Kelly Cycle Coaching caught up with recent C grade winner of Tour of East Gippsland to find out a bit more about who this rider is, and how he got into cycling.

How long have you been cycling?

I started riding a little over 2 years ago. I was just doing track racing and training by myself at various outdoor tracks around Melbourne when I came to the realization that it was time to get a road bike. I’ve been doing road races and crits for about 18 months now.

Did you do any sports before starting cycling?

I played soccer all through primary school but dropped that when high school came. In high school all the boys had to play football and after 2 broken arms I called it quits.

So you won the TT?  Your time would have put you top 20 in the A grade men.  Well done!  What warm up did you do?

I got on the rollers at first to get the legs turning over, then moved onto the trainer for a good 20 mins to really get a sweat going. Then I just cruised to the start line, got a great pep talk and some handy tips from Bob and concentrated on big slow breathes to calm the nerves.

Next came the road race.  It was hilly and hot.  Did you have difficulties with the hills?  How about the hill with 5km to go?

I just stayed right up the front, didn’t want any stupid accidents or have someone get time on me and I felt great. Then we hit the last climb and rise to the finish and the TT fatigue had really set into my legs. But I knew there would be an adrenaline hit in the last few kms so I just stayed up the front.

What happened at the finish of the road race?

Well lynton attacked hard at the last corner and I managed to pop out the side of the bunch to chase him. Lyton is a great sprinter but luckily the slight rise took a bit off his kick out. I just managed to get behind him, draft for a second and then got up next to him. Like I said there was a rise so I was hurting bad and right near the end I was in the saddle after thinking I couldn’t get him. But right when I sat down I saw him lull, so I put in a few strides and just took it.

Lastly you had a technical and windy crit on the Sunday?  How were your legs on the Sunday?

I was pretty cooked coming into that crit. Had to make sure I was well warmed up and I just had to stay up the front. I knew it would be strung out due to all the corners and had to make sure no one took any time on me.

Is this your first big tour win?  How did it feel?

Yeah first road win too. Had such a battle last year with a few placings but no wins. It hurts your confidence a little so to finally get a win was a great buzz. Now I can relax and be comfortable with what I’m doing and have more fun.

What would you say the main change is that has helped your cycling step up a level?  Has it been more km’s?  More specific efforts?  More intensity?  A combination of these things compared to how you used to train?

I haven’t increased my kms by much but I’ve notice that the specific intervals and strength work I’ve been doing has really increased how I feel. Definitely feeling stronger.

Again well done Ryan.  What is your next goal?  Mansfield to Mt Buller road race.

Mansfield is a target and I know the crit will be tough but I really want to hit the tour of the southwest hard. Especially the TT.