December 3, 2024 • 29 mins
Theo travels to South Australia (and Italy) to contest the Under 17 Australian Cycling Championship and talks about what it takes, what it means and how to do it.
My favourite quote of the episode is "Yeah, it can be training load, it could be the places you're riding, it could be the food you're eating. A lot of it is wash, rinse, repeat. Like it is in many sports, you have to practice and practice and practice. So, I feel like just having the knowledge that in the end it'll work out, it really helps you."
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:05):
Welcome to Forrest.Chat,where we talk about individual
endeavour in Western Australia.
What it takes, what itmeans, and how you do it.
I'm your host, Paul van der Mey, andin today's episode, we're talking with
Theo Grant about riding in the Under17 National Cycling Championships.
(00:25):
Theo has been cycling since 2021 and gotinto cycling competitively about midway
through 2022, and now as a 16-year-oldhas had the opportunity to ride in the
under 17 National Cycling Championships.
Welcome to Forrest.Chat, Theo.
Thanks for having me, Paul.
(00:46):
It's good to be able to get onhere and talk about my experiences.
It's been, very interesting tohear about your attempt at the
under 17 cycling championships.
Talking about cycling championships,what on earth is the Under 17
National Cycling Championship?
In cycling, like many sports,in the junior categories it's
(01:07):
broken up into age groups.
In cycling, I joined as an under 15.
And it goes under 15,under 17, and under 19.
They're the junior ranks, where kidscan get into the sport and start,
experiencing the competitiveness of itand see whether or not they like it.
(01:28):
So each state in Australia has astate championship in each discipline.
This is so young riders can raceagainst people in their age group
and the states can figure out whois the most talented in each state.
And if you're good enough, you cango to the Nationals, which is against
(01:53):
all the kids in Australia who enter.
So it's pretty much the top ofjunior cycling in Australia.
Clearly you have to qualify in some way.
How do you do that?
So in the state, races where theytry and figure out who the good or
the better riders are, to qualifyfor nationals, the only prerequisite
(02:17):
in cycling is you have to, racein the state race, and then from
there you can enter the nationals.
So you qualify by entering astate championship level race.
Correct.
And you also mentioned disciplines.
People who are unfamiliar with cyclingprobably think that cyclists are very
(02:37):
disciplined because often out there allthe time, but what are the disciplines
that you're talking about here?
So in cycling, there's, road cyclingis, focused on the road, in groups.
There's time trialing,which is by yourself.
there's, also, cyclo Cross, which is, ongrass, mud and dirt, and you're racing
(02:59):
through these, tough environments.
there's mountain biking, which isanother, version of cyclocross, but a
bit more technical and on mountain bike.
Then you've got track racing,which is, what's in the Olympics.
It's in a thing called the velodrome,which is the big circle with
banked walls that they ride around.
(03:19):
So, within cycling, there's,multiple types of cycling.
Does sound like that, and which onesdo you actually get involved with?
I used to do BMX, which was like,jumps and going around the track.
but now I normally focuson just road cycling.
so road cycling, and doesthat include the time trial?
(03:40):
Aspects of it, yes.
It's not the main focus, but at nationals,as I'll get into it, there is a time
trial, And it's kind of like the FormulaOne of cycling, because the gear's
really expensive, so if you don't havethe most amount of money, it's very hard
(04:01):
to make an impact in that discipline.
We're recording this on a Saturdayand Tomorrow, the Ironman race is
happening down at, Busselton, and therewere quite a number of bikes going up
and down the road today, and there's,clearly a big difference between a
normal road bike and a time trial bike.
You can see it and hear it as they go by.
(04:23):
The road bikes, there's a lot of heavybreathing, but the time trial bikes,
it's just a whoosh as it goes past you.
That's a good thing, I think.
What else Would someone not knowabout, cycling that would relate
to the national championships?
I would say probably it's kind of like
(04:43):
trying to get into a collegeor a university, I think.
So, lots of sports have their own versionsof it, and it, the structure of it depends
on the sport, but it's really tryingto allow different people in different
places of the country to race againsteach other to find who the best is.
(05:08):
So it's like looking around at everyonewho's getting involved and providing
an opportunity for people to showthemselves to be the best out of
their current group of competitors.
Yeah, yeah.
Whereabouts was the Under 17National Cycling Championship
(05:28):
this year that you went to?
It was in Loxton in South Australia.
It's a couple of hours out ofAdelaide, in the wine regions.
and at this time of year, it waspretty dry and hot and windy,
Dry hot and windy?
Don't sound like verygood cycling conditions.
especially if you're my size, it's not.
(05:50):
So you're seven foot two, is that right?
Uh, kind of the oppositein cycling, actually.
The lighter you are, the better if you'regoing uphill, but because it was in a
really flat area, you're actually betteroff being heavier because you've got
more absolute power, and this is startingto get into the nerdy cycling stuff.
(06:13):
So, if on flat ground, the thing thatdetermines your speed is how much power
you're putting through the pedals, whereasuphill you're fighting gravity, where
it's your power divided by your weight,which gives you a separate value which can
determine how fast you'll go up a hill.
(06:33):
Also, being heavier, it meansyou've got more momentum, so on
flat ground you'll go faster thansomeone like me, who's 50 kilos.
