The Coffee Ride #195, with Reece Homfray

EXTENDED interview with Australia’s top female road cyclist Amanda Spratt, Chris Harper and Rebecca Wiasak to headline UniSA teams, Mat Hayman’s flying trip home and Richie Porte confirmed for TDU. All in The Coffee Ride today.

Amanda Spratt on her way to a silver medal in the road world championships this year. Picture: Christof Stache (AFP).

AUSSIE CYCLING FRESHLY BREWED, EXCLUSIVE TO ADVERTISER.COM.AU

SPRATT ON HER CAREER YEAR, STAYING WITH THE TEAM AND 2019

AMANDA Spratt either won or finished top three in 12 races this year but the one that made her truly believe she could medal at the world championships in Austria she didn’t even stand on the podium.

It was La Fleche Wallone - three days after she was third in Amstel Gold - and she climbed with the best in the world to finish fifth behind winner Anna Van Der Breggen.

And that was when the penny dropped.

“I felt fantastic there,” Spratt said.

“I went in an early break and still got fifth. It was a race I never believed I could go well in and I never really liked the Mur (de Huy) either.

“But this year I just felt great on it and realised the gap (to the world’s best) is not that big, and that was the race where I noticed the biggest improvement because I knew I was one of the best climbers there.

“This year was the first time I’ve had a WorldTour podium and WorldTour win in a tour, so I kept ticking these boxes and every time I did I was beating the best in the world so that gave me a lot of confidence that everything was on track and I really could be one of the best in the world.”

If La Fleche Wallone was her breakthrough moment, the most satisfying was her silver medal in the 156.2km road race at worlds to Van Der Breggen again.

Spratt on the podium at the Amstel Gold Race. Picture: Marcel van Hoorn (AFP).

“Mainly because it was a big target and I spoke about it quite vocally for a long time beforehand,” she said.

“I knew I had quite a bit of pressure and believed I could be world champion, in the end Anna was too strong on the day and I have to accept that, but the whole season was getting better and better and for me it was a huge result - my career highlight.”

Spratt had two weeks off after the world championships and went on holiday around Italy and Switzerland with her parents before returning home to the Blue Mountains where she is doing pre-season with her long-time training buddies.

But such was Spratt’s amazing season, in a way she didn’t want it to end.

“I felt like every race I was getting stronger and there is always that temptation to keep going, but I knew my body needed the rest and mentally I had such big focuses this year and achieved what I wanted so I had to switch off for a bit.”

With 46 total race days, her season was on par with previous years but at 31 Spratt believes she was starting to reap the benefits of years of racing at the top level.

“I’ve had a lot of years of racing now and am getting more confident, I’m realising the kind of races I’m strongest in and this year I was really clear with my goals,” she said.

“My coach Gene Bates was good at targeting those events and being really specific with the training towards those goals, and in general our whole team stepped up a level.

“We were stronger across the board, we have more people in the final which makes it possible to play more and this was the first year I’ve been there consistently in the tough finals against Annemiek so we can play off each other.

“And at the Giro you saw how strong the whole team were so that really enabled us to be fresh for when we needed to perform.”

She never aimed to win the women’s TDU but Spratt said she couldn’t hold back her competitive instincts in Adelaide in January. Picture: Tom Huntley

When Spratt and Bates sat down to plan the 2018 season they decided they would target the Ardennes, Giro and worlds.

But Spratt also happened to star in January where she was fourth at nationals and won the women’s Tour Down Under.

“You can’t try to be good all the time you really have to pick your peaks and at the start we said four peaks is too many, it has to be three at the most,” Spratt said.

“So we said Ardennes, Giro and worlds. In January I’m having a constant slow build and am not in peak condition but I love the racing and I can suffer a lot more in those races because I love them so much.

“Then I know I still have room to step up once I get to Europe in February and have my first big training block.”

“But it’s also important I can have some big races where I am really supporting my teammates because I am a big believer in not always taking, you’re supposed to give back if you expect your teammates to kill themselves for you, you have to do the same for them.”

Part of Spratt’s planning this year involved her decision to skip a home Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.

While Australia won gold with Katrin Garfoot in the road race, Spratt followed her top five finishes in Amstel Gold and La Fleche Wallonne with second at Liege Bastogne Liege.

“I know Australian cycling we’re in such a strong position there were no guarantees I’d be on the start line and I’m super patriotic and love putting on the Australian jersey,” she said.

“But I’m at a point in my career where I want to be one of the best in the world and if I did the Comm Games I would miss out on three of the one-day races that suit me the most.

“It definitely paid off with the results that I got.”

Spratt has recently signed a new two-year deal with Mitchelton-Scott despite fielding offers from rival teams.

The 31-year-old admitted she considered offers to change teams but has re-signed with Mitchelton-Scott for the next two years. Picture Sarah Reed

“I’ve been here since it (the team) started and I had other offers elsewhere and was considering them, but I’m happy here,” she said.

“I’m super motivated here, loving the people I work with and am constantly improving so in the end it was an obvious decision and I love the team and everything it stands for.”

The plan for Spratt won’t change much next year with her taking aim at the Ardennes, Giro and worlds again, and she will be in Adelaide to defend the TDU title in January.

“I have a jam packed January - I’m racing everything,” said Spratt who won Cycling Australia’s elite women’s road rider of the year award.

“I think where we will change it a little bit will be earlier in the season during the classics. This year I got quite sick and missed out on quite a few races in that block.

“But in the end that made me quite a bit fresher for the Ardennes so if anything we’ve learnt from that, that I don’t need to be doing every single one of those cobbled classics.

“I will start my season a week later than normal then be a bit lighter on in those cobbled races to be sure I’m good for the Ardennes.”

