A Couple of Articles About Me

This article was written by a Melbourne journalism student, at the end of the 2006 season:

FIND YOURSELF ON THE ROAD
By Jennifer Dawes

With all the recent issues concerning cyclists on the roads lately it was time to see one of Australia’s upcoming stars to remind us what the sport is really about – the love of the road.
Tommy Nankervis is an example to all young Australians aspiring to become professional athletes. At 23 he is a professional cyclist about to head out to the States for his second pro season. He shows us what it takes to become an elite athlete, and how to achieve it.
Melbourne born Nankervis first discovered his talent on the track at 13 and was encouraged from the start by cycling legend Sid Patterson. His dedication to the sport had him competing on the track from the start. It was only 2 years ago he changed to the road and in doing so turned pro. “There was never any variation on the track you can go around the world on track but it will always be the same, I’m limited on the track on the road I can work much harder”.
And much harder he did work, after grueling training sessions and road races Nankervis decided it was time to tackle the US. With another cycling legend Baden Cooke’s encouragement Nankervis headed out into the unknown territory of the US cycling scene. Only ever having competed in Australia, Tommy set out to get some US races under his belt. Entering independently he made a name for himself, which led to him getting signed to Team Priority Health based in Michigan. For many cyclists the dream is to get to Europe, and America is the best way to get there. “It was a huge step out of my comfort zone and a huge learning curve the entire year. Every race is going into the unknown each week”.
To get to pro level you have to work hard, a typical training week in the pre-season would involve riding 900-100kms week, averaging 30-40hrs per week on the road, plus core strength training. Riding to Sorrento and the Dandenongs are regular day trips for Tommy.
But then he got signed to the US and he traded in the beach for the country roads of the States. Competing in races all around the US he earned himself the honour of being awarded Best Young Rider USA Crit Series 2006. “It was a shock to get the award. I had no idea I was even in the running” Tommy laughs. A highlight of the tour for him was the Athens Twilight race. “Pitch black, 50kms per hour with 6000 Uni students cheering from the sidelines, it was the best atmosphere!” Athens made quite an impression on Nankervis, in February he will sign with Athens team Jittery Joes for another season in the US. Tommy's highest achievement in the US to date would be placing 2nd in the Tour de Leelanau. His closest mate on the team took out first. “It was one of those times when the team worked perfectly together, when everything just came together”.
So why the change to Jittery Joes? “I'm a sprinter, and at Priority Health I wasn't reaching my full potential, there are a few Aussies on this team, everyone is mates, they're happy to sacrifice themselves for each other if that's what's best for the team”.
It's this value system that is refreshing to see in the world of professional sport. The controversy surrounding drugs in cycling recently has tainted the sport's reputation and true values. The love of cycling itself is the reason why Nankervis is where he is today. To take performance enhancers and get where you want to be by not working on your own merit is just cheating the system as well as yourself.
Cycling Australia has worked hard to reestablish its reputation after the lead up to the Athens 2004 Olympics when a young Australian cyclist was found to be using drugs to enhance his performance. It's a shame when people like Tommy who work hard to get where they are today and promote a positive aspect of the sport and health don't get the recognition or the media coverage that controversy does.
“Australian cyclists do not get nearly enough media attention for their achievements as they should” Nankervis says “there are guys out there like Baden Cooke who are winning the green jersey in the Tour de France beating the best cyclists in the world, and no one in Australia who wouldn't follow cycling closely would know it”.
Cooke encouraged Nankervis to get out there and make a name for himself in the cycling world. “He's a good mate, he would offer me advice, and just encourage anyone who needed it. He is a flat out champion, but doesn't look down on anyone. Helps anyone just because he's a good guy”.
These are the kinds of stories we want to hear about professional athletes. If you asked, anyone can list an athlete with an oversized ego. Its people like Cooke and Nankervis that show what being a true athlete is about. Doing what you love, because you love it. You don't need drugs according to these true athletes, the high of being out there in your element is what you live for.
With the recent death of an elderly man on Beach Rd, caused by a cyclist running a red ligh, Australian cyclists are again fighting for their good reputation. The majority of cyclists on the road know the rules, they obey the rules. It's the select few that cause the problems that keep arising. Historically there has always been problems between motorists and cyclists. Now, cyclists are facing a new opposition – pedestrians. Every Saturday and Sunday morning Beach Rd is filled with people out to improve their health and spend a fun morning on the road. The majority of these cyclists should not even be brought into this debate. One group though that is being questioned is the infamous 'Hell Ride' group. The Hell Ride is a group of about 200 cyclists all riding together usually from Black Rock to Frankston and back. They string out a fair bit and usually take up an entire lane, but sometimes two lanes of traffic, causing motorists to be frustrated until they can pass which can last anywhere between a few minutes and 15minutes. This group has been told to curb their ways a number of times and complaints have dropped considerably. With the recent accident though, calls are again up to place more laws upon cyclists.
Cycling is a social activity though. When heading out on a long ride, companionship is not only comforting but helpful and encouraging. Nankervis talks about the social scene when out on a ride “we're talking the whole time” he laughs “we are guilty of gossip, and ragging on each other, it's just a big catch up”. Cyclists encourage each other to keep going, in today's sedentary lifestyle that can only be a good thing.
So what is his favourite race? “It's definitely Melbourne to Warnambool, you ride 299km in one day”. No aspirations to do it this year though, it was time for a break back in Aus and to catch up properly with family and friends. “One day my ultimate goal would be to compete in the Paris-Roubaix one day race in Europe. One day I want to be good enough to start on the race”. With aspirations like that we can be expecting big things from Tommy Nankervis.