I was lighter during the event, butyeah, if you're 50 kilos and it's
really windy, you will really struggleriding into such a gusty force.
(06:55):
We've been watching, the Tourde France and the, Vuelta at the
moment where I think we're up towatching stage 20 on the Vuelta.
And I know it's long gone, butdon't tell me who won it , because
we haven't got to that bit yet.
If you watch any of thoseshows, you see all those
dynamics in action as people are.
riding at the front and they're the,bigger guys who, they're on the flat
(07:17):
lands to punch through the wind andprotect the, the riders behind them.
And once you get to the, climbingstages, it's the lighter guys,
who seem to do the best there.
'cause they just have the most.
Capability in that space and thenoccasionally you see somebody who Does a
performance that's off the planet really.
Yeah, it's really some days you'llhave a good day and you're the best
(07:39):
in the world and some days you justwon't have it in you, and that's an
aspect of the sport that I really like.
It's the fact that every day is different.
Your body is constantlychanging and adapting.
And that's something Ireally like about the sport.
Theo, what does it take youto compete in the Under 17
(08:02):
National Cycling Championships?
Takes a lot of willpower because inyounger age groups, You've got boys who
hit puberty a lot earlier than othersand that makes a massive difference
and it can be really demotivating.
So you have to realize that you mightnot get a result that you want but
(08:27):
you're getting experience and justbeing there is going to help you.
So having a belief that you'redoing the right thing and
you're in the right place will.
help you in the future and just having abelief that it will work out eventually,
I would say that is pretty important.
(08:48):
Also having like, not motivation becausethat comes and goes, but discipline
to know that this is going to helpyou and like, even though it might
be not be so good at some points.
Just going, getting up and goinganyway will help you in the future.
(09:09):
So it's a very long term sport becauselike you mentioned how if you watch
the Tour de France and the Vuelta aEspaña, you'll see that a lot of the
pros are actually like in their 30s.
It's not a young person's sport.
But you have to be in the sportas a young person to be as
(09:31):
good as they are at that level.
Yes, there's definitely talk about, peopleand they reward, the younger riders.
I think they use Under 24s at that level.
But there's definitely people who theytalk about who have been, identified in
competitions much, much earlier than that.
Yeah, it's people below 26.
(09:51):
Yeah, so to spot talent I think isdefinitely possible, but I think at
such a young age The most importantthing is building good habits and
just being able to get into a cycleand do the same things every day.
(10:12):
Not necessarily the results, butjust having the ability to do the
same things every day consistently.
And by the same things, do youmean your training load or do you
mean something more than that?
Yeah, it can be training load, itcould be the places you're riding,
it could be the food you're eating,a lot of it is wash, rinse, repeat,
(10:37):
like it is in many sports, you haveto practice and practice and practice.
so, I feel like just having theknowledge that in the end it'll
work out, It really helps you.
So, looking through the, whatfeels like hard time sometimes.
And you mentioned earlier, it can alsofeel like you're on top of the world.
What does a proceduralapproach to cycling look like?
(11:00):
There's lots of different, sessions totrain for different aspects of the sport.
so if you're organizing what you need towork on and prioritizing what you need
to work on, that would be your focus soyou can kind of filter through what do
you think you can do better on, what.
(11:22):
are you already good at, soyou can work on that as well.
So kind of just acknowledging your,like, goods in your bads, so you
can figure out how to get better.
And then going out and puttinginto place those particular
things you need to work on.
So, particular drills ortraining session types, I guess.
(11:44):
Yeah, so I got feedback.
I went to Novo Nordisk Talent ID Camp.
They're a diabeticprofessional cycling team.
In July I went over and they were likewatching us ride and looking at how
we fare in a competitive environment.
and the feedback I got from them was towork on my, technical skills on the bike.
(12:09):
So, my cornering and descending, ridingin a group, things that come with time.
but when I got back, I startedlooking, what can I do better?
What group rides can I join to influencemy skills and make me a better rider.
I went out looking for morecomplicated, descents, to challenge
(12:31):
myself within the reasons of my skill.
and just looking for, like, ways youcan improve based off your knowledge
of what you're not so good at.
So working on your weaknesses toimprove those, and by doing that,
becoming a stronger overall rider.
Yeah, yeah,
what about the actual trip over?
(12:51):
What did that require?
I was 15 when I went over, so we firsthad to deal with the airlines and where
I would stay when I got over there sothat was a bit of a learning experience,
just learning how to manage your
flights and your bookings and stuff.
but when I got there, I stayed with ahost family and Who said that, yes, we'll
(13:16):
look after him for a couple of days, so hegets used to being in a different country.
So, they showed me aroundPisa, where we were staying.
Did all the touristy things with thetower, and took photos, and got to do a
lot of sightseeing out in the country.
And then we joined the team southof Pisa, and we did a couple days
(13:40):
of training rides, and, it was very,very hot over there, and humid, I'm
not good at dealing with the heat.
So, it was a bit of a struggle, but Ilearned a lot, and on the last day, I
actually ended up crashing on a descent,we don't have many descents in Perth,
so I was still getting used to it.
(14:02):
It wasn't a bad crash, but it wasstill a bit demotivating, it certainly
doesn't like paint a great picture,but I'm glad that I learned from it and
knew what I could work on to improve.
So That was your trip over to thetraining camp in Italy that you did.
Yeah.
