The Coffee Ride #70, with Reece Homfray
TRACK cyclist Nathan Hart has become the fastest standing-start sprinter in Australian history and is leading the charge to Rio just a year after joining the national program.
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AUSTRALIA’S NEW HART STARTER
TRACK cyclist Nathan Hart has become the fastest standing-start sprinter in Australian history and is leading the charge to Rio just a year after joining the national program.
It might have been somewhat lost amid the excitement of Anna Meares’ record 11th world championship and the women’s team pursuit breaking a world record, but Hart’s ride at the world titles in Paris in February was ground-breaking.
His time of 17.27secs for the standing lap in the team sprint was a national record and proved the third fastest of any first-wheel rider in qualifying.
He’d already broken the previous Australian benchmark set by Daniel Ellis at the 2008 Beijing Olympics when he rode 17.38secs at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
But his ride in Paris was on another level and at just 22-years-old, he has coaches and teammates excited.
With Hart at the helm, Shane Perkins in second wheel and Matthew Glaetzer bringing them home, Australia was third in Glasgow and sixth in Paris which augers well for the Rio Olympics.
“I’ve always had that attribute (explosiveness), I remember even athletics carnivals at kindergarten when I was five, it was always what I was good at — 50m or 70m sprints,” Hart said.
“Everyone keeps reminding me I’m still pretty young so I’ve got a few solid years of training and racing in my legs so hopefully it all goes to plan.”
Hart moved to Adelaide in April, 2014, to join the national sprint program under coach Gary West.
Prior to that he was living in Canberra, working part time at a gym and training by himself which involved driving three hours to Sydney every weekend just to get on an indoor track.
He rode his first world cup for Australia in 2013 and the Glasgow Games was just his second ever international meet.
“A lot has happened in that time,” Hart said of a whirlwind 12 months.
“It was always the plan when I arrived here to train for first wheel of the team sprint, I had been focusing on that in 2012 and 2013 because I knew there was a role that needed to be filled for Australia to be up with the best teams in the world.
“My progression since coming down here has been pretty gradual but significant as well.
“Pretty much every aspect of my training has improved, having that many teammates to train with every day and facilities.
“Having an indoor velodrome is always nice.”
Having raced the individual sprint at the International Track Series in Adelaide in May, Hart is now in the middle of a solid winter training block leading up to the Oceania Championships in October.
DEDICATED CYCLING SHOWS HIT THE AIRWAVES
THE past month has seen the emergence of two new dedicated cycling TV programs going to air in Australia in a sign of the sport’s growing popularity.
At last cycling — in all its forms — may be establishing a place in the mainstream media other than simply when the Tour de France or Olympic Games roll around.
Both free-to-air and pay TV networks are getting involved with ‘The Bike Lane’ broadcast on SBS and ‘Full Cycle’ on Fox Sports.
The Bike Lane
On: SBS 1
When: Sundays, 5pm (AEST)
Host/s: Matt Keenan, Robbie McEwen, Stuart O’Grady
Set: Bike shop with hosts at a desk
Segments/highlights: ‘The hot lap’, ‘Verita’s view’, interviews with Stuart O’Grady, Cadel Evans.
Full Cycle TV
Where: Fox Sports 5
When: Thursdays, 7pm (AEST)
Host/s: Scott McGrory, Brad McGee
Set: Street art backdrop, hosts with armchairs and coffee table
Segments/highlights: ‘Spinning yarns’, interviews with Anna Meares, John Trevorrow.
Matt Keenan had the idea about The Bike Lane 10 years ago and he has been pursuing it ever since.
The first six-episode series is about to end but in exciting news Keenan is in talks with SBS about another.
“It started out as a six-week slot leading up to the Tour de France but the feedback has been so positive that I’m in discussions with SBS about a second series,” Keenan said.
“I first pitched The Bike Lane to Channel 31 more than 10 years ago (but) I simply didn’t have the knowledge to make it happen then but I’ve been chipping away at it ever since.
“So although a second series isn’t over the line yet, I’m working my butt off to make it happen.
“My mission is to infect as many people as possible with the bike bug. There aren’t many things that can make an adult smile like a kid who rides without training wheels for the first (time) — a bike can do that.
“And that’s why, although we do talk a bit about racing, the main focus of The Bike Lane is to highlight the fun side of cycling and hopefully that leads to more people embracing the sport and going for a ride.
“We’re not in a TV studio, we’re moving around to different locations and going where the cycling community goes.
“In the future we’d like to host some shows in Adelaide, Canberra, Brisbane, Perth, Hobart or pretty much anywhere in the country. We want to get out among the cyclists.”
Scott McGrory, who used to host The Subaru Cycling Show on radio station SEN, held talks with Subaru about a television program on Fox Sports to compliment its coverage of the National Road Series.
And the result is a 20-week season of Full Cycle.
“It’s great to have two cycling shows on Aussie TV at the same time, albeit during a brief overlap,” Olympic gold medallist McGrory said.
