The Bike Lane: Young guns and wise old men

Season 3, Episode 3

Welcome to season 3, episode 3 of The Bike Lane. In this edition we have a chat with Orica-GreenEDGE's Simon Gerrans as well as his future teammate, Caleb Ewan. We also sit down with NRS winner and future star Jack Haig along with a chat with Dr Andrew Garnham about what causes cramps and a tip-off on a little known miracle cure. With track season coming up we want to hear if it's on anyone's radar, and finally we discuss "expert" commentary opinions. Enjoy!

In this episode:

We speak to Simon Gerrans about what it was like to wear the yellow jersey and what prompted him to hand it to Daryl Impey. We also ask Gerro, are you The Secret Pro?

Track cycling season has started, but is anyone listening?

We sit down with Huon Genesys Pro Cycling protégé Jack Haig and talk about his future. Watch this space folks - he’s gonna be a star.

Cramping. Forget all the expensive supplements and start training more. Dr Andrew Garnham explains.

Caleb Ewan announced this week that he’s secured a contract with Orica-GreenEDGE. but not right away. We speak to Caleb to find out why.

What’s on your mind: Is cycling hitting a saturation point in media? Speaking of the media, we discuss Phil Anderson’s view that he wrote about this week:

“…To be quite frank the current line-up of experts who feel they have the right to criticise riders performances need to pull their heads in, get on a bike and have a crack at the races themselves if they think they can do a better job.” -Phil Anderson

Be sure to follow The Bike Lane on Twitter, like us on Facebook, and subscribe to our YouTube Channel.

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Special thanks to our new season sponsor Health.com.au, Malachi Moxon for opening his doors for us to film the show in Northside Wheelers. Also, thank you to The Sweetshop, our production partner.

Tags: The Bike Lane

http://www.cyclingTipsBlog.com cyclingTips

Discussion thread #1: Is Gerro to ultimate gentleman and pro? Or is he the Secret Pro?
- a different ben
  
  With a lot of the interviews etc that OGE do, he’s so much the Pro that he seems almost wary and sometimes wooden. Well done making him feel comfortable and relaxed enough to show personality.
  - http://www.facebook.com/pmark1bike pmark1bike
    
    An absolute Gentleman off the bike, too much of a gentleman to be the secret pro.
- Scott
  
  Secret Pro for the hot lap! You could blank out the face and voice, put him on generic bike and kit…
  - Cycal
    
    Excellent idea. This must happen!
  - http://www.cyclingTipsBlog.com cyclingTips
    
    Maybe it already happened…
http://www.cyclingTipsBlog.com cyclingTips

Discussion thread #2: Track cycling season has started, but is anyone listening? Why with so much effort to attract attention to track does it still struggle?
- Dave
  
  Because the CA-AIS model is to treat the track as simply a training ground for future road cyclists.
  
  It will be interesting to see how the 2014 national championships go in this regard. Scheduling them in Adelaide a couple of days after the TDU was a master stroke, hopefully there are enough people with their heads screwed on right to keep the ticket prices nice and low so they are as accessible as the TDU is for the public.
  - Scott McGrory
    
    Dave unfortunately the Track Nats have been in Adelaide the week after the TDU before. I’ve been at them and in one word, ‘crickets!’ Granted there was little promotion, which is a major part of the story, but there was virtually no flow-over from TDU euphoria to the Velodrome.
    
    I do hope admin have learnt from those previous championships, and encourage the SA Government to promote the Track Nats during TDU.
    - Dave
      
      What should the government get in return for doing CA’s promotional work for them? Preferential scheduling of races with SA riders the favourites during the prime evening sessions and prime positioning for SA Tourism advertising during the SBS broadcast to all states would seem like a fair deal.
- David
  
  A track is a track is a track is a track. A track does not have visual epicness of a climb nor the technicality of a segment of cobbles. The boards can be anywhere in the world…
  - Jacob
    