And what about your trip over toSouth Australia for the championships?
(14:25):
So we drove over to Loxton and, thatmeant driving across the Nullarbor.
so in my lead up to the race, I wasactually still doing training rides
across the Nullarbor, so I wouldleave early in the morning and go out.
a couple of hours before myparents and they would catch me
(14:47):
on the road, three hours later.
So I would go and do myefforts and keep training.
So once we got across to South Australia,I started my tapering for the event.
So that meant shorter rides at a lowerintensity than I was doing before.
(15:09):
but it also meant I had to learn tomanage how I was fueling and eating
what types of food, because obviouslyout in the middle of Australia, there's
lots of roadhouse food, but that'snot the best food for performance.
So I was having to educate myselfon what foods would give me the
(15:32):
best recovery and what food wouldhelp me in the actual races.
So that's quite a big task, isn't it?
It can take a fair while and your options,as you said, there's a lot of roadhouse
food, but, not really a lot of good food.
I didn't see any rice or quinoa for agood couple thousands of kilometers,
(15:55):
That total change of diet there, it's adifferent place the Nullarbor for sure.
And even a long way into SouthAustralia thinking about having
driven across there as well.
It's not until you get to places likePort Augusta or something like that,
that things seem to return to normal.
Yeah, yeah.
It's a long way, of thatkind of food, actually.
It's pretty insane how peoplelive and thrive out there.
(16:19):
Absolutely, Lots of high fat I guessis one of the biggest parts of that.
And very little in the way of, fresh.
Yeah.
We've heard a good deal aboutwhat it takes, Theo to get to the
Under 17 Cycling Championships.
Now, let's have a break, and after thebreak, we'll talk about what it means.
(16:46):
We've had a look at what it takes.
Now,, let's have a look at what it means.
Theo, what does it mean, for you,your family, or the community that
you're able to compete in the Under 17Australian National Cycling Championships?
For me it means, that I'm doing theright thing to get to this level of,
(17:07):
racing, to just be able to, go and do mybest really, it makes me happy to think
that the work that I'm doing is payingoff and I'm starting to get to places.
it also, makes my parents proud to seethat what I'm doing that I enjoy doing
is starting to, take us out of WA, andit makes them, proud to see me enjoying
(17:33):
doing something I love And, for thecommunity my school was quite supportive
of me going over and racing nationals,I've gotten asked by a couple of the
teachers how it went, and I think it gotput on the school's Instagram page about
how I was attending nationals, which waspretty cool, just to see the support I
(17:56):
got from them so It made the local groupride pretty proud as well just to see
that I was being more competitive, and,getting to the level that I want to be
at because I've gone from being pushedup every single hill to being able to
get up it myself I think it just makeseveryone happy to see someone else.
(18:18):
Figuring out their path.
So your being there has positivelyinfluenced quite a lot of people that way.
You're talking about yourschool and your group ride.
How big is your group ride?
We've probably got about 50 to60 people that show up throughout
the week on different rides.
The weekend rides are by farthe biggest because they start
(18:42):
at a more reasonable time.
but just to see everyone, andshow my face, and let people know
who I am, and meet new people,and just make friends, really.
It's Great fun to go out andtalk with friends, though.
It's a good way to get to knowpeople cycling along in a group.
Yeah, it makes the three hoursthat you are riding a bike a
(19:06):
lot less boring, I would say.
Because I have been asked bykids at school, How do you do it?
How do you not get bored?
And honestly, I don't really know,the time it doesn't feel like
three hours when you're out there.
So I think just having the rightpeople and having friends out there
(19:26):
makes the time go by a lot faster.
And what are the, ages of the people?
It must be all sorts, is there?
Yeah.
So we've got a rider in our groupwho I think is approaching 75.
I think we've got quite a few olderguys as well, but there's plenty of like
(19:47):
dad's and stuff in the group as well.
There's a few young guys like myself,and There's quite a lot of 20 year olds
who also want to become professionals,yeah, there's quite a wide range
of age groups in the group rides.
You talked about some people who areinterested in becoming professionals.
(20:08):
What does all of this mean foryou from a cycling perspective?
It means I can, make more connections,and if I do see them out in the pro
field, then it means I might have someless enemies to deal with, because when
you're racing, you are racing againsteach other at the end of the day.
but yeah, it might be, goodto have a few more friends in
(20:32):
a group and know more people.
it also means you cantrain and not get bored.
And you've got someone probably ina similar scenario to you that also
needs to go for a training ride.
Yep, yep, it's definitely verycommon to have multiple people
doing the same thing every day,
Coming back to going over to, theNationals in South Australia, what
(20:56):
did that mean for your family?
Really, I think it made themhappy to see that I was doing what
I loved and I was enjoying it.
I think there's a lot of kidsout there at the moment who don't
really do much on the weekends and.
go away and compete but Yeah, to makemy parents happy that I'm enjoying
(21:18):
what I'm doing means quite a lot tome because at the end of the day they
do a lot for me so just to let themknow that I appreciate it really.
And they were your supportcrew the whole way.
Yeah, they were standing on theside of the road cheering me on.
and it was just great to have the support,because lots of other kids parents
(21:39):
were out there cheering them along.
I got to meet a friend who I knewover the platforms Zwift, which
is a virtual cycling platform.
