The Coffee Ride #118, with Reece Homfray

ADELAIDE cyclist Miles Scotson is using the pain of being denied a ride at the Rio Olympics to drive him towards the world championships in Doha next week.

Miles Scotson during the 2014 Tour of Tasmania.

AUSSIE CYCLING FRESHLY BREWED EVERY WEDNESDAY MORNING, EXCLUSIVE TO ADVERTISER.COM.AU

RIO PAIN DRIVING SCOTSON TOWARDS WORLDS

ADELAIDE cyclist Miles Scotson is using the pain of being denied a ride at the Rio Olympics to drive him towards the world championships in Doha next week.

The 22-year-old was part of Australia’s team pursuit squad right up until race day in Rio in August but was left out as the reserve while his brother Callum won a silver medal with the team behind Great Britain.

Almost two months on, Scotson is back on his bike and flying but this time on the road where he will take aim at the under-23 time trial world title on Monday.

“That was what kept my chin up at Rio actually, knowing straight after that there was another goal I could chase,” Scotson said.

“At the Rio camp I was doing the best power and everything I’d done, so the training and recovery I got there is probably going to help me at the world championships so I don’t look back on it as a bad experience.

“It was just that I was going really well and didn’t ride, but hopefully that whole block training towards an Olympics gets me a result in Qatar.

“I’d been fairly relaxed until a couple of weeks ago getting back into racing but the last two weeks I’ve switched on, am doing all the little things and trying to come to a peak now which is important for worlds.”

Scotson showed he was in good form by winning the time trial at the under-23 Olympia’s Tour in The Netherlands last week by 27 seconds.

Miles and Callum Scotson at the Adelaide Super Dome. Picture: Tricia Watkinson

“I did a time trial at Chonro Champenois a couple of weeks ago and it didn’t work out.

“But my form now is really good and I was surprised at the margin in a 15km TT.”

Scotson is hoping to medal in Doha where he would join the likes of Michael Rogers, Damien Howson, Luke Durbridge, Jack Bobridge, Michael Hepburn, Cameron Meyer, Rohan Dennis and Campbell Flakemore to have finished on the podium.

“Last year I had a really bad year with injury and fell ill right before the worlds and was second fastest at the last check before I had the mechanical,” he said.

“And I’d kind of forgotten about it but it’s been eating away at my mind recently and I think that’s helped with the motivation.

“This year I really want to aim for the sky, go for the top spot, give it everything and wherever I finish hopefully it’s near the front end.”

After the world championships Scotson will need to make a decision on his future which may hinge on whether he gets an offer to turn professional in 2017.

“In Rio Allan Peiper (BMC’s high performance boss) who had been following me the last year or two said he saw I’d only done 10 race days on the road this year,” Scotson said.

“He set me up to ride with Wanty-Groupe Gobert and my big goal is to go to a WorldTour team next year.

“The Olympias Tour probably helped but I need that one final result to get across the line.”

While that may impact whether he rides on the track next season, Scotson’s long term goals already includes the 2020 Tokyo Games.

“I’d love to keep doing the track but it’s just how it fits,” he said.

“If I can combine the two that would be great, I want to go to Tokyo because I missed my chance in Rio and the Comm Games in Queensland.

“But I’m at the age where I need to start pursuing on the road as well. I’ll make a call on it after the world championships.”

The UCI road world championships are in Doha, Qatar from October 9-16.

CAM MEYER: WHY I RETURNED TO CYCLING

IN CASE you missed the interview last night, Australian cyclist Cameron Meyer has broken a four month silence over his future by revealing he will ride the London Six Day event on the track this month.

Meyer said he needed two full months off the bike to rediscover his passion for the sport and is aiming at world cups, the world titles and 2020 Olympics.

You can read the full interview HERE.

COACH NIBLETT OFF TO JAPAN

ONE of Australia’s top track cycling coaches has accepted a job in Japan and will take up the new role later this month.

Commonwealth Games gold medallist Jason Niblett will work as an assistant coach with Japan’s sprinters in the lead up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

He leaves his current role as lead cycling coach with the South Australian Sports Institute and stints as assistant coach with the Paralympic team in Rio and head coach of the junior world championships team.

Jason Niblett.

STEPH MORTON GETS GOOSEBUMPS AT THE MCG

SHE’S a Commonwealth champion, Paralympic gold medallist and Rio Olympian but being crammed into the MCG with 99,000 people on Saturday is a moment Steph Morton will never forget.

The Australian track sprinter and lifelong Western Bulldogs fan drove from Adelaide to Melbourne without a grand final ticket but by 2pm on Saturday was in the stands cheering the Dogs to an historic victory.

“I was like ‘well, I’ve been trying all week to get a ticket and had no luck so I’m just going to drive over and I can always go to Whitten Oval and watch it with all the other fans who missed out’,” Morton said.

“There were a couple of opportunities to buy some pricey tickets but my brother-in-law (Clayton) is a Melbourne Cricket Club member so he could line up on the morning of the game to try to get a seat but that wasn’t not guaranteed.

Australian track cyclist Stephanie Morton and her brother-in-law Clayton. Picture: Supplied.

“He got up at 5:30am and went to the MCG in the pouring rain and you don’t know if you’ve got a ticket until you scan your members’ card through the scanners.

“Then you’ve got to run in, sit down at a seat and a bloke comes around and gives you a ticket.

“So he got a seat and I ended up getting his ballot ticket and so we could both go.”

Morton said it was one of the best experiences of her life.

“It was nerve racking because it was such a close game, but really cool, I was sitting with other Dogs supporters and you end up making friends with them,” she said.

“When the siren went off I was hugging the person next to me, high fiving the person in front of me, it was only my second time at the MCG and that roar gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.”

Morton in action.

Morton is still on a break from training after the Rio Olympics where her best result was fourth in the team sprint with Anna Meares.

“I’m not feeling guilty about having a glass of wine or staying up late, I’m enjoying switching off so I can come back fresh and ready to go again,” she said.

“I’m doing a road trip with Nettie (Annette Edmondson) and will do some mountain biking then when we’re back from that I’ll get back into it (training).”

QUOTES OF THE WEEK ...

“For me the bike is the most incredible tool and I can’t imagine a life without one.”

- Aussie cyclist Lachlan Morton after signing with Team Dimension Data for 2017.

“This team is truly special because they work with the heart and when you work with the heart you can achieve these results.”

- Orica-BikeExchange rider Esteban Chaves after winning the Giro di Lombardia on the weekend.

“How many people are on TUEs for a start would add context to what’s going on in the peloton at the moment but I think just throwing them out there, “this is what he’s on, this is what he’s on”, that’s ludicrous.”

- Bradley Wiggins tells The Guardian why he does not believe TUE’s in cycling should be made public.

TWEET, TWEET

Yesterday was most likely on of the toughest races Ive done. It seems the harder it is the more @estecharu shows his class.

— Damien Howson (@damien_howson) October 2, 2016

— Damien Howson on Esteban Chaves’ amazing season which continued on the weekend.

Originally published as The Coffee Ride #118, with Reece Homfray