The Coffee Ride #153, with Reece Homfray
STEPHANIE Morton off to Japan, Shane Perkins to debut for Russia and successful heart surgery for Georgia Baker all in The Coffee Ride cycling column online every Wednesday.
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AUSSIE CYCLING FRESHLY BREWED EVERY WEDNESDAY MORNING, EXCLUSIVE TO ADVERTISER.COM.AU
MORTON OFF TO RACE JAPANESE KEIRIN
AUSSIE sprinter Stephanie Morton is packing her bags for Japan after earning an invite to the lucrative Japanese Keirin competition.
Morton, who rode world-class times at the ITS Melbourne last month, leaves Adelaide on August 21 and will spend two months racing and training in Japan.
International women have been invited to take part in Japanese keirin racing since 2013 and Morton’s teammate Kaarle McCulloch was one of the first to take part.
“There’s not too much racing for us here full stop so it will be nice to get over there and do some racing,” Morton said.
“The prize money is a bonus but you just go for the experience, it’s a bucket list item for me and it will be nice to tick that one off.
“I’m told the racing is pretty argy bargy so I’m excited about it.”
Like the men’s series, Morton will need to go to keirin school to get her racing licence, learn bike assembly and will go into lockdown before racing.
“When I’m not racing I’ll be training,” she said.
“There are other international riders there and I’ll try to touch base with Nibbo (former Australian rider and coach Jason Niblett) who is over there now and Perko (former teammate Shane Perkins) as well.”
Morton was invited to the series after her impressive performances at the Hong Kong world championships in April where she was second in both the individual and team sprint.
BAKER’S HEART SURGERY A SUCCESS
OLYMPIC cyclist Georgia Baker is recovering from successful surgery to fix a racing heart caused by a condition known as supraventricular tachycardia.
The 22-year-old who rides the track for Australia and road for Orica-Scott had a three-hour operation in Adelaide on Monday and said it was a success.
“It took a longer than they expected but I’m so glad they were able to find it and fix it,” Baker said.
“It’s something I was born with and the surgery was to get rid of it.
“I’ll have a week off the bike then slowly get back into training and won’t go back to Europe, the season will be pretty much over and I plan to stay here and train towards my next major goal which will be the Oceanias in November.”
Baker was forced to withdraw from the Women’s Tour in the UK in June after experiencing pain in her arm and chest.
She returned to Australia and flew to Melbourne for tests which revealed she suffered from superventricular tachycardia – the same condition Olympic swimming champion Kyle Chalmers also had recent surgery to correct.
FEATURE: GET TO KNOW LUCAS HAMILTON
AUSTRALIA’S WorldTour academy team returns to racing with in Italy tomorrow in preparation for its next major objective the Tour de l’Avenir.
Fresh from winning the Tour of Alsace, Lucas Hamilton said the team would have big objectives for the race dubbed the ‘mini Tour de France’.
“We’ve got a couple of Italian one-dayers and they’ll still be pretty solid racing, then it’s all for l’Avenir,” he said this week.
“We’ve got a really strong climbing team and someone like Rob Stannard who can mix it up in the punchier sprint stages early on.
“There’s actually a fair few of them this year and the team is looking forward to what we can do.”
Stay tuned for a feature interview with Hamilton next week.
PERKINS TO DEBUT FOR RUSSIA
AUSTRALIAN track sprinter Shane Perkins will have his first race as a Russian cyclist at its national championships next week.
Perkins, who has switched allegiances in a bid to make it to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, will race in St Petersburg from August 16-19.
The 30-year-old has been racing in Japan where he has been joined by his young family.
“I’m feeling great in the run up to the Russian championships, it’s been a very busy six-month period here in Japan but the schedule and balance between training and racing has been good,” Perkins said.
“My time in Japan training and racing has been significant as I’ve hit a few personal goals that have been set within our Tokyo 2020 Olympic plan.
“This year has been an exception to previous years in Japan where I’ve travelled here alone. This time round I’ve had my team here with me which includes my family which has all really boosted my preparation.”
QUOTES OF THE WEEK ...
The way like Katusha Alpecin races, full of passion, dedication and no doubt commitment to their leader, has always impressed me.
- Nathan Haas after announcing he will switch teams next year.
I couldn’t be happier to be going back to a team where I already have good relationships and that helps and allows me to achieve those goals on the track whilst maintaining a balance with my objectives on the road.
- Cameron Meyer on returning to Orica-Scott in the WorldTour.
As we begin a new three-year deal with the City of Ballarat, we are looking forward to building on the championships’ already great reputation as one of Australian sport’s premier events.
- Cycling Australia CEO Nick Green on the new-look format for the national road championships.
Originally published as The Coffee Ride #153, with Reece Homfray
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