    But yet people will go to the same crit circuit week in week out on a small square flat circuit, track racing is more exciting, skillfull, harder and funner than crits, I want Victorias track culture back!
  - Bob
    
    Yep, tracks are all similar but for my money track racing is about the personalities. No personalities and the interest declines.
    Also a vital cog in the Australian track racing landscape has been dying for a long time now, the country track carnival.
    I’m getting on a bit, but can vividly remember the local track carnival weekend which bought a bevy of talent to town. I live off the beaten track a bit, but have been fortunate to see riders like Sutton, Nicholls, Grenda, Pate, Neiwand, Hall, Turtur, Woods, Doyle, Bishop, Hammond, Venn, Aitken, McGrory, Kelly & O’Grady, just to name a few, compete on our local track.
    As well as being damn good riders, a lot of these guys and others were entertainers and big personalities.
    Hard not to get interested to watch a lot of these fellas race and get caught up in the various rivalries.
    This was way before the great TV coverage of cycling that we get to enjoy now, so seeing the top riders of the day strut their stuff on the track was the only way fans, especially in the country areas got to see high class racing.
    A lot of these events are now gone or at best watered down, so the engagement of following an up and coming talent like Shane Kelly from a junior right through to world champ doesn’t happen much these days. Maybe for those in the metro areas, but no longer in the country.
    Unfortunately for me, the current version of track racing is sanitised, lacks the personalities and entertainment value of what I remember.
    No disrespect to the current elite riders, all great athletes and great to watch technically, but it’s been a long time since I’ve seen anything to rival the Neiwand v Pate stoushes.
- dbranson
  
  I’m absolutely watching! Certainly I’m biased and will pay attention to anything cycling, nevertheless, track is very special because it has great intensity, Olympic level competition, and a long and fascinating history.
  
  However, it struggles to get more attention for many reasons but one is the racing format. For mass market a quick, straightforward format with a good chance for drama or blood appeals. Watching lone riders go out, one after another, to see if they can beat a time on an empty track is less compelling.
  
  That said I’m happy track has less attention. I am all for having a space in cycling that it not tied to a circus.
- Jared
  
  Lack of relatability? “Road” cycling is what I do when I go out and ride, but I’ve never even set foot in a velodrome, much less ridden on one. I would guess that most cycling spectators are in a similar position. I can’t get interested in track racing because I’ve never tried it. I see track racing like BMX racing - yeah it may be done on a bicycle, but its a totally different sport.
- velocite
  
  Is anyone listening to what? We fans depend upon the media to tell a good story, and with track we get one only occasionally. Anna Meares v Victoria Pendleton - terrific story and we all followed it. Half a century ago Mockridge v Paterson was a terrific story and we all followed that. Anything interesting happening now that I should know about?
- Nath
  
  I am a trackie and am completely in love with the sport. From the viewpoint of a competitor track racing is simply incredible fun no matter what the format . Unfortunately, state and national champs, and even world champs, are deadly boring to most spectators unless they are already track fans. Champs events are all about the rider and the result and offer nothing for the uninitiated spectator. The golden age of track cycling was built on entertainment. Food and beer for spectators, a carnival atmosphere, a band in the interval, a great race caller (Crafty in Sydney is a great example) and a huge variety of races. People even went to champs, because they learnt to love the sport as well as the entertainment. Nowadays we don’t have that hook, so the only time the general public see track racing is in a televised event with hit and miss commentry. If that was my only contact with the track I wouldn’t pay to see it either. Instead of focusing on the elite champ events only, I would love CA to work with a promoter and get an Australian ‘6 Day” style series going, even if the were only one day events, and really promote track cycling as the entertaining sport it is!
- irideredthebike
  
  I would like to take more interest in track cycling both as a competitor and a spectator.
  
  It is much more difficult to start competing on the track compared to crit racing when you are coming from being social rider - new bike, fewer events/venues. I would love to see some races at suburban velodromes to make it easier for people to try. It would also be nice to be able to go to a shop and look at bikes rather than a catalogue.
  
