By JARROD POTTER
WHILE Rio is in our sights, Berwick cyclist Courtney Field is in the long-term plans for Cycling Australia’s track-sprinting future.
Looking towards the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Cycling Australia’s High Performance Unit (CAHPU) invited Field, 19, from Berwick, among 10 promising young track sprinters to attend a 2020 Development Camp at the Adelaide Super-Drome earlier this month to get a taste of elite coaching, development and education.
Junior world champion Field was in the mix of elite a group of talented cyclists who have just made the transition from the junior to senior cycling ranks.
She was left in awe of the behind the scenes work Cycling Australia puts in to get the athletes up to international standard and just how far she has to go to make that grade.
“You kind of learn what it’s like to be in the high performance unit and how strict they are and what they do every day,” Field said. “You think you know what you’re doing then you go to the camp and think ‘oh my god, we actually have no idea about anything,’ – there’s so much work that they do behind the scenes for the coaches to help the athletes be as good as they are.
“It’s really nice to be recognised and see that you’re there because they think you’re worth being there and they want you to get better so they can bring you into the squad one day.”
It’s incredibly difficult to crack into the senior cycling ranks at the moment and Field was grateful there was a pathway being established for cycling’s future in this country.
“It’s exciting that they’re thinking about the future,” Field said. “It’s hard to be in the shadows – hard to be competitive when the people in Australia are literally the best in the world.
“Obviously got Olympic champions and it’s really hard to compete against them because they’re so experienced, so it’s nice that they’re thinking about their (cycling’s) future.”
Her recent nationals campaign was another big learning curve for the sprint specialist, who finished fourth in the keirin and got to go toe to toe with Commonwealth Games gold medallist Stephanie Morton and Olympic legend Anna Meares.
“Getting to race Steph and to see how classy she is was great,” Field said. “She just went around me and I was riding as hard as I could.
“Also finished fourth in the keirin at nationals because I was literally behind Anna and Steph and Anna closed the door and I thought ‘oh my god, this is so brutal’.
“It’s definitely a step up – everyone is at the same level – with five girls who are all super close and if you’re having a bad day, then everyone is going to be better than you.”
Field has her sights set now on the International Track Series Melbourne event – her first senior international level race – held on 22-26 June.
