The Coffee Ride #48 with Reece Homfray
CYCLING dominated The Advertiser/Channel 7 Sport Star of the Year Awards held at Adelaide Oval last week.
AUSSIE CYCLING FRESHLY BREWED EVERY WEDNESDAY MORNING, EXCLUSIVE TO ADVERTISER.COM.AU
STARS SUIT UP AS CYCLING DOMINATES AWARDS
CYCLING dominated The Advertiser/Channel 7 Sport Star of the Year Awards held at Adelaide Oval last week.
BMX world champion Sam Willoughby took the top honour, Australia’s men’s team pursuit was crowned team of the year, Tim Decker coach of the year and young gun Alex Manly was named junior sports star of the year.
It was domination not seen before at the state’s top sporting awards and reflects the strength of the cycling program at the SA Sports Institute.
Willoughby has known the joy of winning the world championship and the pain of losing it.
But now he also knows the satisfaction of avenging it after reclaiming his title as the best BMX rider in the world this year.
And he did it in style — winning both the time trial and race crown in one brilliant week in Rotterdam in July.
The 23-year-old’s outstanding season in Europe and the United States, which also included two world cup victories, saw him beat a field boasting a swag of Commonwealth Games medals for the Sports Star of the Year Award.
It is the second time Willoughby has won the prestigious award after he took the honours in 2009 when he was just 18.
“It’s a huge honour to be named the Sports Star of the Year, especially in cycling, South Australia is pretty jam packed with talent,” Willoughby said.
“Unfortunately with the way my sport is set out, I petty much never get to race in South Australia so it’s nice to get that recognition about what you do overseas.
“Every time BMX is up for these sort of awards against the bigger disciplines like road (cycling) and other mainstream sports, it’s great recognition.
“And every time I go back to Adelaide more and more people understand what I do and are pretty into it so it’s nice to see that growth and how much support there is.”
Willoughby won his first world championship in 2012 and went on to win a silver medal at the London Olympics before surrendering the rainbow jersey in 2013.
This year his entire early-season focus was on reclaiming the world title which he did in emphatic fashion in July.
“Each one (world title) is quite different. The one in 2012 was an Olympic year and it was a really busy year with world cups where we went from one race to the next through the qualification period,” he said.
“So that one was like the world champs being a race in the middle of it.
“I managed to win and it was obviously a huge thrill to win my first elite world title, but this one was something I had specifically prepared for over the course of three or four months.
“Then I basically just put my head down to make sure this one happened because I was pretty disappointed to lose it last year.
“It was one of my biggest goals for the year and to wear the rainbow jersey, I know how much of a privilege it is to win that race.”
In an emotional result, Willoughby dedicated his 2014 world championship to the late mother of his girlfriend Alise Post who is also a BMX racer.
“Alise lost her mum in January and obviously it was a pretty tough time,” Willoughby said.
“So it was always in the back of my mind, I know when I first came over here (US) Alise’s mum Cheryl helped me out a lot with getting to races and that sort of thing.
“It was definitely special for both of us to do well at that world championship and dedicate it to her.”
KERSTEN BOLTS HOME FOR BIRTH OF SON
RETIRED Aussie cycling star Ben Kersten is used to pedalling fast but he bolted home quicker than usual midway through last week’s MS Ride to the Gong.
Kersten’s wife Sally, who was one week overdue with their first child, phoned him when he was 60km into the charity ride from Sydney to say the baby might be arriving sooner rather than later.
Kersten is a former national sprinter turned endurance rider who now works for NSWIS where is an assistant to head coach Brad McGee and runs the Subaru NSWIS team which competes in the National Road Series.
“I wasn’t that comfortable being that far away from home anyway,” he said.
“Luckily when I turned around I had a 30-40km/h southerly behind me so I was lightning fast but that wasn’t so good for the poor guys going the other way.”
Kersten and his wife were mostly housebound apart from trips to the hospital after that before Milo entered the world the following Saturday weighing 3.8kg and measuring 54cm.
