The Coffee Ride #26 with Reece Homfray

AUSSIE cycling freshley brewed every Wednesday morning, exclusive to advertiser.com.au

The Coffee Ride #26 with Reece Homfray

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

FOURTH TIME LUCKY FOR MULHERN

THREE times Mitchell Mulhern has been included in Australia’s “long squad” and trained towards a major international meet, only to be told “sorry, you’re staying home”.

For two years he did exactly the same work as his teammates, dripped blood, sweat and tears onto the boards of the velodrome in the hope that he’d wear the green and gold, only to be the last man cut from the squad.

Mulhern has raced world cups but like the 23rd footballer picked for an AFL grand final, he missed out on the big dance. It happened for the world titles in 2012, 2013 and London Olympics.

But not this time.

The 23-year-old Queenslander made Australia’s long squad for the team pursuit at the world championships in Columbia this month and on Sunday was finally told to pack his bags and bring his passport.

Coach Tim Decker said Mulhern still couldn’t wipe the smile off his face.

“It’s a huge breakthrough,” Decker said.

“He well and truly deserves his spot through training and racing.

“Never once has he ever said to me that he’s leaving the program or questioned himself and it’s an example for anyone coming through.

“He’s very professional and has done all the work.”

Mulhern, who lists Michael Hepburn and Jack Bobridge as his “cycling idols”, was part of the Australian team which rode 3:55 to win gold at the Mexico World Cup last year.

That Hepburn, Bobridge and Rohan Dennis can all leave the squad after the London Games and the TP program can still produce such quality times is evidence of the depth in the squad.

“Nowadays there’s such depth in the men’s track endurance side, it’s good that if someone’s not up to it, someone can easily step in and still do the job,” Mulhern said.

Mulhern will join defending team pursuit world champions Glenn O’Shea, Alex Edmondson and Luke Davison and first-timer Miles Scotson on the endurance team for the world titles when they fly out of Australia on Wednesday.

The surprise omission was the fourth member of last year’s triumphant team, Victorian Alex Morgan, who CA high performance manager Kevin Tabotta hopes will be motivated to break back into the team for the Commonwealth Games later this year.

In the women’s endurance ranks, despite winning the teams pursuit at the national championships, Tasmania - which had two under-19s in its team - makes up just one of the five riders heading to Columbia.

Amy Cure is a walk-up start especially after her dominant performance at nationals to win the individual pursuit as well, and she joins a super-strong Aussie squad including fellow London Olympians Annette Edmondson and Melissa Hoskins.

As well as Mulhern, the other dream story is Daniel Ellis who returns to the men’s team sprint.

Ellis took a year off after missing selection for the London Games, got a job delivering the mail for Australia Post, made his way back via SASI and now returns to the world stage.

The full Australian team is:

Men’s Sprint:

Daniel Ellis, Matthew Glaetzer, Shane Perkins.

Women’s Sprint:

Anna Meares, Stephanie Morton.

Men’s Endurance:

Alex Edmondson, Luke Davison, Mitchell Mulhern, Glenn O’Shea, Miles Scotson.

Women’s Endurance:

Ashlee Ankudinoff, Amy Cure, Annette Edmondson, Melissa Hoskins, Isabella King.

The Coffee Ride returns this week after a fortnight break and there’s plenty more on the track world titles as well as some road news to keep you in the loop. Happy reading and riding.

Luke Durbridge .... targeting the time trial at the Oceania titles in Toowoomba. Picture: Colleen Petch.

DURBRIDGE EYES TIME TRIAL BERTH

LUKE Durbridge can secure an automatic start at the UCI Road World Championships if he wins the time trial at the Oceania titles in Toowoomba on Friday.

Australia can qualify three TT spots for the world titles in Spain - the third of which would go to Durbridge if he can beat a classy Aussie and New Zealand field this week.

Durbridge is one of the last remaining Aussie WorldTour riders still in the country after opting to stay back to attend a meeting of the team’s major sponsor Orica in Perth on February 26.

While he’s here, he figured he would race the time trial and road race in Toowoomba before starting his European season at Tirreno-Adriatico in Italy.