We met each other in 2021, I think,and Yeah, it was great to meet a friend
that you've known for so long but neveractually met, but it was really good to
(22:01):
meet up with him and catch up and justride with each other, and it's quite a
surreal experience to know someone forso long, yet you've never met them.
That's one of the beauties of Thingslike Zwift, where you can get to know
people, although it's in a, distancearrangement, until you actually get
to see them, that's a good thing.
(22:22):
Yeah, it's quite, it's quite surrealactually, just Being able to know someone
for so long and then finally meet them.
So we've had a talk about.
What it means, and there's a lot thatcomes into play, and a lot of people that
are positively influenced by Theo goingto the Under 17 National Championships.
(22:43):
We'll have a break now, and after thebreak, we'll have a look at how you do it.
We've had a look at what it means, nowlet's have a look at how you do it.
Theo, how does somebody go aboutGetting themselves to the Under
17 National Cycling Championships.
(23:06):
I think, for starters, you have towant to do it, because it does take
a long time, and if you don't wantto do it, then it won't be very fun.
So, I think step number one, enjoyingriding your bike, and over time you'll
probably get to that kind of levelwhere you get interested to race and
(23:27):
you start researching how to get betteryourself, because that's certainly
how I got into, training, really, is Istarted looking around on the internet
looking like how can I get faster?
How can I get better at this?
because all you need is a bike anda helmet and you can get like really
quick So, to start with actuallycoaching, I would say that, online
(23:52):
coaches is a pretty good start.
If you can't find one in your area,I personally go to Exercise Institute
in Subiaco, who, are main sponsors ofthe Cycling Development Foundation,
which is the team I'm a part of.
I think if you can get yourselfinto that kind of network with that
(24:13):
support from those people, it canmake your journey a lot easier.
A bike and a helmet, and then findingsome people who can guide you.
What about clubs?
Like you talk about your group, but isthat a, that's a group of people who
go for a ride together, is that correct?
Yeah, so it's been around for a long time,31 years that our group rides existed for.
(24:37):
yeah, if you look up, like, group ridesin your area, there'll definitely be some
pages or people that you can reach out to.
if not, then like we said earlier, Zwiftis a great way to connect with people.
yeah, I think there's plenty of optionsto get to know people through the sport.
You just have to look at your optionsand figure out where the most people are.
(25:01):
And then go to them becausethey won't know about you.
You have to take that step.
Yep, they won't reach out, but allthe club rides that I've joined
have been incredibly welcoming.
so if you rock up one morning, sayyou're new, you'll be met with a
bunch of smiles, so everyone reallyis just happy to see you out there.
That's really great to hear.
(25:22):
And do you need any, licensing orclub registration or something like
that to get into the competitions?
If you're going to race, then yes, you do.
You have to get an Auscycling licensein Australia, they kind of set the
rules and regulations for cycling.
They've got the rulebook forthe disciplines and stuff.
(25:43):
So if you're in a different country,it will be something similar.
but yeah, in Australia.
Ozcycling who runs the cycling event,and they're the ones that you have
to get a license from, because all ofthe races are run by communities, most
of them make no profit, they barelyjust cover the cost for the volunteers
(26:07):
and the, like hiring of the roads.
The only licenses you need, really,are if you're gonna start racing, but
they're quite easy to get a hold of.
You can look it up, and theremight be, a couple questions on,
like, when you last got a drivinglicense, or something like that.
and then you can just get your license,which is kind of proof that you've got
(26:30):
insurance, I think, is the main reason,because they can't be liable if you
get hurt, because it's a sport wherepeople unfortunately do get hurt, so.
It's pretty simple by the sound of things.
before we go, what's your next big target?
My next goal now is, now that I'm anunder 19, I have Nationals next year
(26:53):
are in Perth in January, and it'sreally cool to be racing on home roads.
I've got a group of friendsfrom my school who are going
out to watch and see what I do.
There's a couple teachers that Iknow who are going to watch it.
And it's really nice to know thatin a race that's in your hometown,
which I think it's the first time thatPerth ever held nationals because it's
(27:19):
Always over east, it's never over here.
So to have it now to me is really special,because it's my first year as an under 19
next year, so I'm gonna be racing at homewith people I know on the sides of the
roads watching, which it's quite special.
Absolutely.
And I guess your trainingis ramping up for that.
(27:41):
Yeah, it is so, Recently, throughoutthe year, my goal was to do
17 to 20 hours of training perweek but leading into nationals.
I think This week, the rest week,and it's been 18 hours so far.
so, I think I'm gonna be doing 20plus hours a week leading into it.
(28:04):
but yeah, I mean, It's worththe time to do well, so
That's the effort that it takes.
if you're really, really,really desperate, yes.
Well done.
Well, thank you very much for beinga guest on Forrest.Chat, Theo.
It's been great to have you hereand all Forrest.Chat listeners wish
(28:25):
you all the best in your futureendeavours and the best of luck for
the national championships in January.
Thank you.
Thanks for having me, Paul.
It's been great to chat to you.
You've been listening to Forrest.Chat,where we talk about individual endeavour
in Western Australia, what it takes,what it means, and how you do it.
I'm your host, Paul van der Mey,and in today's episode, we've been
(28:50):
talking with Theo Grant about the Under17 National Cycling Championships.
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Until then, enjoy making it happen.
