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MATT WHITE MEETS WITH RANDWICK BOTANY JUNIORS AT
HEFFRON PARK
One of the Australia’s top overseas riders Matt White
gave up some of his time whilst back home in Australia to talk to our
Juniors on Saturday 27th November. Since the early nineties
Matt White has been one of Australia’s most respected and successful
cyclists. His achievements to date have included numerous National
Championships and some famous stage wins. However, it is more Matt’s
inspirational teamwork for which he is renowned. See his achievements
below.
Matt was relaxed in his talk to the juniors and spoke
about how he started out as a Junior just like they are now. Matt
explained how he wanted to do well at cycling so he put his mind to it
and with a lot of dedication, training and with support from the AIS he
has risen amongst the ranks of cyclists to become one of Australia’s top
athletes.
Matt spoke about his life as a rider in Europe, and
said it you want to succeed overseas you need to be an aggressive rider,
you cannot be intimated and it is completely different riding in Europe,
mainly because of the number of riders and how passionate they are about
cycling.
Matt has a hectic schedule and as a Club we were very
grateful for his time to talk to our Juniors. It is great to have
someone at his level of cycling talking to the young ones and answering
their questions about cycling in a professional team. Makes you realise
you can achieve your dreams if you stay with it, believe in yourself and
prepared to do the work. Matt is a very personable young man and won
many fans that afternoon.
Matt currently rides with COFIDIS along with his team
mate Stuart O’Grady. We are all hoping he will be picked in the Team
for the 2005 Tour de France. It would be great to see him race in the
Tour after his tragic accident literally just before the Tour was about
to start, where he broke his collarbone.
We all wish him well and hopefully he will be back
next year with his stories of racing in the Tour.
One thing I don’t think many of you would know about
Matt is that he coached his wife Jane Saville to an Olympic bronze in
the 20km walk. Matt certainly is a man of many talents. Jane is also a
local identity with her father owning the local butcher shop at Malabar.
Brief Profile of
Matt’s career
| Professional Team |
Confidis
www.cofidis.fr
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| Started Competitive
Cycling |
14 years of age (1988) |
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| Australian Teams |
2004 World Road
Championships ITA
2004 Olympic Games GRE
2003 World Road Championships CAN
2002 World Road Championships BEL
1998 Commonwealth Games MAS
1994 Commonwealth Games CAN
1992 World Junior Road Championships GRE
1992 World Junior Track Championships GRE |
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Results |
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| 2004 |
9th Trofeo Luis Puig ESP
10th Stage 3 Tour of Belgium BEL
24th A Travers Le Morbihan FRA
26th Classique des Alpes FRA
33rd Overall Tour of Belgium BEL
25th HEW Cyclassics Road World Cup GER
59th GP Ouest France-Plouay FRA
69th Milan - San Remo ITA
72nd Overall Post Danmark Rundt DEN |
Don’t forget
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NEXT
WEEKEND Saturday 4 December
End of Year Party this Saturday 4th
December
starting
4pm, so we can watch the seniors sweat it out on the track.
We will be having food & drinks, so need to cook that night. Bruce
Elliott is helping with the catering, ham, chicken & salad. I will
organise the chips/lollies etc. I have also organised a presentation for
each of our riders, so hopefully everyone will be there. Will be a small
cost per family but will know amount when Bruce adds up his costs. We
are catering for all our riders and families for whom I have not
received any apologies so expecting a big roll up!
We have undergone some changes this year and learnt a lot, so hopefully
with support of all the families in 2005 we should have a stronger
junior programme. Our aim is to have a programme that is credible and
offers activities for all levels of entry and a pathway for our more
promising riders who wish to pursue cycling at a higher level.
My personal goals next year will be to build unity, consistency & to
foster a strong junior identity within the Club and wider community to
enable us to grow in numbers and profile.
It will also be my endeavour to enlist coaching support something I
believe in strongly if we are to grow.
So with the help from our families, club members & executive I believe
we are well on our way in achieving these goals.
So look forward to our new season in 2005. Janette
RBCC Junior Support Officer,
Mobile 0438 511 244
Work 9385 0948
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