The Coffee Ride #73, with Reece Homfray

CAITLIN Ward is the youngest of 10 riders in Cycling Australia’s sprint high performance program based in Adelaide but it doesn’t take long to realise she means business.

Caitlin Ward - Aust sprint cyclist

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

NEXT GEN — CAITLIN WARD

CAITLIN Ward is the youngest of 10 riders in Cycling Australia’s sprint high performance program based in Adelaide but it doesn’t take long to realise she means business.

“When the flag drops, the BS stops,” Ward recalls her uncle telling her before a junior race in Shepparton years ago.

It is a motto Ward has carried with her to junior world championships and now the senior stage where she trains daily with the likes of Anna Meares, Stephanie Morton and Kaarle McCulloch.

The 21-year-old from Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula says she’s “living the dream” riding her bike every day and is fortunate to have joined the program in the lead up to the Rio Olympics.

My earliest cycling memory is: “Probably learning how to ride without training wheels or on the ‘tagalong’ with dad.”

My first bike was: “My first road bike was an alchemy called ‘spud’ and my first track bike was a blue hillbrick called ‘sparky’.

The first time I rode on a velodrome: “Was the summer of 2008 at Blackburn Cycling Club’s school holiday program called J-Cycle.”

Biggest breakthrough as a junior: “Most of my junior years I was just tapping away and enjoying making memories, but if I think about it, my first ‘breakthrough’ would have to be the 2010 junior track nationals, where Imi Jelbart and I won a gold medal and broke the Australian record in the team sprint.”

Biggest result as an elite cyclist: “Probably my breakthrough 2014 season where I medalled in all four national sprint events, was selected on the Commonwealth Games long team and was a regular competitor in the UCI category 1 circuit with the Aussie team.”

My personal motto for life or cycling is: “When I first started one of my uncles came to watch the Shepparton Junior Carnival, just before I raced he said ‘when the flag drops the BS stops’, which pretty much means no matter what the politics or who you’re racing, you can always take control of your effort and your race — for me knowing I gave it my all and had nothing left is just as important as the outcome itself.”

The cyclist I have the most respect for is: “This is a tough one, as the newbie in the Aussie high performance unit I have had such a fantastic opportunity to get to know some real talent of our sport, I have an infinite amount of respect for the athletes and staff in this team. I feel so blessed to have been able to join them in the pointy end of the Olympic cycle and learn from the best in the world.

“But if I had to pick one, it would have to be my Victorian coach Hilton Clarke who has always been loyal, honest and by my side even when things started to fall apart. It’s not often you find someone who deals with countless athletes that is willing to invest so much time and effort into you and I have the utmost respect for that.”

Main goals for 2015: “In general, finding my feet in this new state and learning as much as I can along the way. On the bike, adapt to the new training load and intensity and just enjoy living the dream of riding my bike.”

And for 2016: “I’m looking forward to 2016 being a big year full of fast legs, hard training and some PB performances.”

I’VE WANTED TO QUIT EVERY DAY: MATTHEWS

MICHAEL Matthews says there has been a moment in every stage since his Tour de France crash that the pain from broken ribs has made him want to quit the race.

But the Orica-GreenEDGE rider says he has worked too hard for too long to give up and has vowed to ride on.

Read his exclusive column on a chaotic first week of the race HERE.

Michael Matthews back on his bike after a nasty fall.

WHERE IS RICHIE GOING?

SO IT’S official — Richie Porte is on the move next season but where is he going?

It’s a brave decision to up and leave a superpower team like Sky but at the age of 30 the time is right to test himself as a leader in his own right.

He would have been on a good wicket at Sky, riding and winning one-week stage races and proving an invaluable ally for Chris Froome at the Tour de France.

So credit to Porte for having the courage to leave the bubble and say ‘I’m going to have a crack at this’.

But it begs the question of where is he going?

Widespread speculation in the media is he’s off to BMC.

Australia's Richie Porte is all smiles as he leaves for a training on the rest day of the Tour de France.

But what would that mean for Tejay van Garderen — the young American BMC has so much faith in that it backed him as leader ahead of Cadel Evans at the 2014 Tour de France.