Welcome to Forrest.Chat,where we talk about individual
endeavour in Western Australia.
What it takes, what itmeans, and how you do it.
I'm your host, Paul van der Mey, andin today's episode, we're talking with
Theo Grant about riding in the Under17 National Cycling Championships.
(00:25):
Theo has been cycling since 2021 and gotinto cycling competitively about midway
through 2022, and now as a 16-year-oldhas had the opportunity to ride in the
under 17 National Cycling Championships.
Welcome to Forrest.Chat, Theo.
Thanks for having me, Paul.
(00:46):
It's good to be able to get onhere and talk about my experiences.
It's been, very interesting tohear about your attempt at the
under 17 cycling championships.
Talking about cycling championships,what on earth is the Under 17
National Cycling Championship?
In cycling, like many sports,in the junior categories it's
(01:07):
broken up into age groups.
In cycling, I joined as an under 15.
And it goes under 15,under 17, and under 19.
They're the junior ranks, where kidscan get into the sport and start,
experiencing the competitiveness of itand see whether or not they like it.
(01:28):
So each state in Australia has astate championship in each discipline.
This is so young riders can raceagainst people in their age group
and the states can figure out whois the most talented in each state.
And if you're good enough, you cango to the Nationals, which is against
(01:53):
all the kids in Australia who enter.
So it's pretty much the top ofjunior cycling in Australia.
Clearly you have to qualify in some way.
How do you do that?
So in the state, races where theytry and figure out who the good or
the better riders are, to qualifyfor nationals, the only prerequisite
(02:17):
in cycling is you have to, racein the state race, and then from
there you can enter the nationals.
So you qualify by entering astate championship level race.
Correct.
And you also mentioned disciplines.
People who are unfamiliar with cyclingprobably think that cyclists are very
(02:37):
disciplined because often out there allthe time, but what are the disciplines
that you're talking about here?
So in cycling, there's, road cyclingis, focused on the road, in groups.
There's time trialing,which is by yourself.
there's, also, cyclo Cross, which is, ongrass, mud and dirt, and you're racing
(02:59):
through these, tough environments.
there's mountain biking, which isanother, version of cyclocross, but a
bit more technical and on mountain bike.
Then you've got track racing,which is, what's in the Olympics.
It's in a thing called the velodrome,which is the big circle with
banked walls that they ride around.
(03:19):
So, within cycling, there's,multiple types of cycling.
Does sound like that, and which onesdo you actually get involved with?
I used to do BMX, which was like,jumps and going around the track.
but now I normally focuson just road cycling.
so road cycling, and doesthat include the time trial?
(03:40):
Aspects of it, yes.
It's not the main focus, but at nationals,as I'll get into it, there is a time
trial, And it's kind of like the FormulaOne of cycling, because the gear's
really expensive, so if you don't havethe most amount of money, it's very hard
(04:01):
to make an impact in that discipline.
We're recording this on a Saturdayand Tomorrow, the Ironman race is
happening down at, Busselton, and therewere quite a number of bikes going up
and down the road today, and there's,clearly a big difference between a
normal road bike and a time trial bike.
You can see it and hear it as they go by.
(04:23):
The road bikes, there's a lot of heavybreathing, but the time trial bikes,
it's just a whoosh as it goes past you.
That's a good thing, I think.
What else Would someone not knowabout, cycling that would relate
to the national championships?
I would say probably it's kind of like
(04:43):
trying to get into a collegeor a university, I think.
So, lots of sports have their own versionsof it, and it, the structure of it depends
on the sport, but it's really tryingto allow different people in different
places of the country to race againsteach other to find who the best is.
(05:08):
So it's like looking around at everyonewho's getting involved and providing
an opportunity for people to showthemselves to be the best out of
their current group of competitors.
Yeah, yeah.
Whereabouts was the Under 17National Cycling Championship
(05:28):
this year that you went to?
It was in Loxton in South Australia.
It's a couple of hours out ofAdelaide, in the wine regions.
and at this time of year, it waspretty dry and hot and windy,
Dry hot and windy?
Don't sound like verygood cycling conditions.
especially if you're my size, it's not.
(05:50):
So you're seven foot two, is that right?
Uh, kind of the oppositein cycling, actually.
The lighter you are, the better if you'regoing uphill, but because it was in a
really flat area, you're actually betteroff being heavier because you've got
more absolute power, and this is startingto get into the nerdy cycling stuff.
(06:13):
So, if on flat ground, the thing thatdetermines your speed is how much power
you're putting through the pedals, whereasuphill you're fighting gravity, where
it's your power divided by your weight,which gives you a separate value which can
determine how fast you'll go up a hill.
(06:33):
Also, being heavier, it meansyou've got more momentum, so on
flat ground you'll go faster thansomeone like me, who's 50 kilos.
I was lighter during the event, butyeah, if you're 50 kilos and it's
really windy, you will really struggleriding into such a gusty force.
(06:55):
We've been watching, the Tourde France and the, Vuelta at the
moment where I think we're up towatching stage 20 on the Vuelta.
And I know it's long gone, butdon't tell me who won it , because
we haven't got to that bit yet.
If you watch any of thoseshows, you see all those
dynamics in action as people are.
riding at the front and they're the,bigger guys who, they're on the flat
(07:17):
lands to punch through the wind andprotect the, the riders behind them.
