How did your signing to the OCBC Singapore Continental Cycling Team team come about?

I knew Daniel, the team DS, through a different cycling channel. I got word that he was looking for a sprinter, backed myself to be able to fill that role and applied. After a month or so Daniel got back to me and told me I was successful. I could not believe what I was reading the day it came in, my mind was blank all save a huge “WOW!”

How is it being the sole Australian on the team?

As I’m the one coming into an Asian team the onus is really on me to adapt to all that comes with the Asian culture and therefore how they choose to run a team. There has been a lot of learning, but to experience something so far removed from what I have grown up with I feel can only be positive. The flip side is that a lot of Aussie expressions, humour and even my accent gets lost in translation (in spite of everyone on the team speaking English). I’m trying to work a bit of it in (Vegemite is one, but it’s a bit of a losing battle with all but one of my team mates), but reality is I have to think a little before I do some things. Again, goes back to onus being on me to adapt and try to be as respectful to their culture as I can.

What have been your impressions of the cycling culture in Asian countries?

It is certainly on the rise. In spite of the size of Singapore (and the traffic!) it’s immensely popular. However to avoid all the cars it’s not uncommon for my team mates (when back home) to be up and riding by 4:30 in the morning! I thought I had it rough back home when I had to meet a 5:30 bunch, the boys take it to the next level. In a lot of ways though they are foced in to it, as not only does the traffic get crazy but the heat and humidity kicks in. So they are all early risers!

You had the opportunity to race in the Tour of Langkawi UCI sanctioned event. Apart from the disappointment of withdrawing due to illness, how was the experience?

Overwhelmingly I felt a huge sense of honour. Coming into the team and to be given a spot on what is arguably the biggest race at present in Asia was huge. Then to be rolling along in the peloton alongside guys like Alexander Vinokourov, Dave Zabriskie and Andre Guardini (the latter two I actually spent a bit of time with, given we’re all on about the same level of climbing ‘prowess’) was incredible. Also gave me a bit of self-belief and got me to think I might actually be able to race at this level. Was also great chatting to riders of different nationalities (anyone who knows me knows I love a chat). A few of the Farnese Vini guys were great and struggled along with my very poor Italian. Still managed to have a chat about their bikes and the race, which was great.

Funniest was probably with Vino, was next to him and near the back on the day the peloton was at full gas (Stage 3 I think) for the final 30km to pull back the break. I laughed and said to him “crazy finish eh” and he laughed back “good tempo”. We were doing between 55-60km/h! Flat road. Fun times!

The OCBC Singapore Continental Cycling Team is the new kid on the bloke. What are the teams and your goals for 2012?

We are really hoping to get ourselves noticed and some podiums. Loh Sea Keong has come into the team, not only did he have a great Langkawi but has also really helped instil an aim that whenever breaks go we want to have someone covering it. That way at the very least we’re getting the sponsor’s name out there but also making sure we’re in a position to possibly be in the mix for the finish.

I read that none of the riders are paid an allowance. How does a man survive?

It’s tough. When I was confirmed for the team I started saving like mad, which is what is getting me by at the moment. It’s been said many times and is very true, you don’t get into cycling to get rich. Which is fine by me, as I feel there’s no real ‘mercenaries’, everyone is in the sport and racing because they love it and have a real passion. Besides which, without that you get found out pretty quickly.

Singapore is big for karaoke, have you belted out any Cold Chisel tunes as yet?

Haha! Funny you say that. Had the iPod in a week or so ago and Driving Wheels came on (yes, I know it’s not Cold Chisel but still Jimmy!). Anyway, figured no one knows me or the song so belted it out at the top of my lungs. Was pretty cathartic! And because I’m not in Australia my logic said it doesn’t make me a bogan.

You are obviously a rider who had a dream to race with a pro team, any advice for a young kid with a similar vision?

Never, ever, take no for an answer. I had it a lot and am still getting it, but made a vow to never let it get me down. Like the saying goes, there’s more than one way to skin a cat. Take stock of what approach you took, look at what you think went wrong, and try, try again.

Who was your favourite rider growing up?

I was pretty late getting into cycling, only started watching a bit in the late 90’s and didn’t get ‘fully’ intoit until mid 2000’s. Boonen and Stuie O’Grady were two I looked up to. And after the 2008 Milan San-Remo Fabian. Favourite would still be Fabian now. That said, there are so many Aussie riders who leave me in awe. From Cam Meyer to local guys like Tom Leper and my local club president John Burtt. The latter of which is pushing 60, yet still rides open men’s and still has a very good kick on him. He was in fact the main man who got me in to racing, encouraged me to push myself and keeps my feet on the ground – so I have a lot to be very thankful to him for.