  I have been to several events at HiSense arena, but less than I would like. I have been put off by the ticket prices. DISC is not very accessible to attend.
http://www.cyclingTipsBlog.com cyclingTips

Discussion thread #3: NRS winner Jack Haig - how good is this guy? And how far can he go?
- velocite
  
  Congratulations, excellent piece. I can now associate the name with a personality, and will follow his exploits with a lot of interest. More of this sort of thing please! Oh wait, there was the piece on Caleb as well..
  - Scott McGrory
    
    Cheers velocite, we’ll keep looking at giving everyone a heads up on the next batch of talent coming through. Ok that said Jack has just won the NRS and his breakthrough race was the Tour of Bright Dec 2012.
    
    But it is good to get that early association with the new riders isn’t it.
    
    I’ve known about him for longer than that though, he’s been causing havoc in our bunch in Bendigo for awhile now…
http://www.cyclingTipsBlog.com cyclingTips

Discussion thread #4: Cramping. What works for you?
- Growler
  
  Beer.
  - Scott McGrory
    
    Growler I’ll join your bunch rides mate.
- Sean Doyle
  
  I find keeping the carbs up on a ride helps my cramps. One anecdote was a few years back racing a 24hr solo. I started cramping after only 5 hours as I was only taking on electrolytes and bits of fruit. I thought I was in for a very long race but once I switched to the banana and honey sandwiches it only took a little while for the cramps to fade and I finished strongly.
- melbin rider
  
  Vegemite on corn thins, salty and a bit of energy, plus nice and easy to store in the jersey pockets
http://www.cyclingTipsBlog.com cyclingTips

Discussion thread #5: Caleb Ewan. Is he wise to wait another year to turn pro? Or should he be jumping straight into the deep end?
- Neil_Robinson
  
  i think it’s wise. you see a lot of young stars burning bright, then burning out.
- a different ben
  
  Sounds like he’s getting good advice.
  
  I think it’s possible to go too far with this though (and I’m obviously not saying he has, just riffing here), where you get young ‘uns who don’t make their own decisions, so don’t make their own mistakes, and if they have to live with the consequences of someone else’s mistakes that can lead to Bad Things(TM).
  - Dave
    
    Agree about getting good advice.
    
    That applies so much more to all the non-racing stuff as it does to what he does on the bike. He gets seven months extra to learn how to go about living and training in Europe, dealing with media attention and so on - undoubtedly with some sound help from people at both OGE and the AIS. It will improve his chances of getting a rainbow jersey at some point in his career too, competing next year as a bigger fish in the U23 race rather than getting dropped in the elite race.
    
    The only bad thing would be that maybe OGE is playing a little fast and loose with the ProTeam contract rules here by signing a contract and expecting that rider’s “amateur” status to remain plausible. Though with the success rate of people challenging the UCI over contract rules (see the latest about Contador and Valverde’s ranking points) the worst OGE might face if they were breaking the rules is “not guilty, but don’t do it again.”
- Notso Swift
  
  Waiting is good, I am not 100% sure OGE is though, it may be too comfortable
  - Dave
    
    Better than BMC, which is comfortably dysfunctional.
    - Notso Swift
      
      Wait until Peiper starts to have an influence, and I can’t think of a better mentor
      
      Well, him or Scott Sunderland
  - Steel
    
    Want to see OGE with a decent sprinter though. This is purely selfish, I’ve given no thought to whether Ewan is timing it right. I’m just sick of season the OGE train disintergrate.
    - Notso Swift
      
      Always the best train with 2km to go…
- http://subcontinentalcyclist.wordpress.com/ Ankush Agarwal
  
  Easing himself in at the pro-scene via more relaxed post-Tour races is a great idea.
http://www.cyclingTipsBlog.com cyclingTips

Discussion thread #6: Has cycling media hit a saturation point? Does it capture your interest like it used to? What are the shortcomings?
- dcaspira
  
  the AFL / F1 have fantastic integrated reporting divisions that control / provide the sound bites/ stories we want. Enabling them to grow the market through attractive economies to publishers. So to me, the question is - is cycling mature / professional enough to be treated this way, and if not - why not?
- a different ben
  
