Cyrus returns to Tour of Gippsland

DROUIN-BASED cyclist Cyrus Monk has strong connections to the Bass Coast setting of the Mitchelton Tour of Gippsland and is looking forward to the start of the event on Sunday.

He’s spent many school holidays at Phillip Island with his grandparents and other family and also loves training in the hills of South Gippsland.

It will be his first Tour of Gippsland since 2016, having spent much of his time in recent years racing in Europe and also competing in Asia.

“It will be cool to come back to this event after quite some time away and see how I can perform back at the National Road Series level,” Monk said.

He looks forward to observing how riders in Australia are going and testing himself against them.

While Monk is confident his overseas experience has improved his riding, he said the team situation differs from when he placed in the top five in the 2016 Tour of Gippsland.

He is now riding for the Cycle House Racing team, sponsored by a Melbourne bike shop, a younger and less experienced outfit than he was part of in his last Tour of Gippsland.

“I probably won’t get the same level of support I had back then, but hopefully the thing the other riders get out of it is experience at this level and learning how to work for a leader,” he said.

When he’s home, Monk feels blessed in terms of training opportunities.

“This area’s one of the best in the world for training; you’ve got the choice of any length of climb that you want in the Strzelecki Hills and that continues all the way down to where the racing is around Woolamai,” Monk said.

“You get good weather for most of the year and nice quiet roads so it really is like paradise for a cyclist to train there.”

A recent training ride, while visiting his grandfather on Phillip Island, took in hills that racers will be tackling during the Tour of Gippsland.

He’s expecting those hills to be testing for riders.

Monk believes Team BridgeLane is a major contender in the Tour of Gippsland, with one of its riders Jimmy Whelan a strong chance to win, but he’ll also have an eye on other competitors.

“At the end of an Australian summer, most of the riders in this part of the world are in good form so you can’t only watch out for one or two riders,” Monk said.

Whelan recently won the Tour Downunder and is a strong climber, so won’t be daunted by the course’s challenging hills.

Monk is excited about the Tour of Gippsland’s ability to promote recreational cycling in the area, encouraging others to explore the spectacular setting on two wheels.

“There are more trails getting built for hobby cyclists, so hopefully having this event based entirely in that (Bass Coast) area can promote cycling and get some more people on road bikes as well.”