What’s next on your calendar?

Tour of Philippines, starting on the 14^th of April. It’s taking an incredible 3 flights to get there from our base here in Chiang Mai. I’m really starting to appreciate why sportsmen and women really have a dislike for airports…

Do you have a favourite ride back home in Australia?

Anything along the Great Ocean Road. I’m pretty spoiled to have such an incredible coast line at my disposal for training. The best rides are along there with the boys on an easy day. This normally follows a big night – so lots of talk about the antics we got up to.

You and three guests of your choice sit down at Raffles Hotel for a Singapore Sling…who are the guests and why?

Tom Waits would certainly be first choice. Dig his tunes and he seems like a crazy cat. Plus he tells some great tales on stage and loves a drink, so makes perfect sense to have him along.

Statler and Waldorf from The Muppets. They come as a double act, so by my reckoning they count as one. Whenever I’m feeling a little down and need a laugh I pop some of their clips on YouTube on, hilarity ensures.

Monica Bellucci. She would not need to say a word. What a woman.

To follow Nick’s progress then check out either the official team website or follow Nick on Twitter

"Men's Omnium - Kilo'

"Ed Clancy"

“Anna Meares & Victoria Pendleton crash”

"Women's Omnium - Scratch Race Finish"

"Victoria Pendleton crash"

"Sir Chris Hoy"

"Women's Omnium - Scratch Race"

"Shane Perkins"

"Melissa Hoskins"

"World Champion, Gregory Bauge"

Photos courtesy of JXPPhotography

The Australian team continued their quest for gold when National and now World Champion, Michael Hepburn (AUS) edged out Jack Bobridge (AUS) in what was an exciting sprint for gold in the men’s Individual Pursuit race. It was a disappointment for Rohan Dennis (AUS) in the race for bronze being won by Westley Gough (NZL).

It was a field of dreams for the British in the men’s sprint race with some of their top guns all vying for the opportunity to qualify for the finals and fight it out for a place on the podium. However, disappointment followed when World and Olympic champion, Chris Hoy (GBR) failed to qualify for the race for gold, instead battling it out against Australia’s Shane Perkins for bronze. Despite the home crowd support and a fantastic effort by Perkins, the Aussie was defeated.

With Hoy out of contention the British hopes for gold now rode on the back of Jason Kenny (GBR) who would face France’s powerhouse, Gregory Bauge (FRA). It was a gutsy ride by Kenny who led from the gun and crossed the line in first position. However, the decision as to who would be crowned World Champion rested in the hands of commissaires with Kenny relegated for infringing the sprinting line.

With so much nail-biting excitement and at times, controversial decision-making one could only wonder if the night could get any more interesting. With the final of the men’s points race (40km) still to be decided Australia’s hopes for gold rested on Cameron Meyer (AUS). Leading for the majority of the race, Ben Swift (GBR) had his eye on the top podium position. It was when Meyer, coming at him from behind with such force and determination, managed to lap the field, gaining the 20 bonus points and taking out the final sprint in the race. The crowd waited in nervous anticipation as points were tallied. The applause and support for Meyer was deafening when it was finally announced that by one point he was World Champion.  Silver went to Ben Swift (GBR) and bronze to Kenny De Ketele (BEL). 

With the emotions running high from tonight’s races, we are sure to be on the edge of our seats for the last of the finals tomorrow.

"Gold Medal Podium for cameron"

'The emotion of winning gold"

Photos courtesy of JXPPhotography.

"Anna Meares"

“Victoria Pendleton”

"Victoria Pendleton Sprint Quarter Final"

"Victoria Pendleton"

"New Zealand Women's Team Pursuit"

"Great Britain Women's Team Pursuit"

"Glenn O'Shea"

"Glenn O'Shea - Points Race"

"Anna Meares Sprint Quarter Final"

"Total concentration"

Photos courtesy of JXPPhotography..

"Anna Meares & Kaarle McCulloch"

"World Champs"

"Sir Chris Hoy"

"Shane Perkins"

"Great Britain Men's Team Pursuit"

"Ben Swift"

"Australian Men's Team Sprint"

"Hard work on the sideline"

"Kaarle McCulloch"

 

The 602nds team would like to thank Jarrod of jxpphotography for providing     supporting images of all the action at the 2012 UCI World Track Cycling Championships. 

 jxpphotography is a Melbourne based sports photographer, dedicated to capturing the very best in local and international sporting events. 

Working with some of the biggest names in sports media, Jarrod is a passionate sports fan but specializes  in cycling photos; track, road and time trials capturing the pain, the triumph and the pressure. 

