Karl Menzies
Date of
birth: June 17 1977 (30 years old)
Born: Davenport, Tasmania
Lives: Launceston, Tasmania and in Boulder, Colorado when I’m in the
USA
Height: 186cm
Weight: 83kg
Occupation: Professional cyclist
Club: Launceston City Cycling Club
Professional team: Health Net Pro Cycling Team presented by Maxxis
Bike: Cannondale
Longest distance on a bike: 300km, Melbourne-Warrnambool
Career highlights: The Tour Down Under in 2007 – winning a stage and
leading the race right up until the last day
Ambitions for 2008: I’d like a great result in the nationals and it
would be terrific to do well at the Tour Down Under again – the competition
will be really lively this year but I’d love a stage win at the very least.
When I get back to the States there are some good races there such as the
Tour of California and Tour of Georgia that are competitive, so I’d like to
win some stages on both of those.
TDU appearances: Second year in a row and rearing to go
How do you prepare for the Tour? I clock up a lot of kilometres on
the bike and then focus on strength work. As the event gets closer I do a
bit of motor pacing to emulate real race speeds (riding behind a motor cycle
to increase the pace over distance) and some sprint work
What do you hope to achieve in the Tour? It would be great to do as
well as last year – I still think about how I could have made up those few
seconds to take the win. This time round I will aim for a stage win and I
have high hopes for what is a really competitive team line up – we have a
team full of riders who give 110 per cent so I’m pretty excited about being
part of that
Someone you look up to: All the Tasmanian cyclists who have gone
before me and have raised the profile of the sport in that State and created
opportunities for those who came after them. I also admire Henk Vogels, he’s
a strong rider and has an attitude that gets the job done
Favourite music: Anything really. Top 40 or a bit of techno to get
you going for time trials – less words more sound
Favourite film: I love fast-paced films like Snatch and Fight Club –
last good movie I saw was American Gangster – I recommend it
Favourite food: Mum’s lasagne