The 2016 Mt Baw Baw Classic was easily the hardest race of my life. Finishing second was an achievement, but it felt bittersweet after having led the race in a solo breakaway for 70 kilometres only to be caught with 1000 metres to go. A case, perhaps, of stealing defeat from the jaws of victory.…
At the start of 2016 I had to decide what kind of year I was going to have on the bike. 2015 had held its share of highs, but the lows were pretty bad. As the new year came around I was pushing on hard and improving, but still with lingering difficulties from my bad…
As for many Australian roadies, the Tour Down Under is for me one of the defining experiences of the summer. For the third year in a row I made the pilgrimage to Adelaide. Unlike previous years my focus was less on the race itself and more on riding with friends, old and new. Perhaps for…
For the third year in a row I headed off to Mt Buninyong yesterday to watch the Road National Champs. It was an extraordinary day, and perhaps the most fun I’ve ever had at the event. The fact that only 15 of 127 riders finished the men’s race is a testament to what a grueling…
I was moved by Peter Sagan’s victory speech at the Road World Championships in Richmond, Virginia. Not only was his win electrifying, he took his huge achievement and dedicated it to the fight against human suffering. Many media outlets have mentioned Sagan gave much of his speech to discussing the refugee crisis in Europe, though…
On Saturday 15 August I had my worst crash. I was found unconscious in the road during the Saint Kilda Cycling Club trophy race at Kyneton. Somehow, I had crashed on the final descent with six kilometres left in the 83 Km race. I say ‘somehow’, as my injuries left me with no recollection of the…
I gasped for air and fell clumsily against my bike at the side of the road. I’d just won the fourth and final stage of the Three Day Tour with a 60km solo breakaway. Anxiously, I looked up the road to see if the chasing group were coming. I needed 51 seconds for the unlikely…
I was pretty happy with my racing at the Mansfield Tour and assumed I’d build on my form. Then my luck changed. I got sick for the first time since 2013. I started to rebuild, planning to work a city commute into my training, but on my first commute I crashed in the rain. When…
I almost didn’t race in the inaugural Mansfield Tour. Following the Tour of Bright I had managed to maintain the long-term fitness I’d reached, but wasn’t training with any focus. There were a few glimmers of hope in the numbers, and I was setting consistent, if not best times, on a range of local climbs.…
There was some temptation to stay home and watch the inaugural Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race on TV. Steady light rain was falling over Eltham as we woke. The radar looked a bit better over Geelong, however, and this was Cadel’s last race, so how could we not go? The car was rocked about…
Allez Alain 