  [relevant to Australia] I don’t think it’s anywhere near saturation point. Most of the stuff I consume as a fan is “information pull”, where I go get it on my own initiative, as opposed to cricket, tennis, AFL, the rugbies, which are pushed at you all time on radio, free-to-air TV, newspapers, etc. During cricket season, try to go a week without hearing about or seeing some game, or player drama (especially during The Ashes!). The last cycling-related player drama on any scale in Australia was Evans’ TdF win.
- echidna_sg
  
  Definitely more space. Local sports in oz simply have greater breadth of appeal - which footy team you follow is about the third question you get asked after meeting someone after where they live and what the do for a crust. F1 is a good example where a series of events involving the same protagonists occurs across a year, people can watch it on tv, see the rivalry ebb and flow, resulting in “watchers” just as much as serious fans developing an understanding of the tensions between drivers and teams… cycling just doesn’t do this, or get the vitriolic outpourings of a caroline wilson pursuing james hird all year long with respect to supplements…. it was public character assassination by media and especially in Vic, it was lapped up… meanwhile most non-cycling fans still bring up the lance story as the biggest thing in cycling (it probably is in the mainstream media).
  
  Yes people like watching guys get dropped up a mountain, but nobody delves into the emotional side (in the papers) - a change to this was at the worlds where there were possible more column inches dedicated to the intra-team Spanish squabbles than Costa’s victory…
  - mouse
    
    Wait, what?
    James Hird charactor assassination? Are you serious?
    The man presides over an organised Performance Enhancing drug regime where his players are regularly injected with substances that in some cases are not approved for human consumption.
    Johan Bruyneel would blush.
    - echidna_sg
      
      I’m serious, the whole thing was played out in public - I’m not saying he wasn’t guilty, but trial by media throughout the investigation? if it was a criminal case, it would have been thrown out of court due to the case being compromised by the media. Ask that Hinch bloke how the inside of a jail cell feels ffrom his past speaking publicly about a case still under investigation.
- Neil
  
  Saturation point is relative to engagement. Although Cycling participation rates are going through the roof, are these people joining clubs? Are they watching races other than the TdF? Are they just social riding?
  Part of the issue cycling has, like golf, (which it is so often compared to) is that lots of people do it, but I believe a large proportion are far more engaged in other sports and teams, eg. their favourite football team. They’ve taken up cycling for exercise, but don’t care about the teams, personalities, etc.
  Expand this, and the saturation point will recede, and as engagement increases so can coverage.
  Cycling at the moment is a bit like soccer - huge participation numbers, but a massive proportion of the participants are more interested in following something else.
  My two cents…
- Notso Swift
  
  No, online there IS so much information that it is overwhelming, but not mainstream TV/Press/Radio.
  
  I always notice a headline in the paper (and read it even if it is something I already know) because it is such a rare thing
- Wish I was on the bike…
  
  I wonder if there’s an demographic issue about the media appeal of cycling. Many of us are MAMILs; significant other interests and responsibilities, (family, professional) a different perspective on this activity from the main audience of AFL/NRL/Cricket which includes fewer partipants.
  
  I find the office convo about what the AUS cricket coach or AFL coach should or shouldn’t do boring. It is never going to be me in the coaches chair, and he/she is never going to ask me for advice, so why should I have a position on who they should put at full back or first drop?
  
  I’m interested in how I can climb/train/recover/eat/TT better. You’ll never find this in the mainstream media, print, radio or TV. You’ll get it on the BIke Lane;-). Sure, mix it with a bit of goss about who should get a contract next year and who should ride the Worlds/TDF etc but the perspective is different. I have ridden those climbs; I do (some) time on the bike.
  
  Is the fact that we are generally participating, (not only an audience), relevant to the position of cycling in the mainstream media? Why is the internet and maybe magazines like RIDE of more appeal?
  