And once you get to the, climbingstages, it's the lighter guys,
who seem to do the best there.
'cause they just have the most.
Capability in that space and thenoccasionally you see somebody who Does a
performance that's off the planet really.
Yeah, it's really some days you'llhave a good day and you're the best
(07:39):
in the world and some days you justwon't have it in you, and that's an
aspect of the sport that I really like.
It's the fact that every day is different.
Your body is constantlychanging and adapting.
And that's something Ireally like about the sport.
Theo, what does it take youto compete in the Under 17
(08:02):
National Cycling Championships?
Takes a lot of willpower because inyounger age groups, You've got boys who
hit puberty a lot earlier than othersand that makes a massive difference
and it can be really demotivating.
So you have to realize that you mightnot get a result that you want but
(08:27):
you're getting experience and justbeing there is going to help you.
So having a belief that you'redoing the right thing and
you're in the right place will.
help you in the future and just having abelief that it will work out eventually,
I would say that is pretty important.
(08:48):
Also having like, not motivation becausethat comes and goes, but discipline
to know that this is going to helpyou and like, even though it might
be not be so good at some points.
Just going, getting up and goinganyway will help you in the future.
(09:09):
So it's a very long term sport becauselike you mentioned how if you watch
the Tour de France and the Vuelta aEspaña, you'll see that a lot of the
pros are actually like in their 30s.
It's not a young person's sport.
But you have to be in the sportas a young person to be as
(09:31):
good as they are at that level.
Yes, there's definitely talk about, peopleand they reward, the younger riders.
I think they use Under 24s at that level.
But there's definitely people who theytalk about who have been, identified in
competitions much, much earlier than that.
Yeah, it's people below 26.
(09:51):
Yeah, so to spot talent I think isdefinitely possible, but I think at
such a young age The most importantthing is building good habits and
just being able to get into a cycleand do the same things every day.
(10:12):
Not necessarily the results, butjust having the ability to do the
same things every day consistently.
And by the same things, do youmean your training load or do you
mean something more than that?
Yeah, it can be training load, itcould be the places you're riding,
it could be the food you're eating,a lot of it is wash, rinse, repeat,
(10:37):
like it is in many sports, you haveto practice and practice and practice.
so, I feel like just having theknowledge that in the end it'll
work out, It really helps you.
So, looking through the, whatfeels like hard time sometimes.
And you mentioned earlier, it can alsofeel like you're on top of the world.
What does a proceduralapproach to cycling look like?
(11:00):
There's lots of different, sessions totrain for different aspects of the sport.
so if you're organizing what you need towork on and prioritizing what you need
to work on, that would be your focus soyou can kind of filter through what do
you think you can do better on, what.
(11:22):
are you already good at, soyou can work on that as well.
So kind of just acknowledging your,like, goods in your bads, so you
can figure out how to get better.
And then going out and puttinginto place those particular
things you need to work on.
So, particular drills ortraining session types, I guess.
(11:44):
Yeah, so I got feedback.
I went to Novo Nordisk Talent ID Camp.
They're a diabeticprofessional cycling team.
In July I went over and they were likewatching us ride and looking at how
we fare in a competitive environment.
and the feedback I got from them was towork on my, technical skills on the bike.
(12:09):
So, my cornering and descending, ridingin a group, things that come with time.
but when I got back, I startedlooking, what can I do better?
What group rides can I join to influencemy skills and make me a better rider.
I went out looking for morecomplicated, descents, to challenge
(12:31):
myself within the reasons of my skill.
and just looking for, like, ways youcan improve based off your knowledge
of what you're not so good at.
So working on your weaknesses toimprove those, and by doing that,
becoming a stronger overall rider.
Yeah, yeah,
what about the actual trip over?
(12:51):
What did that require?
I was 15 when I went over, so we firsthad to deal with the airlines and where
I would stay when I got over there sothat was a bit of a learning experience,
just learning how to manage your
flights and your bookings and stuff.
but when I got there, I stayed with ahost family and Who said that, yes, we'll
(13:16):
look after him for a couple of days, so hegets used to being in a different country.
So, they showed me aroundPisa, where we were staying.
Did all the touristy things with thetower, and took photos, and got to do a
lot of sightseeing out in the country.
And then we joined the team southof Pisa, and we did a couple days
(13:40):
of training rides, and, it was very,very hot over there, and humid, I'm
not good at dealing with the heat.
So, it was a bit of a struggle, but Ilearned a lot, and on the last day, I
actually ended up crashing on a descent,we don't have many descents in Perth,
so I was still getting used to it.
(14:02):
It wasn't a bad crash, but it wasstill a bit demotivating, it certainly
doesn't like paint a great picture,but I'm glad that I learned from it and
knew what I could work on to improve.
So That was your trip over to thetraining camp in Italy that you did.
Yeah.
And what about your trip over toSouth Australia for the championships?
(14:25):
So we drove over to Loxton and, thatmeant driving across the Nullarbor.
so in my lead up to the race, I wasactually still doing training rides
across the Nullarbor, so I wouldleave early in the morning and go out.
a couple of hours before myparents and they would catch me
(14:47):
on the road, three hours later.
So I would go and do myefforts and keep training.
So once we got across to South Australia,I started my tapering for the event.
