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Ruth Corset: Cycling Tribe Interview
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 12th 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 4th in Montreal World Cup, 5th 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 2nd 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.
