Monday, December 13, 2010

Pegasus: How the winged horse has fallen from grace

You can pretty much write into the books right now: not only will Pegasus Sports miss out on a Professional Continental license for next year, it may not even exist at all. This will be a crushing blow for cycling in Australia. For many years now, many avid recreational cyclists have been staying up, watching the Tour de France and other european races, just wishing we had our own team to support.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Tour of Bright: Why I love it and hate it

Many avid cyclists will be descending upon the Victorian Alps this weekend for the Tour of Bright, one of Australia's toughest amateur stage races. 3 stages over two days: a hard, 91km (or 127km for A Grade) slog from Bright towards Ovens, over Rosewhite Gap to the Kiewa Valley, a high-speed dash towards Mt Beauty before heading up and finishing at the top of the Tawonga gap; a undulating, out-and-back, 15.7km time-trial the afternoon after stage 1; and a 56.5km ride from Bright to the top of Mt Hotham, 30km of which is uphill.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Crit racing has begun

Finally, after months and months of training and waiting, the criterium season is here. It's always an eagerly anticipated weekend when daylight savings begins again in October and the big cycling clubs around Melbourne begin holding their crits again. Many people don't like crit racing, instead opting for climbing or waiting it out for the bigger tours of the season to roll around. I love it. The atmosphere at meets is great and the racing is intense, even in my lowly C grade.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Event of a lifetime....or not

Looking back on last weekend of sport in Melbourne, I have to admit, I'm a little disappointed that I didn't get to see anything live. I'll have my grizzle in a minute but first I must congratulate the organising committee for the 2010 World Road Cycling Championships. It was a magnificent success, attracting 157,000 people on Sunday to the Men's Elite Road Race. With the weather and the number of people, I was mighty annoyed with myself that I didn't attend. This was compounded by the fact that I was denied entry to watch my beloved Magpies with the Premiership at the 'G, despite the fact that there were over 6,000 empty seats in the MCC reserve. I will get back to this a bit later.


Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Sidetracked

It's funny what curveballs life will throw at you (or insert other clichéd comment about life). As a diehard Collingwood supporter, I was very nervous about Saturday past, only a win would ease my discomfort. From there, I had a win-win situation in front of me: if we won, I could bask in the glory whilst I previewed the UCI World Road Cycling Championships with a relaxed and happy outlook; if we lost, I could use the World Champs to distract myself from the pain.


As it happened, neither occurred (typical) so now I have to preview the races with no real information and without the chance of being able to get down to Geelong to watch a single race. Nevertheless, here is my best effort.


Tuesday, September 28, 2010

It's about time

I was very excited to read in the newspaper a couple of weeks ago that Robbie McEwen has signed on to the new Pegasus Racing/Fly V team for next year. Of course, one has to take this with a grain of salt as it is likely that he has a clause in his contract the stipulates he can bail if the team isn’t granted a ProTour license. Given the fact that CEO Chris White has yet to announce who the major sponsors of the team are, there is some speculation that the team may fall through. However, with the signing of McEwen virtually guaranteeing them a start in next year’s Tour de France and the fact that White plans to unveil the major sponsors for the team during or shortly after the World Championships later this month, the team is gathering momentum.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Ain't Misbehavin'

As is the case this time of year, university has taken over my life, with mid-semester exams leaving me a slave to the desk. Thankfully, these are done and dusted so we can get onto the more important things in life.

Recently, Dad and I were watching the Ben Cousins' doco on his drug abuse problems. Afterwards, when discussing the saga, we were both struggling to work out why people are claiming that he's such a hero for beating his addiction. Also, we both agreed that it's unlikely that he's changed at all and still has the smug arrogance about him.

My dad is a psychology teacher and student counsellor at a public high school. It's clear that, at times, he is personally affected by what he's witnessed, particularly in relation to drug use. It's at this point I feel particularly humbled (being privately schooled and living in a high-income suburb) because the conditions that these students live in manifests this behaviour. Often, they live between divorced parents, experience abuse or mix with the wrong peers.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

High-end equipment: durability or performance?