“I think I’ll start him off with tennis and golf and teach him to ride a bike and if he wants to pursue that then I’ll be supportive,” Kersten said.
As for the MS Ride to the Gong which raises crucial money to fight the debilitating disease, Kersten said there was always next year.
“There was a really good turnout, our whole Subaru NSWIS team did it and so did Brad McGee,” he said.
“So I think we’ll turn it into an annual thing and get the guys raising money.”
CA NOT BANKROLLING BUDGET
CYCLING Australia is not bankrolling Budget Forklifts’ star-studded roster for next season which has been bolstered by the national track endurance squad according to the team.
As revealed by News Corp on Monday night, Jack Bobridge, Glenn O’Shea, Mitch Mulhern, Scott Sunderland and Luke Davison have all signed with the Continental-ranked team for 2015.
The agreement will see the riders compete in the NRS and in America and Asia on the road for Budget Forklifts, providing they are always made available for track commitments including training and racing in the lead up to Rio.
Budget Forklifts manager Cameron Watt yesterday said Cycling Australia was not paying the team so it could in turn pay the riders.
EXCLUSIVE: Budget Forklifts strikes deal with national track team
“Each of the riders on our team are signed to us and are on individual agreements, the same as Tim Roe was and all the other boys,” Watt said.
“What we’re giving CA is an environment where they (team pursuit) can stick together, the race program they want and the freedom (to fulfil track commitments).”
Watt said agreements between the riders and the team were confidential.
Cycling Australia’s high performance unit performance director Kevin Tabotta described the partnership as “strategic”.
“It is a strategic relationship in that this is a team that agrees with our objectives — we want to win an Olympic gold medal with this group of guys,” Tabotta said.
“We want to have a targeted preparation on the road and the best place to do that is not always the WorldTour or European racing.
“This allows us to work strategically and philosophically (with the team).
“They (Budget Forklifts) get good quality athletes to take to domestic and international racing ... but when we need them for a track training camp or world cup or whatever, they’re available.”
Tabotta declined to comment on commercial agreements with members of the high performance team, but reiterated CA pays grants and not wages.
Budget Forklifts announced its full 2015 roster this week and revealed plans to hold a training camp in Adelaide from December 10-15.
GLAETZER RESPONDS IN STYLE
FOUR months after Matt Glaetzer qualified fastest only to be knocked out of the sprint in the quarterfinals by Jason Kenny at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, the 22-year-old has responded in style.
Glaetzer came up against Great Britan’s Kenny — a three-time Olympic gold medallist and two-time world champion — in the final of the sprint at the season-opening world cup in Mexico on the weekend.
Again Glaetzer was the fastest qualifier but this time he beat Kenny in straight sets — albeit it in consecutive photo finishes.
It was a significant psychological victory that he might just have to call on in the lead up to, or in Rio in 2016.
Mexico was a massive three days for Australia’s track team in Mexico where other highlights were gold medals to Kaarle McCulloch and Stephanie Morton in the team sprint and the men’s team pursuit which rode back-to-back 3:55s in the semi and final in a sizzling performance.
There were also encouraging signs from Anna Meares who won a bronze medal in the women’s keirin final after qualifying fourth fastest then winning the race for 5th to 8th in the sprint.
EDMO SALUTES AT THE PORT
WHILE his track teammates were winning on the other side of the world, Alex Edmondson made sure he didn’t miss out by claiming Round 2 of the Bowden Elite Teams Series in Adelaide on Sunday.
Edmondson was the strongest sprinter of a three-man escape including Cameron Bayly and Chris Jongewaard at the end of the criterium around Port Adelaide and secured maximum series points for Team Cervelo.
“It was a really good circuit around Port Adelaide but pretty windy and a group of about 10 got away,” Edmondson said.
“There were a few sore legs and that was the time to make a move, I got away with Cam Bayly and Jongewaard showed his class by riding across.
“On a technical course like it was, three people were faster than a big bunch, we all worked together and managed to stay away.
