so I’m really passionate about the cause.”
Haseloff doesn’t plan on riding the full 970km from Adelaide to Melbourne from October 11-16, but says he will do what he can to support the rest of the team.
The inaugural edition of Road Raise, supported by Duncan Basheer Hannon, will mark the 30th anniversary of CanTeen forming.
“We wanted to reflect on CanTeen’s achievements and reach more young people who are affected by cancer so we created an event to increase awareness and raise some funds,” CanTeen’s partnerships manager Jodi Farley said. “Every day in SA and NT about five young people begin living with cancer in some way, whether themselves, parents or a sibling.
“And one of our biggest challenges is promoting the free services that we offer so people know about the support they can access.”
For more information and support or to help with fundraising for the ride, visit www.roadraise.com.au.
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
“I was about to pop up the laptop, put Kardashians on in bed and call my mum, then the next minute we got the call to say racing’s been pushed forward about five hours.”
- Caroline Buchanan on a crazy day at the BMX world championships.
“Every minute of every day.”
- Annette Edmondson on her focus for the Rio Olympics.
“I think each and every one of us did Amy’s memory proud with how we expressed ourselves both on and off the bike. I’m proud to be part of such a strong group of women.”
- Gracie Elvin after being awarded the Amy Gillett Prize in Thuringen Rundfahrt.
“I know he would be saying ‘Come on George, just get on with it!’.”
- Tasmanian Georgia Baker on her brave decision to head to Europe with the women’s track endurance team following the sudden death of her father, Patrick.
TWEET, TWEET
— Australian Adam Hansen in the French Alps at the end of the 2015 Tour de France — his 12th consecutive Grand Tour.