Recently, I’ve been riding a lot with my fellow MUcyc’ers (Melbourne Uni Cycling Club members), some of whom have very nice (and very expensive bikes) whilst others have more humble machines. I will readily admit I am a member of the former group (my Scott CR1 Pro is coming up on its second birthday). I have spent lavishly on my bike as I would rather spend money on something I enjoy immensely rather than wastefully invest it for the moment. The bike comes stock with a full Shimano Ultegra groupset, Ritchey Carbon seatpost and Mavic Ksyrium Elite wheels. Since then, I have added a Fi’zi:k Aliante saddle, numerous computers (my latest one is a Garmin Edge 500) and, most recently, a full SRAM Force groupset. I will also be adding new wheels to it soon. It’s safe to assume then that my bike is fairly high end.

However, this hasn’t stopped it from having reliability issues.

Saturday, August 7, 2010

Eye-opening moments

Having been away from cycle races for nearly a year, I finally got back into the swing of things in the last couple of weeks. First up was an Individual Time Trial for Northern Combine at Balliang. Having only done one competitive TT before (Tour of Bright '08), I was keen to see how I'd go. Having been a fairly solid C-grade rider before my overseas escapades, I dropped myself back to D to ease myself back into (and the fact I have added 7 or 8 kegs since then). Needless to say, 4th in D (by only 2 secs to 3rd!) and 4th in the secret handicap, I was reasonably happy with my effort considering the ridiculously windy conditions.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Tour de France recap

This year's Tour has been one of the hardest for years, and not only due to torturous mountain days. The drama of the first week, rain, crashes, cobbles, heat and more crashes ensured the general classification was whittled down to just a two horse race after just 8 stages.As we look back on the Tour de France this year, lets take a look at the winners, losers, heroes and villains of the race.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Product Review: 2010 Sram Force groupset

Having been riding on Shimano groupsets (Tiagra, 105 and Ultegra) since taking up cycling 4 years ago, and the fact that my Ultegra chain and cassette were worn out, I thought it was time for a change. I had a couple of different options:

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

As an era ends, our lasting memories will be of the bad not the good

I'm betting Lance Armstrong is thinking 'was it worth coming out of retirement?' right about now. Sure, he finished third last year and has strengthened his foundation's international image tenfold. But after Stage 8 of this year's Tour de France, it seems all the good luck of never falling off and seeing his rivals fall around him has come flooding back at Lance. Early crashes, a puncture on the cobblestones of northern France, more crashes in the Alps and losing almost 12 minutes to the main rivals will remain in our memories as the most vivid recollections of Lance Armstrong, which is a great pity.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Nothing on Earth is like the Tour de France

For 3 weeks in July over the past couple of years, during the day, you are likely to find me either on my bike or in bed. The reason can be explained very simply: the Tour de France is on television. Not only does it inspire oneself to dust of the bike and head down Beach Rd into frigid, winter breeze, but its also on at a ghastly hour meaning you very rarely sleep for more than 4 or 5 hours a night.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

In the land of the cheat, the cyclist is king

Let's be clear and honest, cycling does not enjoy the finest reputation of a fair and clean playing field. In fact, apart from athletics and body building, its tough to see any sport that can compete with the amount of lying and cheating that occurs in cycling. Being a cyclist myself, many cynics question the physical feats that professional cyclists achieve. And despite trying to justify the results, I find myself agreeing with them more often than ever.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Come on, umpire

Recently, the AFL has been pushing for spectators of junior and club football to lay off the umpires, employing Nick Riewoldt to get the message across. In the television ad, a "dad" of one of the young kids playing in a game voices his annoyance at an umpiring decision. All the players and the umpire stop playing and Riewoldt steps in, asking fans to give the umpires "a fair go". Strategically placed in the background are other AFL identities who nod their approval at the message.


It is not uncommon to hear of fans beginning fights and running onto ovals to complain about an umpire's decision. Having played footy for Kew Junior Football Club, Carey Baptist Grammar School and Old Carey Grammarians, I know all about being on the receiving end of a dodgy umpiring call. It is frustrating and often, in the heat of the moment, you can say things you don't mean or regret later on. These decisions are usually followed closely by a harmonic wail from the sidelines as the spectators chip in their two-cents worth. However, how much of a detrimental effect is it having on the grassroots game and what are the flow-on implications for the AFL?