“It’s a good chance to get a worlds spot if I can win,” Durbridge said of the 37km TT.

“But that wasn’t the initial thinking behind it.

“I need to race because I’ve had since Down Under off and the team wanted a rider to stay back in Australia to go to the Orica meeting.

“Because the meeting’s in Perth it’s easy for me to go to so I thought ‘hey, Oceanias are on, why not have a race and keep the fire going’.”

Durbridge flew to Brisbane on Tuesday and rented a car to drive to Toowoomba and will stay with the WA Institute of Sport team for the weekend.

He admitted to feeling “really tired” after the TDU in which Orica-GreenEDGE worked hard to help Simon Gerrans secure his third title but was looking forward to a training camp in Girona, Spain, before Tirreno-Adriatico starting on Mach 12.

Other big-name riders contesting the Oceania championships this week include Drapac’s Jack Anderson, Avanti’s Brenton Jones and Jack Haig and Jayco-AIS trio Harry Carpenter, Campbell Flakemore and Alex Clements.

The women’s TT field will be headlined by reigning national champion Felicity Wardlaw and her podium companions from Ballarat - Shara Gillow and Bridie O’Donnell.

Stephanie Morton ... hungry for competition. Picture: Stephen Laffer

MORTON CONTINUES STEADY CLIMB

WHILE the training and racing loads of most track cyclists is meticulously planned, managed and followed to the letter to avoid fatigue - in the case of Stephanie Morton it’s been the more racing the better.

At 23 and in her first full season on the senior Australian sprint program, Morton contested all three world cups by travelling to the UK and to Mexico twice, followed by a gruelling schedule at the national championships in Adelaide where she won two gold and one silver medal.

After spending the past week in Perth training with the national team, Morton said she was feeling fresh and excited rather than tired after a big campaign ahead of the world championships in Columbia starting on February 26.

“I think it’s put me in good stead for worlds,” the London Paralympic gold medallist said of her busy summer.

“I’ve had so much racing and I’ve learnt heaps which is exactly what I needed because in the grand scheme of things I haven’t been riding that long.

“I have been training for a couple of years so it’s not like I’d never been on a bike then suddenly went to the world cups, but I needed the racing side of things more than the training.

“I needed to be entrenched in racing to see how everything works. Up until now I’d only ever ride Oceanias and nationals and had a bit of time on the para (program), I was only doing two races a season and I think I’ve done nine already this season.

“So it was getting my head into race mode and what it’s like to compete at the international level against world class competitors.”

Despite beating superstar teammate Anna Meares in the keirin at the national titles last month, Morton is a realist when it comes to her expectations for the world titles.

The past two years have been about transitioning from the tandem bike where she won Paralympic gold with Felicity Johnson in London to riding the single bike at international standard.

And with Meares by her side almost every day, she could not wish for a better role model and example to follow.

“We train together every day and usually end up bunking together when we’re away,” Morton said.

“I’ve been taking whatever I can from her - her attitude towards racing, mental strength, little tricks of the trade during racing or training - you name it I’ve been like a sponge trying to soak up as much as I can.

“Not many people get to say they can train with an Olympic champ so I make the most of it, she’s absolutely lovely, always willing to help out to see Australia do well.”

Morton rode the team sprint with Kaarle McCulloch at last year’s world titles while Meares enjoyed a brief break from the sport.

This year Meares is back, but McCulloch will miss the world champs due to injury and Australian selectors have decided against entering the team sprint with Meares and Morton.

“It’s only my first year in the program and I’m just not ready yet so a bit more training under my belt,” said Morton who will contest the individual events instead.

“There are obviously plenty of other girls who would love to ride a team sprint with Anna so I’m not a shoo-in for the spot.

“I’ve got to keep training hard to make sure when I do reach that level that I’m the one who is picked to ride with Anna.”

James Courtney ... here’s how he rolls

HOW I ROLL ... JAMES COURTNEY

THE V8 Supercar season begins in Adelaide next week with the Clipsal 500 and Holden’s James Courtney will be one of the star attractions.

