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Posts Tagged with "Cody Stevenson"

Peta Mullens: Cycling Tribe Interview

May 18, 2010, 8:01pm

Q. Peta! Since we saw you and the rest of the Honda Dream Team dominating over Summer things seem to have been a bit quieter. What's been happening in your world?

Well on the Honda Dream Team side of things the girls have been busy. Josie Tomic has added yet another World Championship title to her name, Tiffany Cromwell took out the young rider jersey at the recent Tour of New Zealand, and just last week Rochelle Gilmore had her first World Cup podium for the year. While the girls have been jetsetting the globe I've been breaking the trends with a bit of MTB'ing and some running, with plenty of social 22yr-old past-times thrown in for fun :P But no fear, the Honda Dream Team will be back in October, bigger, better and stronger than last year :)

(c)jxpphotography

Q. The Winter road season is starting up for the year, are you looking forward to getting amongst it again?

Hmm no, not really actually! How could I possibly look forward to winter? The only thing I look forward to in winter is the coming summer lol I'll mix up my winter weekends with a bit of local footy and the occassional MTB Enduro instead. I must say that sub freezing temperatures don't really entice me..

Q. The World Solo 24hr MTB Championships are coming up later this year, that sounds like a lot of riding! How do you prepare mentally for such a huge challenge?

I wish I knew. The closest I've been to a challenge like this is 6hrs solo. I'm hoping that my physical preperation along with a good eating plan and support crew will cover the mental side of things, but if that fails I think I need to lie, lie, lie to my body!

Q. There will be a world class field at the Championships, what are your goals and do you dare to dream of a win?

Expectations are hard to set so early on, and as my first 24hr race I certainly don't expect to win. I'm actually in awe that people specialise in 24hr racing, I mean how many can you really do in a year? They surpass the physical exhaustion of an Ironman for heavens sake! But I love a great challenge :)

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Q. Living out in Bendigo, you must have some nice roads for training on. Can you give us an insight into how often you train, how many k's and most importantly how you fit it in with working & socialising?

To be honest all of my sessions are short so I never venture too far from home, so I'm training on the same roads week in and week out. I try to get on the bike 4-5 times a week, and to fit in with work I go nightriding on the MTB :) Things are hard in winter with less daylight, and I've just been promoted to manager at work so I'm short on time. But in summer I manage double sessions and that gives me a base for the winter.

Q. Speaking of training, since your boyfriend also races competitevely do you ever go on training rides together? And if so, who hurts who the most?

We do train a lot together, and he used to guilt me into training on the days I couldn't find motivation. Now we wake up at 6am and he simply says 'I'm a footballer now' so I have to find my own motivation, so unfair.. so as I'm the only one training, I suppose I hurt the most :(

Q. As you're both racing, how often does he get caught checking out your competitors? And what excuses does he give? You can help out all the other guys in the peleton here :-)

Haha I haven't caught him yet, but watch out when I do! Joking. He seems to set his perving standards high, like Megan Fox and Jennifer Hawkins high!

And finally...

Q. If you could be any Super Hero, who would you be and why?

A superhero? Well, despite the claims that Man Vs Wild is reality TV, who wouldn't want to be Bear Grylls for a week? Lol

Thanks for your time Peta and good luck at the World Solo 24hr MTB Championships! We look forward to being in Canberra to see you race.

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Follow Peta's progress towards the Championships here http://www.petamullens.com/ or via Twitter here http://twitter.com/MulloLive

If you're a competative cyclist and would like to take part in your own FREE glamour shoot, email jarrod@jxpphotography.com.au for details!

Tags: Peta Mullens, Australian Cycling, Honda Dream Team, Interviews
Read more | Comments (1) | Updated on May 18, 2010, 8:53pm

Australian. Argentinean. Canadian. Italian: By Cody Stevenson

April 10, 2010, 2:39pm

By Cody Stevenson

Australian. Argentinean. Canadian. Italian.

What on earth do these countries have in common? Riders from these 4 nations have won every stage and the overall GC, in the past three stage races in California, USA. Murrieta, San Dimas and Redlands. Day, Menzies, Sutherland, Cantwell, Clarke, Routley, Borrajo, Bazzana. Why are foreign riders dominating the early season? Is it because some have spent the Winter, in Summer, in the other hemisphere? This can't be true for all. Are they hungrier for victory because they have given up seeing family and friends for the next 8 months? Is it because they have no option? Win, or go home and get a 9-5? I'm sure it is different for each and every rider. And every rider, no matter what nationality, wants to win. So why the success from foreigners in 2010? Is it that the backgrounds and culture of riders have more to do with their success than originally thought?