So that meant shorter rides at a lowerintensity than I was doing before.
(15:09):
but it also meant I had to learn tomanage how I was fueling and eating
what types of food, because obviouslyout in the middle of Australia, there's
lots of roadhouse food, but that'snot the best food for performance.
So I was having to educate myselfon what foods would give me the
(15:32):
best recovery and what food wouldhelp me in the actual races.
So that's quite a big task, isn't it?
It can take a fair while and your options,as you said, there's a lot of roadhouse
food, but, not really a lot of good food.
I didn't see any rice or quinoa for agood couple thousands of kilometers,
(15:55):
That total change of diet there, it's adifferent place the Nullarbor for sure.
And even a long way into SouthAustralia thinking about having
driven across there as well.
It's not until you get to places likePort Augusta or something like that,
that things seem to return to normal.
Yeah, yeah.
It's a long way, of thatkind of food, actually.
It's pretty insane how peoplelive and thrive out there.
(16:19):
Absolutely, Lots of high fat I guessis one of the biggest parts of that.
And very little in the way of, fresh.
Yeah.
We've heard a good deal aboutwhat it takes, Theo to get to the
Under 17 Cycling Championships.
Now, let's have a break, and after thebreak, we'll talk about what it means.
(16:46):
We've had a look at what it takes.
Now,, let's have a look at what it means.
Theo, what does it mean, for you,your family, or the community that
you're able to compete in the Under 17Australian National Cycling Championships?
For me it means, that I'm doing theright thing to get to this level of,
(17:07):
racing, to just be able to, go and do mybest really, it makes me happy to think
that the work that I'm doing is payingoff and I'm starting to get to places.
it also, makes my parents proud to seethat what I'm doing that I enjoy doing
is starting to, take us out of WA, andit makes them, proud to see me enjoying
(17:33):
doing something I love And, for thecommunity my school was quite supportive
of me going over and racing nationals,I've gotten asked by a couple of the
teachers how it went, and I think it gotput on the school's Instagram page about
how I was attending nationals, which waspretty cool, just to see the support I
(17:56):
got from them so It made the local groupride pretty proud as well just to see
that I was being more competitive, and,getting to the level that I want to be
at because I've gone from being pushedup every single hill to being able to
get up it myself I think it just makeseveryone happy to see someone else.
(18:18):
Figuring out their path.
So your being there has positivelyinfluenced quite a lot of people that way.
You're talking about yourschool and your group ride.
How big is your group ride?
We've probably got about 50 to60 people that show up throughout
the week on different rides.
The weekend rides are by farthe biggest because they start
(18:42):
at a more reasonable time.
but just to see everyone, andshow my face, and let people know
who I am, and meet new people,and just make friends, really.
It's Great fun to go out andtalk with friends, though.
It's a good way to get to knowpeople cycling along in a group.
Yeah, it makes the three hoursthat you are riding a bike a
(19:06):
lot less boring, I would say.
Because I have been asked bykids at school, How do you do it?
How do you not get bored?
And honestly, I don't really know,the time it doesn't feel like
three hours when you're out there.
So I think just having the rightpeople and having friends out there
(19:26):
makes the time go by a lot faster.
And what are the, ages of the people?
It must be all sorts, is there?
Yeah.
So we've got a rider in our groupwho I think is approaching 75.
I think we've got quite a few olderguys as well, but there's plenty of like
(19:47):
dad's and stuff in the group as well.
There's a few young guys like myself,and There's quite a lot of 20 year olds
who also want to become professionals,yeah, there's quite a wide range
of age groups in the group rides.
You talked about some people who areinterested in becoming professionals.
(20:08):
What does all of this mean foryou from a cycling perspective?
It means I can, make more connections,and if I do see them out in the pro
field, then it means I might have someless enemies to deal with, because when
you're racing, you are racing againsteach other at the end of the day.
but yeah, it might be, goodto have a few more friends in
(20:32):
a group and know more people.
it also means you cantrain and not get bored.
And you've got someone probably ina similar scenario to you that also
needs to go for a training ride.
Yep, yep, it's definitely verycommon to have multiple people
doing the same thing every day,
Coming back to going over to, theNationals in South Australia, what
(20:56):
did that mean for your family?
Really, I think it made themhappy to see that I was doing what
I loved and I was enjoying it.
I think there's a lot of kidsout there at the moment who don't
really do much on the weekends and.
go away and compete but Yeah, to makemy parents happy that I'm enjoying
(21:18):
what I'm doing means quite a lot tome because at the end of the day they
do a lot for me so just to let themknow that I appreciate it really.
And they were your supportcrew the whole way.
Yeah, they were standing on theside of the road cheering me on.
and it was just great to have the support,because lots of other kids parents
(21:39):
were out there cheering them along.
I got to meet a friend who I knewover the platforms Zwift, which
is a virtual cycling platform.
We met each other in 2021, I think,and Yeah, it was great to meet a friend
that you've known for so long but neveractually met, but it was really good to
(22:01):
meet up with him and catch up and justride with each other, and it's quite a
surreal experience to know someone forso long, yet you've never met them.
That's one of the beauties of Thingslike Zwift, where you can get to know
people, although it's in a, distancearrangement, until you actually get
to see them, that's a good thing.
(22:22):
Yeah, it's quite, it's quite surrealactually, just Being able to know someone
for so long and then finally meet them.
