Team
UniSA 2004
- Patrick Jonker
- James Hannam
- Stephen Cunningham
- Russell van Hout
- Mathew Rex
- Gene Bates
- Luke Roberts
- Adrian
Laidler
Patrick
Jonker
It is the last race of his career and we want him to win. At 34 years old Patrick has travelled the world on a pushbike living and breathing cycling for most of his life. When we did this interview he was cycling through the beautiful Myponga hills south of Adelaide. He has come within 10 seconds of winning Australia's premier cycling event the Jacobs Creek Tour Down Under and this year he believes Team UniSA is better prepared than ever to win.
How do you prepare for a race?
I clock up about 30 hours of cycling a week - that is about five hours a day
every
day. It's a hard sport - the training is unrelenting.
Why do you think South Australia is special?
There aren't many places left in the world where you will find
surroundings like this - I am out riding this morning and I have seen a
couple of kangaroos, kookaburras and a snake. The Adelaide Hills are still a
natural place - there is still wildlife and unspoilt countryside. That is
pretty rare and special.
What is your ambition for 2004?
I want the team to win the tour here...as a team we are training to win
and I think if we have the right luck we have a shot. Personally I am aiming
to get into the top three but it would be fantastic to win it.
Where do you like to eat in Adelaide?
I have eaten in Venice, Florence and on the Champs d' Elysee in Paris and
I may not be a connoisseur but I think Adelaide's Italian restaurants are
some of the best in the world. We
have a strong migrant background here and
the best culinary traditions from those cultures carry on here. The risotto
at Scuzzi's is the best I have had anywhere.
If you had not been a cyclist what would you be doing?
It's a hard sport and I think if you ask a lot of cyclists if we had our
choices again we might pick something different - I think I would have gone
for tennis or soccer. When I retire I am just heading for the beach to spend
time with my son and daughter.
What has been your most embarrassing sporting moment?
I missed a turn in the Tour de France with a million people watching on
live TV - I followed the camera crew instead of the other riders -
unfortunately people remember it!
James Hannam
Originally a member of the Norwood Cycling Club, at just 20 years old
James Hannam is one of the youngest members of Team UniSA. His competitive
career as a cyclist began five years ago but it was with school mates in his
first year of high school riding his trusty mountain bike through the
Adelaide Hills that he discovered his passion for the sport. James is now a
student at UniSA enrolled in a degree in
Commerce and Finance and trying
valiantly to balance long distance study with a busy racing schedule in
Australia and overseas. He said last year was tough but he has learned that
he needs to carve out special time for study. 2004 will be James' first full
season competing in Europe.
How do you prepare for a race?
Over the Christmas period I have mainly been doing lots of base
kilometres - long rides through the hills and some extra strength training.
But as the Tour Down Under gets closer I will add a bit of intensity to the
mix with some sprint work - just to make sure I am ready.
Why do you think your home state, South Australia is special?
Nothing is very far away - it is a convenient, easy city - you have the
beaches, the hills, the city and great restaurants all within a few
kilometres.
What are your ambitions for 2004?
This will be my first full year on the European circuit and I want to
make sure I learn as much as I can while I am there. I want to enjoy it all,
take it all in and hopefully have a couple of really good races as well.
What are your career highlights?
In 2003 I was a member of the Australian Institute of Sport national U/21
team based in Italy for three months. From there I went to Holland and raced
for another three months. I was fortunate in winning an SA Institute of Sport
scholarship which has been renewed for 2004. My best result would probably
be winning the 2002 National U/23 Club Road Championships.
Stephen
Cunningham
Stephen Cunningham's looking for a big result at the Tour Down Under this year and reckons team UniSA has a good chance of tasting success. And like his favourite super hero, master crime fighter Batfink, Cunningham's riding on wings like a 'shield of steel' and at 31 years of age he's primed for winning.
What do you do to prepare for a race?
This is my biggest race for the year so in the weeks leading up to Tour Down Under, I ride about 700 - 800 kilometres every week, plenty
of hill climbs and build up the intensity. In the week before the race I'll
ease off a bit and look forward to a good result.
What is your ambition for 2004?
I'm really hoping for a good result at the Tour Down Under
and then a chance to go overseas again and race with a profession team. I've
spent some time in Germany in a professional team and that was great.
What is special to you about South Australia?
What's not to like - the climate is unique, the convenience of
getting around, the laid back people. And the Adelaide Hills is one of the
best places to ride in Australia.
What is your favourite place to eat in Adelaide?
I like to head for the hills to Jimmy's Café in Crafers. They make
a mean laksa and great wood oven pizzas.
What was your most embarrassing sporting moment?
I'd have to say that my first race in New Caledonia was pretty
embarrassing. I got a bit over excited on a downhill run and rode off a
cliff, falling 300 metres into a tree. When I woke up in hospital the first
thing I saw was the television snippets from the race showing a bloke being
lifted out of a tree. It was me.
Russell van Hout
Russell van Hout is a full time rider who spends most of the year
overseas riding with the Selle Italia team. At 27 cycling is his
passion and his life and Tour Down Under gives him the opportunity to
come home to Adelaide and ride in front of his home town crowd.
What do you do to prepare for a race?
I'm riding fulltime - training every day, so training for Tour Down
Under is just another day of training. But it's a big race for me
because I get to ride in front of my home town. I have a training program
that I follow and Tour Down Under is part of that program.
What is your ambition for 2004?
My ambition this year is to keep my fitness level up so that I can secure
a place in the Selle Italia team to ride the Tour of Italy. That
would be fantastic.
What is special to you about South Australia?
I have been away for the past three years riding and I just love coming
back to SA to see my friends and family. They are so supportive of my riding
and stay interested in how I'm doing. I travel all over the world, but l
still love coming home.
What is your favourite place to eat in Adelaide?
Of course there's nothing quite like mum's home cooking but I do like to
head down Rundle Street for a meal. Lots of variety and good food.
What was your most embarrassing sporting moment?
There's so many stories I could tell you! But what comes to mind is when
I was riding in the Sun Tour in Melbourne a few years ago and I'd
finished a stage and was back at the hotel when an official came up to me
and asked if I'd completed my drug testing program. He said I'd be pulled
from the race if I hadn't submitted a urine sample. I was in shock. My team
mates left me in shock for half an hour before telling me it was just a
joke.