HARPER AND WIASAK TO SPEARHEAD UNISA TEAMS

Rebecca Wiasak is racing on the road full-time after she medalled at the Commonwealth Games which was her last track race for Australia. Picture: NIGEL HALLETT

CHRIS Harper has waited 12 months for the chance to ride the Tour Down Under and this time it’s official - he will be on the start line in Adelaide in January.

Harper was cruelly denied a spot in this year’s race with wildcard team UniSA-Australia due to an anti-doping administrative bungle.

Having been pre-selected with UniSA-Australia he shored up his spot with a stunning third place finish in the road race at the national championships, but was later deemed ineligible to ride the WorldTour TDU because he had not been in a UCI anti-doping testing and whereabouts pool for the required six weeks.

But there are no such problems this time for Harper who went on to finish sixth overall at the Herald Sun Tour and fourth at the Tour of Japan in 2018.

He is set to be officially named in the UniSA team for the TDU in the next week, which is being selected early to ensure all riders comply with anti-doping protocols and can adequately prepare for the race.

Teams for the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race and Sun Tour will still be finalised after the nationals.

The women’s UniSA team is set to feature Rebecca Wiasak who has turned her attention to the road full time after being cut from the national track squad following the Commonwealth Games.

With just one day between the road nationals and women’s TDU starting in January, the team has been finalised before Christmas and will be unveiled on Thursday.

HAYMAN’S FLYING TRIP HOME

Mathew Hayman said he wanted to announce his retirement early so he could be honest with teammates and friends when they asked about his plans for 2019 which involve a farewell race at the Tour Down Under in January. Picture: Michael Dodge (Getty) Images)

MATHEW Hayman is combining training with corporate and speaking engagements while on a brief trip back to Australia this week.

The Paris-Roubaix champion did five hours on the bike around Canberra yesterday before flying to Melbourne this morning for a speaking engagement with Mummu Cycling alongside former teammate Stuart O’Grady and team boss Gerry Ryan.

The 40-year-old was in the NSW Snowy Mountains on the weekend for L’Etape Australia of which he was an official ambassador.

“It was really good, well organised, a lot of people having fun on a safe, sunny day, but it was hard, we did 170km with 3500m of climbing,” Hayman said.

“A lot of people sign up and battle through but it’s not an easy day, but good to see them want to challenge themselves.”

Hayman is preparing for the final two months of his professional cycling career with plans for him to retire after the Tour Down Under in Adelaide in January.

“It was announced a bit early but you get to a point where you make a decision, I know where I’m at and I’ve informed the team and can be honest to the people who are starting to ask the question,” he said.

“I just wanted it out there so I could relax and field those questions when people were asking what I would be doing next year.”

QUICK SPIN ...

PORTE TO RIDE TDU

Richie Porte will take aim at a sixth straight Willunga Hill crown in the TDU. Picture: Philippe Lopez (AFP).

RICHIE Porte will return to the Tour Down Under where he will take aim at winning the queen stage up Old Willunga Hill for the sixth year in a row in January.

Despite earlier this year saying he may bypass the season-opening WorldTour race, Porte last week confirmed he would be in Adelaide for the 21st edition of the race with new team Trek-Segafredo.

Porte won’t be lacking any motivation either given he crashed out of the Tour de France for the second year in a row in July and is desperate to return to have another crack at the yellow jersey.

TP SQUADS DON’T MISS A BEAT

IT WAS a hugely successful weekend of racing at the Berlin world cup for Australia’s track team led by the men’s and women’s pursuiters and star sprinters Stephanie Morton and Matthew Glaetzer.

Racing together for the first time since their 3:49 world record on the Gold Coast in April, the men’s TP won gold in a time of 3:51 while the women’s TP took silver in 4:16.4 when Great Britain caught them on the last lap to win by .03secs.

Morton set a 10.484 PB in qualifying on her way to winning the women’s sprint for the first time while Glaetzer remained unbeaten in sprint world cups this season by winning the men’s gold medal.

“After a few silvers to finally turn it around and get my first sprint win at a world cup is unreal,” Morton said.

“With Matt and me in a heavy training block at the moment, I went into the day relaxed with no pressure on myself and was prepared for a big ‘shut up legs’ kind of day.

“So when I looked up and saw the time of 10.4, I was speechless, and anyone who knows me knows that is very rare.

“I knew backing up was going to be tough with training in the legs so I took it one race at a time, focusing on the skill or tactic that Ross (Edgar) and I wanted to work on, knowing that crossing the line first would be the bonus.”

Morton and Glaetzer are racing the London world cup from December 14 while the endurance riders have returned home.

OLYMPIANS TO TACKLE REVOLVE 24

Olympic cyclist gold medallist Scott McGrory is riding Revolve 24 alongside Graeme Brown and Stephen McGlede at Tailem Bend in March. Picture: Nicole Cleary

OLYMPIANS Graeme Brown, Stephen McGlede and Scott McGrory are no strangers to riding around in circles so they’ll have no problem navigating the circuit at Tailem Bend next year.

The track cycling Olympic medallists have all signed up for Revolve 24 which is an overnight endurance test around the V8 Supercars circuit outside of Adelaide.

“We still all have one thing in common and that is that we all can, and do, like to ride our bikes, so why not, get the band back together for something totally different,” said O’Grady who is also race director for next year’s event.

“Who knows if the performance will still be gold medal worthy but I do know the competitive racing edge never leaves you, so I know the boys will be primed, prepared and ready to give this a red hot go. It will be fun to have everyone together.”

Revolve 24 will be held from March 16-17 and registrations are open at www.revolve24.com/events/the-bend-motorsport-park.

Originally published as The Coffee Ride #195, with Reece Homfray