  Every time the TDU comes around there’s an ex-PRO to guide us in our prep in the local paper - a few words per day per week for 3 weeks. Probably not targetted at many seasoned riders.
  
  No great revelations. Thanks for the interesting discussion and another great ep!
- nicklothian
  
  Just a note. I love what http://cyclocosm.com/ does in the “How the race was won” series. I’ve learnt as much about pro cycling in his 5-minute recaps as I do in watching entire TdFs.
- Bush Chook
  
  No mention of the Backstage Pass there lads?
- geoff Duke
  
  Depends what you mean by cycling media. If you mean competitive cycling then the answer is definitely NO. However if you include other references to cycling then we are getting pretty close. I saw an add on TV last night for a car. The footage of the car showed someone driving around the city with a bike on the roof. I couldn’t help consider the similarity to the time when having a surfboard strapped to your roof was considered cool whether you were a real surfer or not. Its those sort of images that eventually tend to turn people off
http://www.cyclingTipsBlog.com cyclingTips

Discussion thread #7: Should cycling commentators and experts be keeping their views to themselves unless they know what it’s like to ride a race a professional level?
- echidna_sg
  
  of course not. Try saying the same thing to people like phil Liggett (ok he is a bit past it now, but, he never raced as a pro that I know of) and more locally how about people like eddie mcguire, caroline wilson etc etc on aussie rules matters… would they rather we wait for sean kelly’s piece? or maybe sean yates?
  - dbranson
    
    Agree! We want good commentators that care enough to share their views. If they are good and passionate then let’s hear them. If they suck or are stupid then stop listening to them.
- http://www.littlepeople.id.au Chris Little
  
  So commentators sometimes upset riders?
  
  Thankfully current and ex pros NEVER say anything that upsets riders.
- Robert Merkel
  
  In a word, no.
  
  Respect the views of those like Scott who have been there and done that, sure, but you don’t need to have ridden a grand tour to observe that (say) Cancellara has had his pocket picked in Classics quite a lot, or that Andy Schleck’s problems appear to run deeper than an injury.
  - Scott McGrory
    
    I agree with you Robert. I think any panel show or commentary team is better served with an ex rider. But it’s often good to have an outside influence just as we see with most footy codes.
    
    For two of the best sports shows on TV are Santo, Sam & Ed’s Total Football (or any variation of their titles), and AFL 360. Plenty of ‘non expert’ opinion there, but they mix it with special guests.
  - Steel
    
    Agreed. You just end up with group think/locker room stuff when you only have the ex-pros in the commentary box. You need someone who is prepared to step on a few toes and go a little bit left field if you’re going to keep the coverage interesting.
    
    That’s why I often find comments on here more interesting that those on TV or the papers.
- Matt Keenan
  
  It’s no good sitting on the fence but as someone who hasn’t raced at the highest level it’s necessary to back strong statements up with a fact based argument.
http://www.cyclingTipsBlog.com cyclingTips

Discussion thread #8: What’s on your mind? Suggestions for topics we discuss next week.
- Dave
  
  Innovations in racing formats.
  
  You can see that cricket has adapted to the 21st century quite well with the introduction of Twenty20 not coming at the expense of Test Cricket.
  
  Should cycling learn from cricket and start creating more spectator friendly ‘fun’ events that complement the ‘serious’ events to provide entry-level engagement? Or would it be enough to simply switch more ‘serious’ road races to a circuit format - compare the crowds on the Stirling, Aldinga/Willunga and Adelaide Parklands TDU stages to the three days of point-to-point stages.
  - dcaspira
    
    I guess - is this saying, should we develop races specifically for TV? M - Keenan, is there an audience for this K.Packer logic?
    - Dave
      
      And for live spectators. As I said, watch the TDU next January and you’ll see the difference in public engagement between the circuit stages and the point-to-point stages.
      
