While obviously being tied up in the male professional peloton, I realised I don’t really have any idea about what life is like within the female peloton. Gracie Elvin is at the top of the female racing scene, especially when it comes to the tough style of racing in Belgium. She has already been twice Australian champion and is able to give a really good insight to her life on the road as a female Pro.

While obviously being tied up in the male professional peloton, I realised I don’t really have any idea about what life is like within the female peloton. Gracie Elvin is at the top of the female racing scene, especially when it comes to the tough style of racing in Belgium. She has already been twice Australian champion and is able to give a really good insight to her life on the road as a female Pro.

Marcel Kittel is a house hold name when it comes to the big bunch sprints today. He has won stages in all 3 Grand Tours, La Vuelta Espana, Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France. But it is not so well known that when he first singed as a professional with Skil-Shimano in 2011, he was signed primarily as a time-trialist who might be able to pull a good lead out for the sprinters. Things soon changed. He and I were teammates 2011 and it was nice to be there at the beginning of his stella career, and to now get the chance to discuss what has happened since those early days.

Marcel Kittel is a house hold name when it comes to the big bunch sprints today. He has won stages in all 3 Grand Tours, La Vuelta Espana, Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France. But it is not so well known that when he first singed as a professional with Skil-Shimano in 2011, he was signed primarily as a time-trialist who might be able to pull a good lead out for the sprinters. Things soon changed. He and I were teammates 2011 and it was nice to be there at the beginning of his stella career, and to now get the chance to discuss what has happened since those early days.

We all worry about the physical training that needs to take place in order for us to perform on a given race day. But I think not enough attention is payed to the mental training that should take place to have us ready psychologically to tackle the big race days. It can literally be the difference between the winners and the losers, having that right mind set. I was lucky enough to have the time to meet Craig Appaneal in my offseason this year and we discussed some situations that I have encountered through out my career, where things went well and where things didn't go so well. We then try and decipher what was happening in my head on those given days. Craig has a background in organisational psychology which not only looks at a individual, but also how a individual acts and works within a team and then how that team works in a organisation.  I think he is a person we can all benefit from in not only the performance side of cycling but in all aspects of our lives.

We all worry about the physical training that needs to take place in order for us to perform on a given race day. But I think not enough attention is payed to the mental training that should take place to have us ready psychologically to tackle the big race days. It can literally be the difference between the winners and the losers, having that right mind set. I was lucky enough to have the time to meet Craig Appaneal in my offseason this year and we discussed some situations that I have encountered through out my career, where things went well and where things didn't go so well. We then try and decipher what was happening in my head on those given days. Craig has a background in organisational psychology which not only looks at a individual, but also how a individual acts and works within a team and then how that team works in a organisation.  I think he is a person we can all benefit from in not only the performance side of cycling but in all aspects of our lives.

We are back for 2017, and what a way to start with Simon Gerrans. We all know him as an assassin on the bike, a winning machine, where it sometimes feels like he is winning more races than he is losing. But what I wanted to find out, was when did that switch get turned on for him, from being a rider who can win, to a rider who is expected to win. I get inside that cool calm collected mind of his that when inside the final few hundred meters of a race can make unbelievable race winning decisions.

To finish off, hang in there after the music at the end for the first live feed segment podcast I have done, not very successfully but it's a bit of fun anyway.

We are back for 2017, and what a way to start with Simon Gerrans. We all know him as an assassin on the bike, a winning machine, where it sometimes feels like he is winning more races than he is losing. But what I wanted to find out, was when did that switch get turned on for him, from being a rider who can win, to a rider who is expected to win. I get inside that cool calm collected mind of his that when inside the final few hundred meters of a race can make unbelievable race winning decisions.

To finish off, hang in there after the music at the end for the first live feed segment podcast I have done, not very successfully but it's a bit of fun anyway.

After always seeing him wiz by on the back of a moto bike snapping away during a race, I had the opportunity to pin Graham Watson down here at the last race of the season. It may come as a surprise but most often than not we do not stay in the same hotels throughout the year, so when we were I took the opportunity to have a chat. And just as expected through out his colourful 37 years of taking photo's of the sport of cycling he has some fantastic insights to all the eras he's been though during his time in the Peloton. Its great to hear things about the world of cycling from someone who is right there with us on the road, yet shares a different view.

After always seeing him wiz by on the back of a moto bike snapping away during a race, I had the opportunity to pin Graham Watson down here at the last race of the season. It may come as a surprise but most often than not we do not stay in the same hotels throughout the year, so when we were I took the opportunity to have a chat. And just as expected through out his colourful 37 years of taking photo's of the sport of cycling he has some fantastic insights to all the eras he's been though during his time in the Peloton. Its great to hear things about the world of cycling from someone who is right there with us on the road, yet shares a different view.