Umpiring Aussie-rules is an immense challenge, from Under-9's to the AFL Grand Final. So many of the rules are open to interpretation by the individual umpires and they don't always agree. What one umpire sees as prior opportunity, another might see as none and thus two different opinions are the result. I'll give an example:
On the weekend, during the Collingwood-Western Bulldogs game, Adam Cooney took a mark on the wing. A Collingwood player was closely tagging him and, just after Cooney marked the ball, made (very slight) body contact so that Cooney would not try to play on. Umpire Ray Chamberlain immediately blew his whistle and awarded a 50-metre penalty to Cooney, bringing him into scoring range.
"Razor" Ray had been quick on the whistle all night, giving players of both sides absolutely no latitude whatsoever. Put aside the fact that I'm a Collingwood supporter, it is impossible to say that every umpire would pay that as a 50-metre penalty. In fact, they didn't. Again, on the weekend, in the match between Adelaide and Fremantle, an Adelaide player marked inside their forward line, but on a tight angle from the goal. Their Fremantle opponent put their arms around them briefly after having completed the mark in order to stop them from playing on, improving the angle and improving their chance of scoring a goal. Yet no 50-metre penalty was awarded for such contact.


It seems the problem fans seem to be having with umpires is inconsistency and this problem is compounded by the myriad rule changes that Adrian Anderson and the AFL seem to be imposing. The rules of the game are constantly under scrutiny and very often are changed on a knee-jerk reaction by the AFL to some outcry from the media. The new rushed behind rule which has become somewhat controversial being the obvious example. There were outcries by media personalities over Hawthorn's use of rushing behinds to reset their backline structure on their way to winning the 2008 premiership. These rules have a flow-on effect to the lower levels of football as less skilled umpires officiated games with less skilled players, it is made more difficult in an environment that does not protect the umpires anywhere near as much.


At AFL level, no players, coaches or club officials are allowed to speak out over umpiring decisions or performances without the risk of copping a fairly hefty fine or suspension. Yet grassroots football spectators can say or do whatever they like to voice their dissatisfaction with the umpiring. It defies belief that any young kids would consider taking up umpiring at all when they often have to begin in a more hostile environment than the elite of their profession operate in. On the flip side, why can AFL coaches or players cop so much scrutiny whilst complaining about shoddy umpiring calls is now taboo? For improvement to happen, the constructive criticism has to be a two-way street. Umpires must acknowledge their shortcomings when they are brought up and accept the comments as constructive criticism, not as a slight against their person.


Remember James Hird on The Footy Show a few years back? He had a go at Scott Mclaren (admittedly after some prodding and poking by Sam Newman) after a poor umpiring performance. And the result? Mclaren issued a statement soon after, saying he was "surprised and disappointed by the comments he made. This has deeply affected my family and friends..." Hird was subsequently slapped with a $20,000 fine and ordered to spend 3 years promoting umpiring. Admittedly, the circumstances in which Hird criticised Mclaren's performance were inappropriate but I find it hard to justify such a penalty. James Hird spoke his mind, criticising Mclaren's performance, but not criticising the man. It seems as though AFL umpires are too touchy on this subject and take too much to heart.


In a time that is seeing the game under constant evolution, as teams try to copy the most successful tactics of other teams, it is important the AFL boosts the attractiveness of umpiring. This needs to come about in a number of different ways, chief among which is the way they are viewed in the top flight. Let the players and coaches speak out about umpiring, albeit in a responsible and appropriate way, so that the umpires can learn from their mistakes. People get called out for their mistakes in their professions all the time, fix the problem and move on, so it is baffling to think umpires should be treated differently.


Mr Riewoldt has thrust a double-edged sword into mix in his appearance in the ad. On one hand, he's encouraging young people to take up umpiring and for over-zealous parents to back-off but, on the other hand, he has brought to surface some deep-seated issues with the umpiring system in the AFL. Time will tell on whether or not this campaign is a winner for the AFL.