Territorian Matt King selected to represent Australia at MTB World Champs
A Territory cyclist has earned selection to represent Australia at the world champs with the support of the Top End community pushing him on the track and through his mental health battles.
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A Territory cyclist will represent Australia at the world champs, and he’s put it down to the support of the NT community not only pushing him on the road but supporting him through his mental health battles.
Matt King, 36, grew up in Katherine, mastered his craft on Territory tracks and is a former Australian under-23 time trial championship.
But this year the father of three and business owner has set his sights on returning to the international scene for the first time in more than a decade.
And for him it happened earlier than expected with strong results earning him selection to the 2025 MTB Marathon World Championships in Switzerland this September.
His lead up races have included Adelaide where he placed 14th and the Otway Odyssey where he finished 20th, but was an important learning curve on how and when to travel for big races.
“It’s surreal, this year was a long shot and mainly preparation with a goal of getting selected in 2026,” King said.
“It was about giving it a crack so I could get familiar with it and throw my hat in the ring but knowing full well that the calibre of the elite scene is impressive and I’ve been out for more than a decade.
“But as we went along we kept hitting milestones ahead of where we were wanting to be, and the result in Adelaide after just six weeks of preparation made us realise we’re on the right track.
“We saw amazing jumps in data that I was producing, there were some watts where I was actually stopping and would recalibrate the power metre because we weren’t trusting what it said.”
The next big qualifier was the Convict 100 in Sydney, which despite the different conditions and wet weather King came out the winner putting himself right in the conversation for selection.
But when the announcement came saying the father of three was in the team the weight of pressure became almost overwhelming for a while.
“We thought we were an outside chance so we went through the steps and then it came and literally took my breath away,” he said.
“This wasn’t on the cards, we were still meant to be building with the aim of 2026, so it was unexpected and the massive amount of pressure that comes with it swept over me.
“I had been off the bike because I had come down with influenza A, not been able to train and then the most amazing news came and I got shafted sideways with depression and anxiety.
“I wasn’t able to cope and tuned my phone off. I took a step back and reached out to a psychologist and told the community through my support that I’m not okay and needed to take some time.
“It’s just part of life and it hit me when I got good news, it was just this pressure that got to me, I’ve got help and the early intervention and community support got me going again.”
Now, it’s on to Switzerland in September with King’s training regime including 30 hours of riding each week and the recovery side as well until he flies out on August 28.
He will have just over a week to acclimatise before taking on the best in the world in a 125km race that starts 1500m above sea level and has 5000m of elevation.
And to support the self-funded venture riding for the country the Top End cycling community led by Darwin Cycling Club chair Julian Barry have rallied behind their man with a GoFundMe.
“It’s going to be a huge challenge but it’s something I’m looking forward to and it’s going to be phenomenal to pull on the Australian colours again,” King said.
“For me the Darwin clubs have been nothing short of amazing, we’ve got this community up here unlike anywhere in Australia, that’s just so supportive.
“The clubs are so proactive with races, we have high calibre riders such as Phillip Brownscomb and Mark Lackenby going to the Gran Fondo World Champs, and without all that I wouldn’t be at this level.
“The southerners come up here and think they have an easy trot and then our guys blow them out of the water, the community is amazing and we all push each other.
“And their support with this fundraiser just allowed me to reflect that I’ve been part of this club for 20-30 years and it’s phenomenal on their part how much they’ve supported me.”
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