“Every day you have to perform to your best, there is no middle ground. You start something and you'll finish it, for me it's all or nothing” Tommy explains how he won't ever bail on a race “that's why I know I will win one day, others will crack but I won't”.
Cycling is a culture, when you learn how to cycle you aren't learning about a sport you are learning about a culture, one that will shape your mind to help you become the best person you can be. “I'm living the life, there is not one easy minute of it, but you just gotta love it!” Tommy flashes a cheeky grin.

Out there on the road, it's all down to you, “you're pushing your limits every day, and when you get to that place where everything just happens and you don't think, that's where you find yourself on the road”.

This is a personal reflection written by me for a university assignment:

I learnt to ride a bike when I was four years old, and never had the opportunity to learn with training wheels – it was straight to the two-wheeler for me! I don’t know how that compares to other youngsters, but I used to ride to kindergarten on my two-wheeler when I was four.

I come from what you might like to call a ‘cycling’ family. My Dad used to race when he was growing up, his Dad still races, and his Dad raced also. With that connection to cycling, I guess I always wanted to be involved in the sport. I used to love watching the Tour de France on TV, and the Olympics etc. Having said cycling is in the family, I was never encouraged to begin from family members at any given time – even when I asked if I could start racing, the response was usually the same “save up a lot of money to pay for bandages, because you will have a lot of crashes”.

This was somewhat of a dilemma for me growing up, and I wanted to change from the other sports I played – football, and track and field – to be a cyclist. I used to love going to bike shops and looking around at all the flash bikes in my spare time, and I always wanted to be a track cyclist. My favourite shop to hang out at was owned by Australian cycling legend and four times world track champion, Sid Patterson. One day Sid asked me if I would like him to take me down to the track and get me started racing… I was over the moon!

Sid took me down the following week, lined me up with a bike, and introduced me to all the people at the Carnegie Caulfield Cycling Club, of which I am still a member today. It was a great sporting club to be a part of while growing up, and I got to meet heaps of great people. I was so happy to be involved in the club, and most evenings after school were spent down at the track, training or racing.