So we've had a talk about.
What it means, and there's a lot thatcomes into play, and a lot of people that
are positively influenced by Theo goingto the Under 17 National Championships.
(22:43):
We'll have a break now, and after thebreak, we'll have a look at how you do it.
We've had a look at what it means, nowlet's have a look at how you do it.
Theo, how does somebody go aboutGetting themselves to the Under
17 National Cycling Championships.
(23:06):
I think, for starters, you have towant to do it, because it does take
a long time, and if you don't wantto do it, then it won't be very fun.
So, I think step number one, enjoyingriding your bike, and over time you'll
probably get to that kind of levelwhere you get interested to race and
(23:27):
you start researching how to get betteryourself, because that's certainly
how I got into, training, really, is Istarted looking around on the internet
looking like how can I get faster?
How can I get better at this?
because all you need is a bike anda helmet and you can get like really
quick So, to start with actuallycoaching, I would say that, online
(23:52):
coaches is a pretty good start.
If you can't find one in your area,I personally go to Exercise Institute
in Subiaco, who, are main sponsors ofthe Cycling Development Foundation,
which is the team I'm a part of.
I think if you can get yourselfinto that kind of network with that
(24:13):
support from those people, it canmake your journey a lot easier.
A bike and a helmet, and then findingsome people who can guide you.
What about clubs?
Like you talk about your group, but isthat a, that's a group of people who
go for a ride together, is that correct?
Yeah, so it's been around for a long time,31 years that our group rides existed for.
(24:37):
yeah, if you look up, like, group ridesin your area, there'll definitely be some
pages or people that you can reach out to.
if not, then like we said earlier, Zwiftis a great way to connect with people.
yeah, I think there's plenty of optionsto get to know people through the sport.
You just have to look at your optionsand figure out where the most people are.
(25:01):
And then go to them becausethey won't know about you.
You have to take that step.
Yep, they won't reach out, but allthe club rides that I've joined
have been incredibly welcoming.
so if you rock up one morning, sayyou're new, you'll be met with a
bunch of smiles, so everyone reallyis just happy to see you out there.
That's really great to hear.
(25:22):
And do you need any, licensing orclub registration or something like
that to get into the competitions?
If you're going to race, then yes, you do.
You have to get an Auscycling licensein Australia, they kind of set the
rules and regulations for cycling.
They've got the rulebook forthe disciplines and stuff.
(25:43):
So if you're in a different country,it will be something similar.
but yeah, in Australia.
Ozcycling who runs the cycling event,and they're the ones that you have
to get a license from, because all ofthe races are run by communities, most
of them make no profit, they barelyjust cover the cost for the volunteers
(26:07):
and the, like hiring of the roads.
The only licenses you need, really,are if you're gonna start racing, but
they're quite easy to get a hold of.
You can look it up, and theremight be, a couple questions on,
like, when you last got a drivinglicense, or something like that.
and then you can just get your license,which is kind of proof that you've got
(26:30):
insurance, I think, is the main reason,because they can't be liable if you
get hurt, because it's a sport wherepeople unfortunately do get hurt, so.
It's pretty simple by the sound of things.
before we go, what's your next big target?
My next goal now is, now that I'm anunder 19, I have Nationals next year
(26:53):
are in Perth in January, and it'sreally cool to be racing on home roads.
I've got a group of friendsfrom my school who are going
out to watch and see what I do.
There's a couple teachers that Iknow who are going to watch it.
And it's really nice to know thatin a race that's in your hometown,
which I think it's the first time thatPerth ever held nationals because it's
(27:19):
Always over east, it's never over here.
So to have it now to me is really special,because it's my first year as an under 19
next year, so I'm gonna be racing at homewith people I know on the sides of the
roads watching, which it's quite special.
Absolutely.
And I guess your trainingis ramping up for that.
(27:41):
Yeah, it is so, Recently, throughoutthe year, my goal was to do
17 to 20 hours of training perweek but leading into nationals.
I think This week, the rest week,and it's been 18 hours so far.
so, I think I'm gonna be doing 20plus hours a week leading into it.
(28:04):
but yeah, I mean, It's worththe time to do well, so
That's the effort that it takes.
if you're really, really,really desperate, yes.
Well done.
Well, thank you very much for beinga guest on Forrest.Chat, Theo.
It's been great to have you hereand all Forrest.Chat listeners wish
(28:25):
you all the best in your futureendeavours and the best of luck for
the national championships in January.
Thank you.
Thanks for having me, Paul.
It's been great to chat to you.
You've been listening to Forrest.Chat,where we talk about individual endeavour
in Western Australia, what it takes,what it means, and how you do it.
I'm your host, Paul van der Mey,and in today's episode, we've been
(28:50):
talking with Theo Grant about the Under17 National Cycling Championships.
Remember, there are four ways toget involved with Forrest.Chat.
Share the domain, Forrest.Chat, with yourfamily and friends and people you meet.
You get advance notice whenyou sign up for the emails.
Listen to the episodes atForrest.Chat slash episodes.
(29:12):
If you do something that other peoplemight find interesting, book an interview
at Forrest.Chat slash interview.
If you want to support a local business,go to Forrest.Chat slash advert.
I'm looking forward to joiningyou with our next guest.
Until then, enjoy making it happen.
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