Netting his first win of the season yesterday on stage four of the Tour de Wallonie, Robbie McEwen’s confidence is on the rise and prompts him to think of his big end of season goal, the world road race championships.
The Australian rider finished second behind Mario Cipollini in 2003, and was also fifth three years later. And while he doesn’t win as regularly as he used to, he is willing to work hard to try to ensure that he is in top shape for the gold medal showdown.
Now competing with team RadioShack, McEwen missed out on Tour selection this year as the squad’s focus was on the general classification. He was disappointed, but knuckled down to build form. “I didn’t see much of the Tour de France as I was concentrated on my own training,” he said. “I just trained at home easy for a week, then I went to the South of France and trained a lot in the hills. Just four hours a day, medium tempo, just building up my condition. A week before this race, back in Belgium I trained in the hills of the Flemish Ardennes and planned to used this Tour de Wallonie to get some rhythm back again. Apparently I found my rhythm quite quickly. This is promising for the next couple of months.”
Now 39 years of age, he remains hungry to achieve big goals before retiring. “I am still very ambitious,” he insists. “Since the beginning of the season the World Championships in Copenhagen is a big objective. I think I can do a big preparation by doing this race and races like Eneco Tour, Hamburg, Plouay and Fourmies.”
He’ll be aiming to land results in some of those events. Last year he was passed over by those picking the Australian team, losing out on the chance to race in the championships when they were on home soil. This year’s race in Copenhagen should be more suited to bunch sprints, and he is determined to show that he deserves the nod. “I just need to be selected now,” he said. “Hopefully that will be the case.”