The men’s elite road race at the Australian National Road National Championships starts today. Several ACT riders are amongst the favourites to take out the event. Michael Matthews (Rabobank) and Nathan Haas (Garmin-Cervelo) may well support each other to counter the strength of the GreenEDGE boys. So I thought it would be a good idea to have a look at recent news involving riders from the ACT.
1. Adam Phelan – Ambassador for wearing helmets?
Drapac Porsche’s Adam Phelan is known for his big attacks at the front of the peloton. We saw this during last year’s Herald Sun Tour and also the Skoda Men’s Grand Prix Criterium series at Wollongong. Porsche Boxster has a smaller engine then Phelan. But a training accident after the Tour of Bright saw Phelan use skid lid as his brakes. So no National Champs for Phelan while he fully recovers from the accident. Surely the helmet sponsor for Drapac Porsche should be using Phelan as their new ambassador in their marketing campaign. All the best in your recovery, Adam. Can’t wait to see you back at the local crits in Canberra and then donning those Drapac colours around Europe and Asia. Cycling needs more of those exciting attacks!!
2. Is Pat a dick?
Chloe Hosking made worldwide headlines when she called UCI president Pat McQuaid a ‘bit of a dick’ because of the president’s head in the sand comments that women did not deserve a minimum salary. Rather than support her, Cycling Australia forced her to apologise to McQuaid. She did, but the sentiment has not changed. It will be a sad day if Cycling Australia takes any disciplinary action against Hosking for her outburst. Giorgia Bronzini, Italy’s world champion has also been making similar noises. May be Cycling Australia can take a leadership role in tackling the issue.
Do not let this one go Chloe. The UCI needs to be more progressive in promoting women’s cycling. Maybe, they should take a train across to Lausanne and see how UEFA promoting women’s football.
3. Can GreenEDGE be stopped?
Canberra’s triple world TT champion, Michael Rogers will be leading Team Sky to unseat GreenEDGE bid to take out the national title. The GreenEDGE girls have the bragging rights at the moment. Rogers will have the support of Sutton, Porte and Hayman. But will it be enough? Breakfast will be interesting in Ballarat this morning. I wonder if Team Sky, Garmin-Cervelo and Rabobank will be sharing a caffe latte to discuss just how to beat the GreenEDGE boys.
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