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Because the good guy always wins
Do Peter Sagan’s podium antics at the Ronde van Vlaanderen highlight a problem with professional cycling's role models? Tom Palmer reflects on the race and whether we should expect more from our cycling stars and their attitude to women.
In my first year racing against professionals, an experienced teammate gave me some advice that upset me then, and sticks with me now. A teenager at the time, a professional rider took a sling off my jersey in a sprint finish to win the race. My teammate consoled me by sarcastically saying “it’s okay, the good guys always win”.
What he helped me come to terms with, was that in our sport there is no rule to this effect. Finish lines don’t know how just or noble you are, they don’t care how sexist or repugnant you are. Finish lines know distance, time and nothing more.
The fruits of your labour
After an unforgettable day on the bike in Taiwan, Tom Palmer waxes lyrical on how sweet the feeling of victory is within a well-oiled team, even if it's not your own personal success that you're celebrating.
There's something rewarding about being a domestique. Cycling is obviously a team sport but I guess it is hard to comprehend what that really means until you've experienced racing for a team.
It has always seemed to me that teamwork is supercharged with an element of sacrifice and injustice in a sport where only one team member crosses the line, salutes and stands on the podium. In reality, the dispersal of that success is really dependent on the dynamics and relationships in the team.
The great 'leg-drain'
Does the Subaru National Road Series, and the domestic calendar represent an enticing alternative to slugging away in the amateur ranks in Europe? Tom Palmer thinks so, and hopes for a day when it won't even be something aspiring professionals think of in their pursuit of making a career out of the sport.
It’s that time of year again when the other cycling hemisphere wakes from its winter hibernation, beckoning our best and brightest away with the promise of opportunity and adventure. But for me, one of a few now choosing to stay home, it has me questioning why this 'leg-drain' occurs in the first place?
Australians have a decades-old tradition of cycling pilgrimage. We sling a bike over our shoulders and set off for Europe’s mountains and cobbles to turn our passion into a profession.
Talkin’ ‘Bout My Generation
With last week’s sport headlines it appears the Australian community is set to join battle-hardened cycling fans in the trenches in the war against doping.
Armstrong mania, once the sport’s greatest asset, has turned toxic. But one bloke’s stain on the sport’s reputation is not irreversible. Everyone is replaceable and Australia is producing the best alternatives.
Australia harbors a surging current of awesome bike riders. Every year our talent travels the world in droves searching for races to win, and win they do. If you want to see the future look at young rider classifications of pro races, results of UCI semi-pro races, under-23 and under-19 world championship podiums and WorldTour feeder teams, and what you will see is Aussie lads and ladies quietly killing it on the world stage. This is a generation of talented and diverse bike riders, thrashing their way across the globe, leaving a trail of spectacular, clean wins and stories to boot.
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