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On 10 October 2017, Cycling Australia invited seven journalists to Adelaide to hear about the plans for the high performance program. RIDE was there and here are three interviews from that day.

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The time was right to bring a few people together to discuss a change in approach for the way that Cycling Australia is managing the high performance program. Simon Jones was recruited earlier this year and, from the outset, he said things would likely be different once he began to implement some of his ideas.

The remit is clear: win Olympic gold medals.

This is what much of the the Australian government’s investment into Cycling Australia is about. Success in Tokyo 2020 is the ambition but there is also talk about Paris 2024: setting a standard for a few Olympic cycles.

After a two-hour presentation and discussion about a range of themes, the opportunity to speak with three of Cycling Australia’s management team was presented.

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Click the YouTube link (above) for a 20-minute interview with Simon Jones.

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Jones experienced some time in the spotlight in the lead up to the recent road cycling world championships in Bergen, Norway. His selection policy was challenged and one of the medal-winning performances came from a squad that grew for the race only after an appeal.

He talks about the achievements of Katrin Garfoot, bronze in the TT and silver in the road race in September, and many other matters during a long discussion with Rob Arnold.

But Jones remains steadfast in his approach for his end goal: Olympic gold.

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Click the YouTube link (above) for a 14-minute interview with Paul Brosnan.

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The week before the gathering in Adelaide, Paul Brosnan – the general manager of Cycling Australia’s high performance unit – gave a speech at the funeral of a friend, Brett Dennis.

The following Wednesday, RIDE spoke with Brosnan about the emotions of such an occasion and about the significant influence of Dennis on the Australian cycling scene in the 1990s.

Brett’s wife, Kylie, has offered her thanks for the interview and we are grateful that we have her blessing for presenting part of a tribute to a young man who we miss dearly.

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Click the YouTube link (above) for a 9-minute interview with Nick Green

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The third interview was done in a little bit of haste, but we captured almost 10 minutes with the CEO of Cycling Australia before he headed off to a meeting with VicHealth about an exciting new initiative for women’s cycling.

RIDE has featured interviews with Green before but we gave him the chance to reiterate his position on a number of subjects.

 

– By Rob Arnold

 

This trio of interviews was made possible with thanks to Cycling Australia which paid for my flights to and from Adelaide for the launch on 10 October. 

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