Having recovered from a broken leg in a race crash last year, Courtney has had a busy summer on the bike as he prepares for the 2014 season.

Courtney is our latest subject in ‘How I Roll’ and as you can see from his answers, he’s a serious cycling nut.

I love to ride because ...

“One, it’s good for our training but two, the reason I prefer riding to running is you cover so much more ground and get to see so much more. With a swim you look at the bottom of a pool where as on your bike you go through the hinterland or enjoy the sea breeze along the coast. It’s so much more enjoyable. It also simulates a lot of the stuff we go through in the car - a high heart rate for a long period of time. There’s a group of us who go riding and we’ve got our own little Holden team called ‘Dodgy Racing’, and yeah, it’s flat out, we never really cruise, it’s always a race.”

I’m currently riding ...

“A BMC TMR01 with DR2, but I’ve got a few bikes because I haven’t sold any, I just keep hold of them. I’ve also got a Cervelo S2 with SRAM Red, a Colnago C59 with Super Record and a Specialized Mclaren with DR2. My favourite is probably the BMC, it feels more comfortable to ride and not as stiff as what it is.”

Each week I’d clock up ...

“When we’re at home we’d do 400km a week pretty easy. This time of year it’s hard to get a few days in a row at home but over Christmas we got out a fair bit.”

My favourite place to ride is ...

“All around the Gold Coast, we can go north through the sugar cane, the hinterland and mountains, or south along the beach. The beach would have to be my favourite - there’s plenty to look at.”

The best coffee stop is ...

“We always stop at a place called Caffeine on Bayview Street in-between Surfers and Paradise Point. We stop there most mornings whether we’re going north or south.”

I’m a big fan of ...

“I’ve been quite fortunate - I’ve taken Cadel for a ride and Matty Goss and Mark Renshaw. They’re three big wigs of Aussie cycling. I’m still missing Gerrans and Porte then I’d have the set. They’re all good blokes.”

DRAPAC TO RACE NEW-LOOK ADELAIDE TOUR

AUSTRALIA’S new Pro Continental team Drapac Professional Cycling will send a team to the new-look Jarvis Subaru Adelaide Tour in April.

The race returns to the National Road Series for a second year but with a new spot on the calendar.

This year’s race has been moved from May to April to take advantage of more favourable weather conditions and has grown from three stages to four.

The inaugural Adelaide Tour had a team time trial, road race and kermesse.

This year’s race will include:

Stage 1 - 84.3km Road Race

Stage 2 - 156km Road Race

Stage 3 - 62km Criterium

Stage 4 - 82km Kermesse

So the team time trial has been scrapped and the road races will go from Angaston to Campbelltown, and a circuit through the Adelaide Hills starting and finishing at the Bird in Hand Winery.

The NRS starts with the Tour de Perth on March 26 while the Adelaide Tour runs from April 3-6.

As previously announced, the series will break for the winter months of June and July before returning with the Tour of the Murray River from July 30 to August 6.

QUOTES OF THE WEEK ...

“Even though we do have a bit of rivalry here and there and get into fights sometimes, it does mean a lot to have the support whilst away.”

- Annette Edmondson on having brother Alex in the senior team for the track world titles.

“I’m just having a beer after work and being normal. It’s a humble feeling, I thought it would be a lot harder than what it’s been so far. It’s been quite enjoyable - last night I went and played AFL.”

- Alan Davis tells AAP he’s already enjoying life after cycling.

“It was the break that really brought back the spark. I didn’t touch a bike for about 18 months so stepping away and loving the sport again - it’s always been there deep down, it just needed to be brought back to the top again.”

- Daniel Ellis on returning to the world championships after quitting the sport.

“I knew exactly what I had to do. I had a clear idea of the power I had to produce and I was confident I could do that.”

- Michael Hepburn after winning the ITT in Qatar last week.

TWEET, TWEET ...

“In a bizarre turn of events, i am now following @argyle_panda Interested to see what he has to say for himself #tablesturned.”

- Garmin-Sharp’s Dan Martin on the panda that chased him on the uphill finish in Liege-Bastogne-Liege and is now an official partner of the team.