Lucas Hamilton is a rider that many in the sport would know, but he shot to prominence as he trounced a quality field in the National Capital Tour queen stage, riding away from the pack on the final climb of the day, winning the stage by 37 seconds. He unfortunately crashed out on the next stage with the yellow jersey on his back, but impressed many with his climbing as a 19 year old against the seasoned professionals. He has recovered from his crash and spoke to me after training.
18 year old Ainslie Bakker is a rising star in Australian cycling, and her explosion onto the scene has been all the more remarkable as she has only been racing on the road for less than a year. Bakker attracted a lot of attention in her debut in the NRS at the National Capital Tour, riding as a guest rider for QETS (Cycling Queensland and Queensland Academy of Sport Emerging Talent Team). She finished 2nd behind Ruth Corset, with whom she shares a common background, both having transferred over from triathlon. Ainslie Bakker was kind enough to chat after one of her training sessions.
Ben Kersten, DS of the Subaru NSWIS team and Assistant Cycling Coach under Brad McGee at the Institute proper, had a chat with me from the Dunc Gray velodrome before leading riders in training.
“I pretty much lived at this velodrome as a sprinter when I was racing, I’ve possibly spent too much time in here, so it’s been really enjoyable to be out on the road with the team. It’s an all-encompassing role, it’s not like a european Sports Director who just does the race tactics; it’s business stuff, it’s management, it’s sponsorship, everything involved in the team, I’m the only one who works on it. It’s pretty hectic, but it’s very diverse.” |
Jamie FinchJust a few of my articles, the content that isn't actually owned by another site. ArchivesCategories |