“I’m really appreciative of Graham Moffatt and all the boys at Focus/Cervelo for having me in their team and their support, and cycling in general in South Australia is going really well.”
At the same time Edmondson was winning in Adelaide, his national track teammates were riding a sizzling 3mins 55secs final to win gold in the men’s team pursuit at the UCI World Cup in Mexico.
“Seeing what those guys have done today, to ride a 3:55 in the semi and again in the final with three kids pretty much out of junior worlds is pretty amazing,” Edmondson said.
“For me now seeing what they’re doing, I’ve got to start pulling my finger out.
“It’s really good for Australian cycling, this is meant to be our development team and they’ve done a world class time.”
SPRATT SIGNS UP FOR ‘RIDE FOR PAIN’
ORICA-AIS rider Amanda Spratt will join a 500-strong peloton in Adelaide for the third annual Ride for Pain this Sunday.
Cyclists can choose to pedal anywhere from 28km to 94km through the Adelaide Hills with the aim to raise awareness of chronic pain which affects 15 per cent of Australians.
Spratt endured chronic pain for six years early in her career as she battled a sciatic nerve problem.
“During this time I had endless hours of doctor visits, physio appointments and working with various specialists including (the man behind Ride for Pain) Professor Lorimer Moseley to try to overcome and beat this pain,” Spratt said.
“I still have a level of pain even today but it is something that I am able to manage.”
Professor Moseley, who has been researching chronic pain for 20 years, will be doing the ride himself.
“I’m really excited about this new and expanded Ride for Pain, in which people will end up back at the village at the University’s Magill campus at the same time and probably all feeling equally exhausted,” he said.
“It will be tough as participants want to make it. There are so many metaphors in this ride for chronic pain, like training, patience, persistence, courage, support and digging deep.”
VENEZUELA TO MOUNT BARKER
AN ENGINEER and mother of two from Venezuela who is training for a half-ironman is among Santos’s massive 188-member team for next year’s Bupa Challenge Tour.
The Tour Down Under’s mass participation ride which this year takes recreational cyclists from Adelaide to Mount Barker will be held on January 23.
One rider on the Santos team is Maria Rondon who has been wanting to ride the Bupa Challenge Tour for the past two years but has been either pregnant or on maternity leave at the time of the event.
“But now I’m right to go,” she said last week.
Maria, 34, comes from Venezuela but has been living in Australia for the past seven years including the past two in Adelaide as a senior production engineer with Santos.
She started bike riding in March when she took up triathlon and in that time has learnt to enjoy the city’s cycling culture.
“The longest I’ve ridden is 96km and I’m doing the 118km ride ... so it’s going to be another step up,” she said.
QUOTES OF THE WEEK ...
“Earlier this year during my rehab in the first six weeks I wasn’t even allowed to touch my bike and I basically laid on the lounge watching re-runs of The Kardashians and eating whatever I wanted ... It took a bit of time but particularly the last three months I’ve been really enjoying my training.”
- Kaarle McCulloch tells ABC Grandstand’s ‘The Peloton’ about returning from injury to win a gold medal in the team sprint at the Mexico world cup.
“We bike everywhere, even bike to the venue. It has inspired a bunch of the crew members and there’s like 20 bikes on this tour.”
- Katy Perry catches the cycling bug while in Australia. Yep, that’s a Katy Perry quote in The Coffee Ride.
“So to beat him after he knocked me out of the Sprint in Glasgow was great, although I wasn’t thinking about that aspect at the time.”
- Matt Glaetzer on beating Jason Kenny in the final of the men’s sprint at the Mexico world cup.
TWEET, TWEET
First Australian in over 50 years to win the Tour of Southlands! I'm over the moon!! Bloody awesome way to finish the year! Bring on 2015
— Mitch Lovelock-Fay (@MitchLF) November 8, 2014— Mitch Lovelock-Fay after his New Zealand triumph.
Originally published as The Coffee Ride #48 with Reece Homfray
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