From an Australian perspective, as I can't comment on the perspective of those from other countries such as the ones mentioned above, I am led to believe it could be a few things. (These are just assumptions, ideas and musings.) There is a lot of the basics that cross over from culture to culture, training methods, equipment etc, etc but some are a little different. For example, some of the differences in the US are, cycling is generally more of an upper middle class sport. It is something that many athletes pick up in their college years, more so than from having a relative who was a rider back in the "good 'ole days", or transitioning from BMX or Track racing as a young tike, as is more common in Australia. It is not uncommon for a US rider to have only started racing at the age of 22, moving into cycling due to injury rehab from another sport, such as athletics, is a common occurrence. Because they are starting later, do they not have that absolute desire, that first passion, or is it simply that they have only begun endurance training in their mid-twenties, so others have an advantage of a few more years base training? A lot of US riders are also college educated, most have something else to fall back on if cycling doesn't pan out for them. Does this create a sense that they could "take it, or leave it"? An option that some Aussie riders do not have? And certainly something that in the past ('80's and '90's) was not really an option. Either you go overseas and succeed or you stay home, get an education or get a job. (Due in part to timing, as an Aussie who wants to "have a go" in Europe or America needs to do it in their early twenties, a time when most of their peers are still at University.) Also, could it be that some US riders get caught up in the "Lance Factor", by which I mean, young guys who need all the equipment, carbon this, titanium that, and are told by all and sundry that they can win Le Tour, even if they have never left their state, let alone country? Is it that the work ethic is different?

Aussie's have a reputation for being tough. Mentally and physically. It doesn't matter what wheels you have, what colour your socks are, because really... who gives a shit? You still have to pedal the bloody thing! Is that it? Is it as simple as that? That we need not think about all the rest of the "accountability factors"? That it's simple, you go out, train hard, race hard, get the job done and have a barbie and a beer afterwards?

Tags: Cody Stevenson, Australian Cycling
Read more | Comments (0) | Updated on May 13, 2010, 5:23am

Ruth Corset: Cycling Tribe Interview

April 3, 2010, 6:13pm

Ruth Corset

Coach: Jason Corset (husband)

Manager:

Sponsor: TIBCO Women’s Pro Cyclin Team, North Ward Pharmacy

Career Highlight: Winning Australian National Road Race in Jan 2010

Favourite event: Road Racing

Occupation: Cyclist, Massage Therapist and Mother

Time in the Sport: 2 years racing at International level

Bike: Look

Photo by William Meertens

Cycling Tribe: Ruth, Thanks for your time. To begin with, how did you get into cycling?

I used to do triathlons before having my 2 girls – Stephanie and Caitlin – then tried getting back into triathlons after that. However, the training was too much – having to train for three disciplines and having to train twice a day. My husband (and now coach) encouraged me to take up cycling, so I did and entered my first serious race – the Australian Country Road Championships in 2007, which I won.

Cycling Tribe: In 2009 you finished 12^th in the World Championships. Did you surprise yourself with this result? Have you gained a lot of confidence with this and other rock solid recent results?

I had quite a successful 2009 season, coming 4^th in Montreal World Cup, 5^th in Ploauy World Cup and winning a stage in the Women’s Route de France. My team mates in the Australian National Team worked really well together to achieve these results, so we were setting our sights high for the World Championships, hoping to podium. The course was very hilly so it suited me really well and we had a strong team. However, we also had a lot of bad luck, with two of my team mates crashing in the first 2km so were out of the race. Then I was pushed into the barriers on the 2^nd lap so had mechanicals (preventing me from using the top 3 climbing gears) as well as forcing me to stop two more times and chase back on (with the help of my team mates). Having to chase back on used up a lot of energy, which was detrimental towards the end of the race when the decisive break went. I’ve learnt that anything can happen in a race no matter how well prepared you are. That’s part of racing and has motivated me to make 2010 an even bigger and better year!

Cycling Tribe: Congratulations on being the 2009 Australian Female Cyclist of the year. What does this award mean to you?

I felt very privileged to get this award, especially receiving it along side Cadel Evans (2009 World Champion). There is a lot of female talent in Australia, which makes me feel even more honoured to win the award.

Cycling Tribe: Earlier this year despite illness and tough conditions you took out the Australian open road cycling championships. Do you feel your mental toughness was the major factor in this victory?

The race was ridden in extremely hot temperatures, which made it quite tough. I think winning any race you need to have mental toughness and because I was so determined to win it , especially having my husband and two daughters there to watch me, I just put everything on the line and finished the race with nothing left at all in the tank. I think that is what it takes to win races.

Cycling Tribe: What would donning the green and gold for Australia in the 2012 Olympics mean to you?

2012 Olympics is definitely my ultimate goal, although there are still a lot of other goals I have leading up to that. At the moment my goals are World Championships in Geelong and Commonwealth Games.

Cycling Tribe: How do you view the state of women’s cycling in Australia at this point?

The calibre of female cyclists in Australia is increasing. It is great to see all the talented young cyclists moving up through the ranks, which will make it quite exciting to watch for in the next couple of years.

Cycling Tribe: What are your team and individual goals for 2010?

This is Team TIBCO’s first ever European stint, so we’re quite excited to race in Europe. Team TIBCO finished at the top of the series in the U.S. last year, so we are quite keen to take that out again too.

Cycling Tribe: Can you describe a typical week of training?

I do all my training early in the mornings before 7.30am so I can get the girls to school and get back home by 9am to begin work massaging (I have my own massage business at home). During the week I would train between 2 to 3 hrs a day and weekends between 4 to 5 hr rides. Because I don’t have the time to ride a lot of miles, I do a lot of quality training – lots of hills!

Cycling Tribe: Ruth, Congratulations on all your success, we wish you the best in the future.

Thank you for your time, interest and support. I look forward to keeping in touch with Cycling Tribe throughout the season.

Tags: Ruth Corset, Australian Cycling, Team TIBCO
Read more | Comments (3) | Updated on April 6, 2010, 12:09am