Van Garderen has twice finished top-five at the Tour and BMC appears pleased with his progress so what would Porte’s arrival as a Grand Tour leader mean for van Garderen’s future?

The other team that’s been mentioned in the press is Etixx-Quickstep. But how would Porte lead a team with GC ambitions if that team is built around the green jersey focus of Mark Cavendish?

But with Cavendish off contract at the end of the season, might he be going elsewhere and QuickStep taking a new direction towards the Tour in the future which is where Porte could slot in?

It would be a major coup for Orica-GreenEDGE to land Porte but they’ve still got the Yates brothers signed for next year and seem committed to developing Esteban Chaves.

Porte might have revealed cycling’s “worst kept secret” that he’s leaving Team Sky next season, but the biggest secret of just where he is going remains a mystery.

GIRO ROSA COMES TO A CLOSE

THE Tour de France still has two weeks left to run but the women’s Giro Rosa has come to an end with a couple of big results for Australian cyclists.

Tiffany Cromwell was third on the opening road stage while Katrin Garfoot cemented her standing as one of the world’s best time triallers with fourth place on the Stage 8 21km race against the clock — missing the podium by less than a second.

Shara Gillow was the top-ranked Australian on general classification with her 10th place finish behind Dutch winner Anna Van Der Breggen.

Shara Gillow powers up a climb.

ASO COMING TO AUSTRALIA

THE Amaury Sport Organisation — owners of the Tour de France — will have an official footprint in Australia next year with a three-day cycling event in the NSW Snowy Mountains.

Organisers have announced the region will host L’Etape Australia by Le Tour de France which is welcome news for cycling fans starved of action on the eastern seaboard.

NSW was fast being left behind by South Australia which has the Tour Down Under and Victoria which is home to the Herald Sun Tour and Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race when it comes to major cycling events.

And while L’Etape Australia is not an elite level race, it is still a step in the right direction.

What is L’Etape?

L’Etape du Tour is an amateur road cycling event which began in France in 1993 to allow cyclists to experience riding a stage of the Tour de France. It has incorporated famous climbs such as the Tourmalet and Alp d’Huez. Since then, similar events have been held in the UK, Brazil, Chile and Argentina.

When?

L’Etape Australia will be held in December, 2016. Exact dates are yet to be released.

Where?

The NSW Snowy Mountains including Jindabyne, Perisher and Thredbo.

Who?

The event is expected to attract up to 10,000 amateur cyclists participating in competitive and recreational rides across the three days.

Is it a race?

It can be — and riders will compete for the yellow (leader), green (sprinter), polkadot (climber) and white (young rider) jerseys each day. The event is broken into three categories — ‘The Race’ being a competitive ride with professional race conditions. ‘The Ride’ is a shorter route but for experienced cyclists. ‘The Ramble’ is an easier course for riders of all abilities.

How to get involved?

There is a waitlist for entries on the website at www.letapeaustralia.com

QUOTES OF THE WEEK ...

“Every anniversary we get lovely texts and emails from people. We have had flowers left on the doorstep. A crystal. Such kindness. Don’t ever underestimate kindness.”

- Mary Safe as she prepares to mark the 10th anniversary of daughter Amy Gillett’s death while cycling in Germany.

“Whoever makes the top 10 this year, it will be one of the all-star top 10s that I’ve ever seen.”

- Matt White on the depth of top-end talent fighting for GC honours at the Tour de France.

“I’d like to stress that the entire team will give its best in order to get the yellow jersey and enjoy it in Paris with him.”

- Alberto Contador taking aim at the yellow jersey after learning of teammate Ivan Basso’s cancer diagnosis on Monday.

“It’s a war basically, there’s not a lot of respect, so if you’ve got the opportunity to move up, you move up, and that’s the reason we’ve seen a lot of crashes in the last few days and pretty serious ones too.”

- Zak Dempster tells Full Cycle TV of a frantic start to the Tour de France.

TWEET, TWEET

Can one die of noise poisoning? Our team hotel is next door to a Bastille day rave... Glad I've got nothing important on next week;)

— Nathan Haas (@NathanPeterHaas) July 13, 2015

— Australian cyclist Nathan Haas struggles to make the most of the rest day at the Tour de France.

Originally published as The Coffee Ride #73, with Reece Homfray