Aussie Media : Get your act together

Photo Courtesy of ninemsn.com 

Once again I watched the news bulletins today, both morning shows and evening news waiting, hoping that they would give Simon Gerrans' yellow jersey and Aussie team Orica-Green Edge's TTT win the coverage it deserves, only to be disappointed...yet again.

I shouldn't be surprised. After all the Tour de France is in July smack bang in the middle of football season. You would think that something as prestigious as the coveted yellow jersey and an Australian-owned cycling team leading the biggest annual sporting event in the world would deserve 30 seconds of coverage headlining at least the sport. But no, it was relegated to last in the bulletin receiving about 20 seconds of dismal footage.

The sad thing is, if one of the cyclists was found guilty of doping there is no doubt that would be top headline news, even leading the entire news.

No wonder there are so many skeptics dismissing our great sport when the only coverage considered newsworthy is negative.

Do you think cycling deserves more coverage on our news?

Le Tour 2013

Well it's been a long time between drinks. It seems that life got in the way in the past few months but as the most important race of the year is here, so am I.

And what a start it has been.

After what should have been a beautiful and exciting first stage in Corsica we were left with a shambolic race. The good old Orica-Green Edge bus getting stuck under the finish line really caused mayhem and then crashes galore changed what should have been an awesome stage. Although I'm sure Kittel would disagree!

There is no doubt there is a lot of speculation for this years Tour. After a somewhat lackluster race last year cycling fans and yearning for a real battle and although some commentators are already writing Chris Froome's name in the record books I think it will be more than a one horse (or dog) race.

A few names that spring to mind are Contador, Rodriguez, Valverde, Evans and of course Froome.

But it is the Tour de France and anything can happen and most likely will.

I'm geared up for late nights surviving on 4-5 hours sleep but it will be all worth it. It always is!

Durbridge Double

Luke Durbridge will sport the Australian jersey in not one but two disciplines in Europe this year after taking out the double of Time Trial and Road Race in the National Championships which wrapped up today in Ballarat.

With a large selection of Green Edge riders represented in the peloton it was hardly any surprise they were able to manage getting one of their own across for line honours. And although it wasn't one of the more favoured picks of Gerrans or Clarke, Luke Durbridge is deserving and popular winner.

Earlier in the week Durbridge defended his Time Trial title with a blistering performance and today put in another stellar effort to take out the Elite Road Race, ultimately leading the race for all but from the word go.

Durbridge seemed to own the race, taking control of the break and putting the hammer down to whittle the break down to just himself and Bernie Sulzberger. Knowing that he would be second best should the it come down to a sprint between the two Durbo turned on the turbo (sorry, couldn't resist) to shake Sulzberger which he managed to do on the penultimate lap. It was then a matter of transforming back into time trial mode to the finish line.

As he rode into the final straight towards the finish he had time to soak in the moment and savour the cheers from the huge crowd who had turned out in droves to support the race.

Durbridge will proudly wear both the national time trial and road champion jerseys in Europe this year and hopefully they will inspire him to a great year ahead.

Congrats Durbo! Any congrats to Buninyong and Ballarat for again putting on a fantastic championships!

Orica-Green Edge moves forward

As the fallout from the Lance Armstrong doping scandal continues to scathe cycling, Australia's pro-cycling team Orica-Green Edge has taken the lead in the fight for a clean future.

Team general manager Shayne Bannan today announced the final dismissal of sports director Matt White after he was implicated and subsequently confessed to doping during his time at US Postal.

The team will now undergo a "a full external expert review of its policies and procedures and a pro-active review of all riders and team members in light of recent disclosures regarding past practices in the sport" .

This can only be a good thing and something that hopefully other pro-cycling teams undertake for the reputation of the sport.

The next decision now is who to replace the disgraced Matt White.

I must say I have never been a fan of White. His arrogance and disrespect of many Australian cyclist in previous years has left me cold, and really he was far from the best talent Australia had to offer during his day. My opinion only of course.

Who would I love to see step up into the role? None other than Robbie McEwen.

The recently retired Australian sprinting legend is perfectly poised to offer his expertise and hands on experience at the elite level of the sport. Robbie is undoubedtly our greatest cyclist, having competed at the top level for over 16 years including 12 stage wins at the Tour de France. To say he is highly regarded in Australian cycling is an understatement. Robbie has the respect of not only Australia but world cycling and would be the one to take Orica-Green Edge to the next level. He is determined, gutsy, fair and would take an absolute approach to the position.

It will be interesting to see not only the outcome of the independent review but to also see who will be appointed Director Sportif. 

Who is your money on?