Many people outside of Austrlia, New Zealand and the Asian racing scene may not have heard of Mitchell Lovelock-Fay, but he is a national hero, after winning the New Zealand race the Tour of Southland, becoming the first Australian in 50 years to do so. He talked to Ciclismo Internacional about the race, his future and 2015.

“The Tour started off with a wet Team Time Trial prologue around the city of Invercargill. It was great to get up for a win with the Avanti boys. I find winning in a team event more thrilling. It was a special moment. We went on to lose the lead the next day, but in hindsight it was a good thing that we lost the lead. We were able to put two of our guys into the move on the stage, as a bluff, which gave myself an easier ride to the base of the climb. Finishing third was a good feeling.  Stage 3 into Te Anau was a stressful day. I had a mechanical at the bottom of the climb mid way through the stage and was unable to change gears. The bunch slowly pulled away as I had to stop to try and fix the problem. I had a team mate drop back to help me get over the climb and onto a small group. I was able to make it back to the front group thanks to my team mates. The next day was 188km from Te Anau to Coronet Peak. We had a team mate in the move again, but 100km in, the move split into two and our team mate came back to the bunch. We had to chase into the climb using up our riders. I was just following other riders for the first half of the climb letting the race pan out. I saw an opportunity to attack, thinking that I would get chased down, sit in and then go again. I attacked, looked back and nobody was on my wheel so I just put my head down and rode. I was able to pull out a big enough gap that I pulled on the yellow jersey at the top and got my first win for the season. Stage 6, the time trial, was the stage I knew I had to do well in and I also knew I had the ability to do well.  To finish 21 seconds off my teammate, Joe Cooper, was a great feeling. Little by little, I am getting closer to his times. It was such a good feeling to be standing on the podium again for the third time in the Tour, next to my team mate.”

“I was relieved when I crossed the line, on the final stage.  The first thing I knew I had to do was find my team mates and give them a big hug and thank them. Without their selfless hard work I wouldn’t have been able to win the tour. I knew I could finally relax, take it in and use the win as motivation for my 2015 season.”

Lovelock-Fay has shown his pedigree from a young age, winning a World Championships Junior gold medal in the 2010 team pursuit.

“Winning that night in the velodrome, in front of my family and some friends who all travelled to Italy to support me, just being so so close to the World record and setting a new Australian record was the greatest experience at that time of my life. To stand on top of the podium, wearing the rainbow colours and listening to the National Anthem was such a proud moment in my life. To be able to call myself a world champion was something I never thought I would be able to say.”

In 2013, Christina Watches-Onfone decided to Lovelock-Fay over to Italy, where things didn’t always go to plan for the young Australian.

“I had a lot of ups and downs in 2013, in Europe. Being based in Italy was amazing, it’s my second favourite country to train and live in behind Australia. The hills surrounding where I lived, provided the perfect training grounds, however not having any team mates living close by was difficult when it came to the training side of things. Unfortunately I suffered a severe bout of blood poisoning from a wisdom tooth infection at the beginning of the racing season in Europe and I found it difficult to get my body back to the peak fitness level it was, when I arrived in Italy in late January.  I really enjoyed the company of my team mates throughout the year and I learnt a lot about myself, probably more so than I did about riding my bike and racing.  I think last year was tough to deal with at the time, but in the long run it has been good for me and my cycling career. I have been able to bring the knowledge I learned about the European style of racing back with me to Australia.  You have to go through downs to have ups and I used the tough year, last year, to spur me onto bigger and better things this year.”

But on the whole, he did enjoy his stint racing in on of the world’s biggest cycling countries. Lovelock-Fay has been out of his home in Australia before, so he could at least cook, clean and wash his clothes, but he still missed home, something that he says team manager Claus Hembo was desperately trying to fix.

“The team owner, Claus Hembo was very good at helping us settle in. He kept in touch with both Jordan Kerby and I and made sure we had everything we needed. To start off with we didn’t have a car, so we were unable to drive anywhere but Claus was able to leave a team car at the house for us. That was the main thing that we needed so we could get groceries and go find wifi at the cafes. Cariza, Michael’s wife, also helped us out immensely, showing us the best places to shop, getting us groceries when we didn’t have a car, driving us to the airport, cooking us some great meals and so on.”

He initially struggled to find a team for 2014, but eventually Avanti found a spot for him and he repaid their faith almost immediately, winning in New Zealand. When asked what type of rider he was, he said his power from the track has really helped him as a time trialist, and that is the area of road racing he says he is best at.

“When I first started cycling at 15, I would have only said that I was good at time trialing. I was more on the heavier side of things, but could use my raw power. It wasn’t until I started training for my second year in the U19 age group when I put a lot of hard work into losing weight and becoming more of a tour rider. John Forrest, who took over my training program from John Armstrong, would come out training with me in the hills, out the back of Canberra and push me to my limits.  That in combination with watching what I would eat changed me as a rider. I slowly but surely transformed into a time trialler who could climb hills, but with more years of training under my belt in the hills, I have become more of a climber who can time trial. I would also have to say that the many hours I spent at the velodrome, with John Forrest by my side, putting in the hard yards in order to gain selection to the Australian Junior national track team for the pursuit to compete at the World Championships, certainly has helped me with my time trialling.”

The 22 year old was full of praise for Orica-Greenedge and the hope they give young Australian cyclists, and he hopes he can follow in the footsteps of teammates Jack Haig and Campbell Flakemore, who will ride in the WorldTour in 2015.

“It definitely helps. having Orica GreenEdge. Teams in the National Road Series weren’t getting noticed until GreenEdge came along. Now riders keep getting signed into Europe, even if it’s not with GreenEdge.  I think they had a big part to play with cycling in Australia being more noticed.”

“The calibre of riders coming up from the junior ranks in Australia is getting stronger every year. To have guys like Caleb Ewan, already getting podiums at World Tour races is a positive sign for cycling in Australia. I think that I am in that age group where riders are starting to shine and prove that it is possible to win races as a NeoPro. I just hope that I can follow in the footsteps of former team mates, Flakemore & Haig next year, and take that step.” 

But for 2015, Lovelock-Fay has resigned with Avanti, who have given him “more motivation than ever” for the 2015 season. He has clear goals for his 2015 season, which begins very soon for Australians, with Nationals and the Tour Down Under both in January.

“I am targeting both the TT and Road race, in the nationals. I hope to do well at both events as the courses both suit me. I am stepping up from the Under 23 age group into the Elite races, so I know I have to set myself realistic goals.”

“I have to prove myself at the National Championships in January in order to get a ride for the Uni-SA team, in the Tour Down Under, backing up my results from this season in the NRS and my Tour of Southlands win. I am hoping that I can perform well enough to get a ride for the Uni-SA team.”

To sum up his 2015 goals, he had this to say: “To ride into the top 10 in the road race, at Nationals. To ride the Tour Down Under and to win the overall NRS championship. Lots of wins, maintaining our spot as the number one NRS team, staying healthy and loving my bike!”

This could very well be the next young Australian we are talking about signing for Orica-Greenedge in 12 months time.