The Friday evening session kicked off with Melissa Hoskins (AUS) scooping silver in the women’s 10km Scratch race. Hoskins looked to be the favourite for the win but when Katarzyna Pawlowska (POL) exploded out of nowhere the gold was soon out of sights for the Aussie.

Australia was still in with a chance for gold however with Anna Meares qualifying for the Women’s Sprint ½ Final. Pipped on the line by Victoria Pendleton (GBR), Anna was squeezed out of the gold medal race. Anna managed to secure a bronze against Lyubov Shulika (UKR) and shared the celebrations with her proud parents who congratulated her from the crowd.

Such celebrations weren’t shared however in the race for gold. The crowd let their disappointment be known when Simona Krupeckaite (LTU), after defeating Pendleton, was relegated for not holding her line, handing over the World Championship to Pendleton… With triumph too often there are tears.

Such is the unpredictable nature of cycling that Thursday brought more heartache for the Italian team. Two times World Champion Giorgio Bronzini spoke of her World Championships upset to 602nds. “I am very sad and angry as I had trained well and was feeling good. I was very happy with my training and came here very hopeful” Bronzini said after missing out on a medal in the women’s Points race. Bronzini remains positive and will now focus on road racing and winning her third consecutive UCI World Road Championship and gold at the London Olympics.

Adding to their woes was Elia Viviani’s shock exit from the men’s Omnium final. The young star of the track and Olympic hopeful was forced to retire due to injury sustained to his pelvis in the qualifying round yesterday evening. Speaking briefly with 602nds, Viviani told of a suspected fractured pelvis and his immediate return to Italy for rest and recovery. The emotion shown on Viviani’s face spoke louder than words as we too shared in his disappointment of not having the opportunity to gain more points towards Olympic qualification. Speculation is rife as to whether his dreams of Olympic gold will be realised having not confirmed whether he has enough points to qualify.

But… so quickly do things change in the crazy world of Track Cycling that as we write we learnt of Glen O’Shea’s (AUS) win in the men’s Omnium final with Edward Clancey (GBR) grabbing gold in the Time Trial!

602nds wishes all the athletes the best of luck as finals continue at Hinsene Area tomorrow evening with the Omnium, Individual Pursuit, Keirin, Sprint and Point race finals. Highlights include Chris Hoy (GBR) and Robert Forstemann (GER) battling it out for gold in the men’s Sprint final.  

Until next time, enjoy the cycling!

Tara & Tara for 602nds

Melbourne’s Hisense Arena will host the 2012 UCI Track Cycling World Championships from Wednesday 4 to Sunday 8 April, 2012. The stakes are high as the championships will see up to 350 competitors from over 40 different countries battle it out for the much coveted rainbow jersey and is the final qualifying event for the 2012 London Olympics.

Both men and women will compete in Sprint, Individual Time Trial, Keirin, Individual and Team Pursuit, Points Race, Omnium and Scratch races with the men fighting it out in the prestigious Madison race. At this stage, the Australians (naturally), British and German are amongst the leaders in track cycling however, the French & Russian are not to be underestimated.

Sprint
Raced over three laps, the sprint is a one-on-one event with earlier rounds featuring up to three or more cyclists. The race is a display of tactics as riders try to force their opponent into the unenviable position of lead rider… that is, until the final 200 metres (which is, the only timed period of the race) where riders launch their attack, grit their teeth and hope to cross the line first.

Individual Time Trial
Riders, from a standing start, battle the clock with men competing over a one kilometre distance, and women over 500 metres. The fastest takes the glory.

Keirin
Similar to the sprint, the Keirin involves more riders (between four and ten) riding over a distance of two kilometres. Riders are paced in the early laps behind a Derny motorcycle which slowly increases the speed of the race; exiting the race with 600-700 metres remaining, the first rider to cross the line is the winner.

Individual Pursuit and Team Pursuit: Men 4km / Women 3km
As the name suggests, this team event involves four men and three women, starting on opposite sides of the track, remaining together for the duration of the race, as the finishing time is taken from the third rider to cross the line, noting that only three of the four men are required to finish.

The Individual Pursuit involves two individual riders, starting from opposite sides of the track, ‘pursuing’ each other with the winner declared as being the rider with either the quickest time or the one who catches and passes their opponent.

Points Race: Men 30km / Women 20km
A longer distance race of between 120 – 160 laps of the velodrome, the Points Race sees riders sprint every ten laps gaining points allocated to the top four riders in each sprint.

If a rider manages to lap the main field, an additional 20 points is awarded. The overall winner of the race is the rider who has accrued the most points at the finish line.

