Peloton Cafe chats with Budget Forklifts Jesse Kerrison on his first NRS tour victory, the team’s North American tour and the future ahead. On the weekend you got your first tour victory, how did that feel? Yeah, last weekend on the Tour of the Murray, to win the tour was crazy, the whole team worked incredibly hard for the whole week and to be able to finish it off the way we did was great, couldn?t have been better. How were the conditions for the tour? It seemed the wind played a big part in the outcome of the stages. Well last year the Tour of the Murray was dead still and I was expecting the same again this year, but then on the 2nd and 3rd stages we had crosswinds all day and that caught a lot of people out. Stage 3 saw the big split happen, you guys had 5 riders make the split on the day. ?It must give you heaps of confidence to be riding with such strong guys? When you look at our team we have a lot of big engines, and as soon as it went crosswind our plan was to try and break up the field. How did the team perform over the tour, everyone happy with their results? As with any race there are points we excelled in and points we didn?t, but as a whole it was a great tour for the team. Alex Wohler came down pretty hard in the last stage, any news on him? Yeah he has a broken scapular and a broken collarbone, looks like he will be out for around six weeks, was very unlucky. Well pass on our best wishes to him for a speedy recovery! Budget took the team across to the USA and Canada in June, how was it? It was eye opening, we started off with the Philladelphia Classic and that was incredible, the crowds and atmosphere were amazing. Our results were not ideal, we had just got off the plane a few days before the race and that showed, but it was a great step into racing over there. Then we had the Grand Prix Cycliste Saguenay and Tour De Beauce in Canada. Saguenay was meant to be a sprinters tour but it turned out there was a lot more climbing than we expected, it took us a while to get into the swing of things but once we did the results came. We showed that in the Tour De Beauce when Brodie Talbot came second on the Quebec stage. So you found it beneficial yourself, what sort of things did you take out of the trip? My strength definitely, for Tour De Beauce I pretty much spent the week helping the team and dragging myself over the hills, while it wasn?t fun at the time it was definitely beneficial. At the Tour of the Murray I felt strong for the whole tour and I?m sure that came from the time in the USA. So how do you rate the US scene compared to the Australian scene? It was great to ride in a deeper quality field, you have 150 riders of the same level rather than 50, it was a whole new style of racing, and to learn from that is great. Because of the depth of the fields the racing itself is different, it’s more of what we would call gentlemen?s racing. If a break goes, then the different teams would work together to bring it back, more like world tour racing. So a bit more developed in the USA whereas the Australian scene is a little more raw? Yeah, which in some ways could be harder but in some ways easier. Have you noticed a difference in the approach of the team since you have been back, with confidence and strategy? Because the racing between here and the USA is so different you have to approach them in different ways. We definitely used things we learnt while overseas in the Tour of the Murray. Like when it looks like we have to ride on the front we learnt to make the decision and act on it straight away. On a whole though I think Budget is pretty good at working as a team. Tell me your thoughts on the progression and development of the NRS? The way things are going is great. I think we need longer and tougher tours and road races and it’s heading in that direction. You can see it in the quality of the fields from last year to this year, we have taken another step towards where we need to be. How about on your personal development? If we took you back two years, would you be happy with how things are moving forward? Yeah definitely. We have taken a slow and steady approach with all the training and racing and I have been seeing improvement and thats what you need at this level, just to keep seeing improvement. This year’s program has been heavy so far and obviously more racing to come, how is the body holding up? I certainly felt like I was starting to get fatigued after the USA trip. I was lucky to have some time off before preparing for the Tour of the Murray, I know my body pretty well so I just need to stay on top of things and make sure I don?t push it too far. Will you look at racing any of the one day races coming up, Grafton to Inverell or Melbourne to Warnambool this year? Yeah I did the Melbourne to Warnambool last year for the first time. It was one of the hardest races I have done but it was incredible so I would love to be able to do well in that race, so I will definitely target that one. If the team needs me for Grafton to Inverell I’ll give it a crack but the Gibraltar Range isn’t exactly my cup of tea! So tell us about your ambitions and dream, where do you want to be in five years? Well I guess if you ask that question of any cyclist at this level everyone will say the World Tour, and I’m no different. The end goal is World Tour and to represent Australia but it’s a slow building process towards that and hopefully I get there one day. So how about your plans for next year, there has been talk about Europe, how are things going on that front? My coach and I have been talking to a few teams but its probably at that point where its hard to say where things are heading. There are teams showing interest but not 100% so to say anything would be speculation at this stage. So as with any elite sports person you need a good support network behind you, who inspires and motivates you? Well my coach Ian Melvin is a huge one. He has been with me for years and even though he is overseas now with the Canadian track program he is still constantly helping me, supporting me and putting up with me when I have a bad day training. My team director Cameron Watt is a big motivator for me. Since I started with Budget he has been one of the most supportive people I have met and I think he is a large part of why we (Budget) have the success we do. Of course my parents, I owe almost everything to them. I started cycling because of them, I had the opportunities as a junior because of them, they have always looked after me and kept me safe and well and they have taught me skills that I’m able to bring into cycling at this level, so without them I wouldn?t be where I am now. A few quick fire questions to end with Jesse Sock length, long or short? Long Carbon or alloy bars? Alloy Gloves or no gloves? (laughs) Up until a few weeks ago I would have said no gloves but I had a crash so now I would have to say gloves. Sweet or savoury? Sweet, I have a ?problem? with haribo lollies. Pasta or rice? Rice. Chicken or fish? Fish. Thanks for the brew Jesse, my shout next time…
