Women on Wheels

I was fortunate during the Nationals to get to spend a bit of time with 2004 Olympic Road Race Champion Sara Carrigan. I had only ever met Sara once before and I remember being in awe of such an amazing athlete and I was the same sitting down with her.

Sara was such a joy to talk to and I have had a lot of positive comments from our interview but I have to say I think the interviewer always makes the difference between a good and a great piece.

Sara made me feel really comfortable and I could definitely connect with her and not only that but was really inspired by the project and delighted to be a part of something that encourages and promotes women in cycling.

Women are really under represented in Cycling, from a media point of view. Mens cycling always takes the limelight and whilst I could have an ongoing argument with men about how they are better than women etc etc, it doesn't mean that women don't work as hard as men, and to me thats what it comes down to. Sure women are not as fast or as strong as men but the best female in the world, to me, is as amazing as the best male in the world.

I have seen many women in my time who work much harder than some males and I have such respect and admiration for those females. Women must remember that when it comes to being successful in a male dominated sport that we must come together and stand for what we believe in and what we do. I think womens cycling on the track in particular is becoming really great to watch and I feel like people like Sara and Kate Bates (who commented for SBS during the nationals) are great role models for females in our sport and I commend them for their work and what they are trying to achieve.

Onwards and upwards for females! :)

Please follow this link to watch my interview with Sara Carrigan courtesy of Cycling Central on SBS:

http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/video/2193327471/women-and-wheels-kaarle-mcculloch

Australian Championships Day Four

Day four like usual is always the Keirin. I like that the Keirin is the last event because it requires not as much mental energy as the sprint, its still a mental battle of course and lining up against Anna as the World Champion amongst the other Australians was going to be a tight battle.

To make it through to the final without having to go through the repecharge I had to finish in the top two and thats all I focussed on! One less ride was on mind! Keirins are very cut throat on the World stage these days with 6heats and only one girl processing through to the send round so I know the pressure that there is to perform well in that first race. I won my heat fairly comfortably to go through to the final and I was surprised at how good my legs felt and knew I had a good shot in the evening to take a win.

The final was much anticipated BUT not before my brother teamed up with Tirian McManus in the Junior Men's Madison. HE WON! I am so proud of Jack and Tirian that words can't really describe it! They rode so well and had to have some serious guts in the last 20laps when they made a few mistakes with their changes. They won by one point over the other NSW team of Nathan Bradshaw and Caleb Ewan. Jack was so happy and as he came over and gave me a big hug he as usual said to me: 'That was the hardest race ever.' I was inspired by Jack and Tirian and really wanted to stand on that top podium with them at the end of the night.

I had a plan in the Keirin and I have to say I executed it with precision. I was really happy with the patience I displayed and the way in which I tackled quite an adverse situation. Anna had the bike and I was in 6th position, not ideal as I wanted Anna only 2 people ahead of me so I could try to out jump her first. As it turned out I found myself about 20m off her coming into bell lap and with her committing early I had a split second thought that I had stuffed it up because I was waiting for her to commit so I could run her down. But as I went down the back straight and realised how quickly I was gaining I had a glimmer of hope that I had this!! Anna won her World Title in the Keirin in 2011 by riding from the front and rightly so because she would have to be the hardest person EVER to come around and as I came up onto her hip and realised that I wasn't going anywhere my heart sunk but I fought on to lose by less than half a wheel. I was pretty devastated but as usual I walked away knowing that I did everything I could, I could not have ridden that race any better and was content knowing that I will be better for every race I ride against Anna.

So I got to stand on a slightly lower tier of the podium next to my brother that night and celebrate his first Australian Championship with him and our parents! It was a great way to end a fantastic Championships and I look forward to next years Australian Titles as always with vigour and anticipation. Perseverance they say is what separates the great from the greater.

Australian Championships Days Two and Three

The sprint as usual was spread over two days for this meet and Day two was the Sprint Qualification and 1/4 finals. In the QF I rode a solid time of 11.219, I really wasn't expecting to ride that fast so I was pleasantly surprised and I slipped into second place behind Anna who ride 11.176.

In the 1/4 finals I met Riki Belder from South Australia who beat Cass and I the previous night in the Team Sprint, so I was for sure not taking her lightly. Riki rode two quite sound tactical races but I was able to overcome her in two races to progress through to the semi finals against new up and comer Ziggy Callan from Victoria.

Ziggy has just transferred over from BMX and she rode an 11.6 in her first sprint QF so she definitely has a lot of talent and is one to watch in the future. I defeated Ziggy in two straight races to set myself up for a chance at grabbing the gold medal against Anna.

Anna always seems to bring the best out of me as I desperately want to beat her and she wants to remain unbeaten! Its always a fantastic match up and a rivalry that is really so great for me and my development. Anna beat me in two straight races and whilst I was happy with my races tactically I was a little disappointed that the races weren't a bit closer. Anna rode really well and she is in great shape leading into the pointy end of this season and she is definitely (if not already!) a force to be reckoned with.

So the sprint was over and one more day to go, the heat was starting to pass and a cool change was heading in for the last day - and welcomed with much appreciation!

Australian Championships 2012 Day One

Day One of the Aussie Champs was the Team Sprint. For the last two year I had been successful with my NSW team mates, in 2009 with Maddie Law (who was a Junior at the time) and 2010 with Cass Kell. This year I was to team up with Cass and after breaking the Australian Championship Record last year we were hoping for another cracker of a year.

Today was ironically and most fitting Australia Day and so Cass and I were definitely out to be Australian Champions on Australia Day!

In our heat we qualified in second behind the South Australian duo of Riki Belder and Anna Meares, my own fellow Team Sprint World Champion partner, and we were only something like .005 slower so we new we were in for a great battle in the final.

In the final the South Aussies pipped us on the line to win by only 2tenths of a second. It was a great result for the South Australians with Riki winning her first Australian Title. It was sad to lose the Team Sprint Title but Cass and I did the best we could and Cass rode really well considering her bike was making all sorts of weird noises!!

Day one wasn't over for me yet though with the 500m Time Trial up in the evening. It was a super hot day and I was starting to feel the effects already that the heat was having on me. I was out to defend my Australian Title for the third year running and I felt confident as I left the gates. Having not ridden a 500 since Worlds two years ago I definitely forgot was I in for and as I got the bike up to speed I thought to myself, damn isn't it nice to follow someone in the first lap! I had quite a slow start but brought it home with a sold time and finished 1st in a near PB of 34.244 which I was quite happy with.

I was happy though that my hardest day was out of the way and was looking forward to seeing what I could do in the rest of the events.

My brother Jack also competed today in the Junior mens Individual Pursuit where he did a PB by 4seconds! He was very happy and also glad to get day one over because he really enjoys the bunch races to come.