Time off brings future into focus for Cameron Wurf

CAMERON Wurf believes he has found his calling when he steps away from professional cycling.

Cameron Wurf, 32, of Mount Rumney is having a year off the bike and is back in Tas for a few weeks after breaking his foot. but he is continuing to train as he prepares for the Kona long distance triathlon next month.

CAMERON Wurf has spent his year away from the professional cycling ranks surfing with Sunny Garcia and mingling with stock-car racing star Jimmy Johnson — but don’t suggest he has completely switched off.

In fact, the Tasmanian former Olympic rower not only believes he will re-enter the world circuit in 2016 in better shape than ever, but has found his calling when he steps away from professional cycling.

With the blessing of his Cannondale team, Wurf took a one-year sabbatical from competitive cycling after he found his interest waning towards the end of last year.

And while it has freed the 32-year-old from Hobart to hit the waves, spend more time mountain biking and getting a taste of pit lane in the NASCAR series, it has also led him to the next challenge.

Cameron Wurf - who is back in Tasmania for a few weeks after breaking his foot - is continuing to train as he prepares for the Kona Ironman next month.

“I’m definitely glad I didn’t make any plans for the year because things have changed pretty much daily for me in what I’ve been doing,” Wurf told the Mercury during a visit home as he recovered from a broken foot.

“The most enjoyable part of the year has been being able to pick and choose when I train and when I want to take part in things.

“It means when I do compete or do train I seem to get more out of it, which is pretty important.

“Spending so many years just riding or rowing it can become a bit monotonous and you find yourself going through the motions.

“I didn’t really enjoy going through the motions any more. I wanted to get more out of myself.”

To find new ways to push his body to the limit, Wurf enrolled in a triathlon at Oceanside in his US home base of California — where he met legendary surfer Garcia — and unlocked a hidden passion in the process.

At a Cannondale marketing event a few months later Wurf came across Bonner Paddock, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy aged just 11.

Paddock, who climbed Mt Kilimanjaro unassisted in 2008, also completed the brutal Ironman Kona event in 2012.

This set the wheels in motion for Wurf, who will tackle next month’s Kona Ironman, having finished ninth overall and winning his 30-34 age group on his ironman debut in July at Whistler.

“I thought I would almost be cheating if I did an ironman and trained for it [after listening to Paddock],” said Wurf, who incorporated specialised altitude training at his Mt Rumney home while in Hobart.

“So I immediately entered in the first ironman available. Whistler was two and half weeks away.

“I rocked up and did it and absolutely loved it. It was one of the more enjoyable sporting days.

“It is amazing how much can happen in nine and a half hours in three disciplines.

“That changed a lot for me that day.

“I’ve got a clearer understanding of what I would like to do going forward.

“I now feel like I could do extremely well in the sport at the highest level.”

Cameron does some simulated altitude training at his home in Mt Rumney

Having grown up chasing three big dreams in competing at the Olympics, starting the Tour de France and tackling Kona, Wurf admits he never would have thought the greatest cycling event in the world would be the last box to tick.

And while he is not going to Kona just to make up the numbers, he knows when the start of 2016 rolls around he will be better placed than ever to resume his riding career.

“I never would have thought I would end up going to Kona before I did the Tour, but I’m really happy and feel a bit of satisfaction when people might have questioned why I took a year off.

“I have some really specific goals that I want to achieve there. I would really love to try and break the bike course record, which has stood for a long time. This year the biggest thing I learnt was when you are responsible for yourself, it’s really hard to make yourself do something.

“No one made me do anything. Cannondale were great.

“There were a few things I needed to do, but nothing to prove I was worthy of being given the year off.

“Every day I went out and trained harder than I have before. I did power numbers I never have before, sometimes 10 per cent higher than when I was racing.

“It was because I wanted to do it.

“This year being successful, ­although at a different level … it is a great feeling and one I’m prepared to work hard for to feel more of when I go back to the road next year.”