      That being said, circuit races are definitely easier to broadcast well.
    - Matt Keenan
      
      I think all WorldTour bike races should be designed with a strong consideration as to how it will appear on TV while maintaining the sporting integrity. Cycling is in the entertainment industry, category sport.
  - http://www.cyclingTipsBlog.com cyclingTips
    
    I’d argue that crit racing is that spectator friendly format similar to Twenty20 cricket. The nice thing about pro crit racing is that the riders can often be the same ones riding in the classics or grand tours (which makes it that much more appealing).
    - Dave
      
      Still pretty hard to pick out your favourite rider amongst a big bunch though.
      
      The Sprint Challenge on the street circuit the day before the Quebec GP is even more spectator-friendly (and sponsor-friendly) when you only have four on the track at a time.
      - http://www.cyclingTipsBlog.com cyclingTips
        
        The Sprint Challenge is a really good format.
      - echidna_sg
        
        but at least in crit racing you get more than one chance to see em without jumping back in the car to loop ahead.
        
        all the better if you can get a decent vantage point and see a section of the track where technical skill is on show (high speed corners, just like F1)
    - a different ben
      
      Circuit races like cyclocross, and Kermesses with a fair and beer tents seem a good format too.
  - David
    
    Would love to watch the pros take on a dirty dozen course and race each other up stupidly steep hills. The really steep stuff which slows the racing down gives fans a longer opportunity to watch the racing happening.
  - PeterC
    
    Night time crits around suburban bar/coffee shop strips - bring the sport to the people. And the beer. And night time hill climbs on short steeps like in the UK. With beer.
- xponti
  
  Has Chris Horner made a mistake in releasing his Blood Passport values noting that he doesn’t know what they mean, and also noting that they do not paint a good picture of his blood values during the Vuelta
  - Matt Keenan
    
    That’s a tough one. If he has nothing to hide then release the data. But as you say the data doesn’t exactly clear the air.
- http://www.littlepeople.id.au Chris Little
  
  That talk of Cadel riding the 2014 Tour Down Under can only continue if photos of his previous ride exclude every image of Footon’s kit in the background. (Come on guys, I was having lunch!)
  - Scott McGrory
    
    That kit must be hands down the worst we’ve ever seen! I can imagine the design meeting went something like, ‘I’ve got it, nobody is doing baby poo brown, that’ll stand out….’
- Monsieur Pi Pi
  
  Will Matt don that lovely frock that we can see behind him before the end of this season?
  - Matt Keenan
    
    It would have to raise money for a good cause to get me in that.
- Bob
  
  With a bit more turn over compared to last year, how about some discussion on the ins and outs at OGE for the upcoming season, and how this serves as to what direction the management maybe looking to take the team in the future.
- echidna_sg
  
  Tiff Cromwell going where? top 10 at the world’s not good enough for GE to give her an extension? or?
  - Dave
    
    It’s rumoured that shifting from Orica-AIS was all her decision, I’ve read various suggestions that it was after clashes with some or all of Emma Johannson, Loes Gunnewijk, Mel Hoskins, Annette Edmonson and Martin Barras. In all of those rumours it is suggested that the cause of those clashes was jealousy over team tactics not promoting her personal success.
    
    It’s also suggested, but not confirmed, that she’s going to Specialized-lululemon. That would seem an odd choice in my opinion, if she wants to be top dog she should have chosen a smaller team instead of one powerful enough to race as a team every time.
- PeterC
  
  You guys brought him up….where do you think Jack Bobridge is at? So many were on the Bobridge bandwagon a couple of years ago, but where do you think he’s at, and where realistically can he go?
http://subcontinentalcyclist.wordpress.com/ Ankush Agarwal

I think Scott is a green-room bully. He always wears the best shirt on the show.
- Dave
  
  “Have you won an Olympic Gold Medal? No? I get the best shirt.”
  - http://www.cyclingTipsBlog.com cyclingTips
    
    He says that with everything. And I have no comeback.
  - Matt Keenan
    
    I tell him I won a Northcote club title once. I can still hear his laughter ringing in my ears.