Once I got to seventeen years old, I had won a state championship and was starting to think about taking cycling more seriously. I was lucky enough to go to the youth Olympic festival in Sydney, following the 2000 Olympics, and had the time of my life. While I didn’t have much success in the races, it gave me a hunger to do well at the National Championships a few months later. I trained really hard for these Nationals, and was finding for the first time in my life I was really serious about achieving a goal. I came home from those National Championships with a gold and silver medal, and achieved my childhood dream of winning an Australian Championship. This dream applied to whatever sport I could imagine it may be possible, so I guess cycling was where it was meant to happen for me.

After the National’s joy wore off, I found that I was lacking extra passion. After speaking with a sports psychologist at university while I was studying Exercise Science (at Victoria University), he told me that I needed to set new goals, and always have something to aim for. With that in mind I set myself new goals, and it is something that I always remember to do.

The great thing about cycling, and any sport at an elite level for that matter, is that it will train you to set your mind to a task, and set stepping stones to achieve a goal.

After racing the track for years and spending a fair bit of time with a certain coach who I really had a personality clash with, I decided it was time to try and focus on the road. I met a great bunch of friends through racing the track, and they have had a big influence in shaping me, not only as a cyclist, but as the person who I am today.

A few years ago I had a big crash where I was hit by a car. I got screwed over big time and came out of it with absolutely nothing except a broken bike I was still in debt for. I decided I had had enough of cycling and that it was not worth working so hard for something that can be taken from you in a split second. Well as I said I have a great bunch of mates, and they rallied to get me back riding again. They lined me up with a new sponsor who gave me a new bike and a fresh start in the bike game – I have never looked back since.

I am ever grateful for all of the great people who I have met through cycling, and that is one of the main reasons why I think it is such a great sport to be a part of. People are always willing to help out, no matter what their standard or yours is. Cycling has long been known for the image of having the world champion sitting on a bench beside the thirteen year old junior. I too have experienced this on many occasions, and have been lucky enough to have one of Australia’s best professional cyclists write emails to every professional team in the USA, with my resume attached, in order to try and gain me a position in one of their teams. Gestures like this are what I reckon separates cycling from any other sport.

Along with assistance in getting onto teams, there are also countless people willing to offer help in other areas of the sport, such as coaching or financial assistance. I have a coach who takes a day off work each week so he can take me for a five to six hour training session, which is just awesome, and the time and passion he puts into making me the best I can be is just priceless.
I have been sponsored by a local shop, Fitzroy Cycles, who have been looking after me for a couple of years now, and they work on my bike for me, and help out with all my cycling needs at an affordable price. The shop has also given me work when I was in need of employment through various periods, and the loyalty of the owner has been brilliant. He does everything he possibly can to help out, and his generosity and enjoyment out of seeing those he helps out means a great deal to the aspiring cyclists of the local area.

I have had a few negative experiences in cycling, but they are very few and not enough to weigh down my passion for the sport. My early negative experiences involved coaches more so than anything else. I would get really down when one particular coach would always give me a hard time, and it sometimes felt as though he was trying to drive me away from the sport. It didn’t take me too long to realize though, that cycling can still be enjoyable just by training alone, or finding a new coach.

I guess the thing that everyone always sees cycling in a negative light by, is its association with performance enhancing drugs. I hate it that this is somewhat of a reputation cycling has with the general public, and in my experience, cycling is a very clean sport. Sure, there are the rare instances where someone will go positive, but I don’t think there is a greater incidence of positive tests in cycling as in any other sport at a professional level. I am now racing in a professional team, and I can guarantee that there is absolutely no chance anyone is involved in performance enhancing drugs in any way, shape, or form. That behavior is absolutely not tolerated.

One of the other things we do have a bit of trouble with as cyclists is traffic, and all too often we don’t get the respect we deserve. I am sure that as this great activity continues to grow, we will get more recognition, and with that, respect will follow.

Cycling has had a big role in shaping the person I am today, and I guess things could have been very different had I chosen a different sport, or career path for that matter. I am very pleased to have become the person I am today, and I know cycling has played a big part in that. It is great to be active everyday, and it is a great lifestyle to have.