“And while Full Cycle is on subscription television, 12 hours after going to air it’s put on the Fox Sports website to allow access to the wider sports loving community.”
McGrory — who hosts the show with fellow Olympic champion Brad McGee — said the aim of Full Cycle was to help take cycling to a wider audience.
“By demonstrating the intricacies and challenging nature of cycling, I’m convinced more people will appreciate and embrace it,” he said.
“For now we have a 20-week run which gives us plenty of time to get into a routine for the audience and deliver enough return for Subaru and Cycling Australia to make the show a regular fixture on Australian TV.
“There is so much happening locally from January onwards that the goal is to start season two early in 2016 and run right through the year.”
The show is only two episodes old but already the feedback has been encouraging.
“Two Olympic gold medallists discussing cycling with a ‘no bull****’ approach is something the audience is telling us they want, educate those that don’t fully understand the sport but don’t patronise those that do,” McGrory said.
“Generally though the reaction has been one of appreciation that there’s more cycling on telly that value adds to the live racing broadcasts.
“It’s also the first time I’ve worked together in this kind of role with my co-host Brad McGee.
“But we’ve known each other a long time and have a mutual respect that makes it enjoyable. As we develop the show and get into our groove I’m sure that will come across well.”
BIG WEEK FOR SPRATT, HOSKINS
AUSTRALIAN Orica-AIS pair Amanda Spratt and Melissa Hoskins both recorded big results in Europe in the past week.
Spratt rode solo to victory in the Giro del Trentino Alto Adige — Sudtirol in Italy to record her first win of the year on Sunday.
“I am super happy with the win,” Spratt said.
“The team did a great job and we seem to be going from strength to strength. Both Kat (Garfoot) and I have been climbing well recently and once I had held the gap and the commissaire car was behind me I was pretty confident I had clinched it.”
Meanwhile Hoskins secured the mountains jersey in the Aviva Women’s Tour which finished in the UK on the weekend.
“It was a little bit of fun at the start but I said to the girls the other day that I started getting attached to it,” Hoskins said of the polkadot jersey.
“I went down swinging and managed to walk away with it so I’m pretty stoked.”
BRIAN STEPHENS’ ROLE REVEALED WITH BRITISH CYCLING
BRIAN Stephens’ new role with British cycling has been confirmed with the federation announcing he had joined its endurance academy and coaching team.
Stephens — a former long-time coach of Australia’s national under-23 development squad — will work with Chris Newton and Keith Lambert.
At the same time it’s understood Stephens will continue as personal coach of Michael Matthews who is establishing himself as one of the brightest stars of Australian road cycling.
‘NEXT GEN’ — DAN FITTER
IN THE lead up to the 2016 Olympics, The Coffee Ride is profiling emerging young Australian cyclists who are targeting Rio — but more importantly beyond.
This week it’s Queensland’s Daniel Fitter who is part of the men’s track endurance squad and on Sunday won a kermesse Erembodegem-Terjoden in Europe.
Name: Daniel Fitter
Age: 18
From: Sunshine Coast, Queensland
My earliest cycling memory is: Getting my first road bike.
My first bike was: A bright orange steel frame.
The first time I rode on a velodrome: I didn’t stop pedalling once.
Biggest breakthrough as a junior: Winning U17 nationals TT.
Biggest result as an elite cyclist: Winning Mexico world cup teams pursuit
Coach Tim Decker’s favourite saying is: Think of money as K’s in the bank.
My personal motto for life or cycling is: “I have not failed I have just found 10000 ways that don’t work” (Thomas Edison).
The cyclist I have the most respect for is: Bradley Wiggins
Main goals for 2015: Make a world cup TP team, win a world cup TP.
And 2016: Make the 2016 Rio Olympics, make the national track team for worlds.
QUOTES OF THE WEEK ...
“He reminds me of a little mix between a Cavendish and McEwen.”
- Stuart O’Grady tells The Bike Lane why everyone is excited about Caleb Ewan.
“I remember winning with the help of my team mates and then not much else, but I am OK, nothing broken just very sore, thank you for kind messages and to the NHS staff who took care of me so well. I won’t start tomorrow in the hope of recovering properly for the Nationals.”
- Commonwealth Games champion Lizzie Armistead after her stage win and dramatic crash in Stage 1 of the Aviva Women’s Tour last week.
“I knew I just had to glue myself to his wheel and then see what I had left to come over him.”
- Michael Matthews on beating Peter Sagan on Stage 4 of the Tour de Suisse.
TWEET, TWEET
Pyrenees recon done... 2 weeks to @letour #TDF ðŸ‘😠pic.twitter.com/pjx9ku3n8U
— Chris Froome (@chrisfroome) June 21, 2015— Fresh from winning the Criterium du Dauphine, Chris Froome reminds everyone who the man to beat is in the Tour de France which starts on July 4.
Originally published as The Coffee Ride #70, with Reece Homfray
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