Scratch Race: Men 15km / Women 10km
The Scratch race gets the adrenalin pumping with a bunch start of riders racing an assigned distance with placing’s determined during the final sprint, taking into account laps gained.

Tactics are important in this event with endurance riders keeping the pace fast and furious in an effort to eliminate the sprint specialists who in turn will try and shelter within the group to conserve their strength for the final laps.

Omnium
The Omnium is made up of six events and is contested over two consecutive days.
The final classification is established by adding up the finishing places in each event.
The winner is the rider who has the lowest total.

Men’s Omnium Events
• Flying lap
• Points race (30 km)
• Elimination race
• Individual pursuit (4 km)
• Scratch race
• Kilometre time trial

Women’s Omnium Events
• Flying lap
• Points race (20 km)
• Elimination race
• Individual pursuit (3 km)
• Scratch race
• 500 m time trial

Did you know?
The Madison had its beginnings, at Madison Square Gardens,
in 1898 as a way of circumventing laws passed in Illinois and New York, USA
aimed at restricting the exhaustion of cyclists taking part in six-day races

Madison
The Madison begins with riders from both teams on the track, however after the first lap only one member from each team is allowed on the track at any given time. When teams want to replace their rider, the new rider circles the velodrome high on the banking wall until a changeover can occur.

Changeovers are technical and often dangerous as new riders are ‘slingshot’ forward onto the track. The points scoring is similar to the Points race with points being awarded for sprint finishes every twenty laps. There are three ways to win the Madison; Points, laps and final sprint. The team that accrues the most laps is the winner.

If more than one team has ridden the same number of laps they are placed according to points won. If there is a draw on laps and points the order across the line in the final sprint decides the placing.

The Madison, which even we struggled to get our heads around, is the culminating event prior to the 2012 London Olympics and is sure to be a highlight of the UCI World Track Championships.

The British have set the challenge by announcing their team which includes Sir Chris Hoy, Ed Clancy and Victoria Pendleton Watch this space to see if the likes of these World Champion riders can be beaten to the podium.

602nds will be bringing you all the latest news and updates from the UCI World Track Championships, including race programs, results and interviews via Facebook and Twitter… However, don’t trust us, just follow us and keep us track amateurs informed @_cyclegirl_ , @TaraG602nds and @602nds.

Photos taken at London Track World Cup 2012, Credit to  Paul Stewart aka @track_stewsie

In Part 1 I went through the simple process of setting up the account and uploading information and logos for the design. With Part 2 I take you through the design and confirmation process.

Design

With 602nds’ colours being black, red and white, I was inspired by the design of the Cervelo Test Team kit having similar colours and bold logos. The proposed ‘Cervelo’ concept was described as accurately as possible in the hope that the design brief would be interpreted by the Champion System graphic designer.

Within a couple of days of submitting all the information for the Champion System designer an email was received providing instructions to log into the control panel on the website to view the design proofs. The proofs are viewed as JPEG files within the web browser and can be downloaded locally to the computer.

After viewing the proof I was provided two options – Yes, to approve or No, to make changes. With the proofs almost looking right, some minor changes were required to make them look exactly as I wanted. A brief description of the changes was provided and submitted. The same process was repeated for each of the kit items – jersey, bibs, wind vest and cap.

Again, within a couple of days an email was received prompted me to review the changes. This time all was good and I was ready to approve and sign-off the design.

Sizing

To confirm sizing, a sample pack can be requested free of charge providing a range of sizes for trying on. The sample pack arrived within a couple of days and needed to be sent back at the expense of the client after confirming sizes.

For mens jerseys, sizing is available if two different cuts – Race cut and Club cut. The Race cut is very streamlined providing a more European cut that is designed to be worn tight and close to the body. The Club cut jersey is a more relaxed cut and more suitable for those who know their cycling limitations and don’t have the cut athletic build to suit.

Knowing our own physical limitations we had no hesitation to go with the Club cut jersey. Jersey cuts are also available for women and children.

Good to go

Upon confirmation of sizes and quantities a spreadsheet is provided to fill in. Prices are self calculated with the balance due being the total price minus the deposit previously paid during the setting up of the account (described in Part 1).

Having completed and submitted the spreadsheet, finalising the order and paying the balance we eagerly wait for the completed 602nds kit which will take a few weeks to arrive.

Although the initial manufacturing run will be limited, we will have a very small quantity available for purchase. Please contact us if interested.

After many months of thought and research, 602nds are pleased to present the final design of our Champion System custom cycling kit.

Stay tuned for Part 3 of this series when we receive the gear.