Paul
Rowney - A Top Aussie in Scotland
Sunday 3rd December, 2007
by Ed Hood
An Aussie winning Scottish cyclo crosses; what's
that all about? VeloResults
went walk-about and tracked him down for a billy-can of tea beside
the billabong.
What brings you to Scotland, Paul?
"My 'trouble and strife' is from Scotland, she's an artist,
I met her in Australia, but now we've moved over here. When I talk
about, "going home" to Australia, she just looks at me and
says; 'We are home!'"
How are you coping with the weather?
"I have a bit of a dicky knee - too much smashing-away at
the 11 and 12 cogs over the years - and it reacts badly to the wet
and cold. All that said, I feel rejuvinated here, the traffic is a
lot lighter here than it is Sydney and there's so much variety in
where you can ride your bike. There are still quiet roads to be found
and plenty of opportunity for you to ride the mountain bike or cross
bike off-road. In Sydney, you have to go out at six in the morning
and be back for nine, or it's just too-crazy with the traffic."
Australia's not renowned for producing
'cross riders? "I'm not a cross rider, I'm a mountain
biker; I've ridden and won three crosses in Scotland, so far, but
the first two I was on my mountain bike. My latest win was the first
time I've raced on a 'cross bike. It was interesting, definitely faster
than the mountain bike on that course. In UCI category A crosses you're
not allowed to ride a mountain bike, but Scottish crosses aren't UCI
categorised, so it's OK to ride the old VTT."
Word is, you weren't a bad rider back
in Aus? "Yeah, I was Australian elite mountain bike
champion three times, I retired to manage the Yeti team and we got
some results. I'd become a bit disillusioned with racing; I could
see that a lot of riders were suddenly going a lot faster. But I came
back and raced again, as a vet in 2007; I won the Aussie vets title
and entered the elite short track event. I got in the break with the
reigning U 23 and elite champions, they were stepping it into me and
I thought; "bronze, that'll do," but a couple of laps later,
I thought: "**** it! I'm gonna win this!" and I did!"
What do you rate your best-ever ride?
"Tenth in the Sydney Olympics, in front of the home crowd,
that was pretty special. It was eye-opener too, though. I rode so
hard on the last lap like you can't imagine, I was turning myself
inside-out, but still lost a heap of time. I realised then that there
was something different going-on, some of the other guys were so unbelievably
strong. (Miguel Martinez won, he would become a Phonak rider - like
Floyd and Tyler . . . ). I also had around 20 podiums in the NORBA
(US elite mountain bike races) series, they were pretty cool results."
You were a full-time pro, then?
"Yeah, I was with the Haro, Giant, Cannondale and Yeti teams
during my career; I rode the Worlds nine times."
Did you ride the road much? "I
was primarily an off-road rider, but I rode things like the Tour of
Tasmania and a lot of criteriums - they are great training for the
mountain bike."
Your mountain bike career would overlap
Cadel and Rasmussen's? "And Landis, too! I know
Cadel very well, we were both on the Australian Institute of Sport/Giant
programme at the same time. Rasmussen was the same as a mountain biker,
he would do nothing all year, then come out and 'boom!' at the Worlds,
no one could live with him."
Who were your role models, as a young
rider? "The main guy was John Tomac and I was lucky-enough
to involved with him at Australian Institute of Sport/Giant. He's
a really good guy and I learned a lot from him."
Will we be seeing more of you? "Yeah,
I have a British and Aussie passport, so I'm thinking about riding
the British cyclo-cross champs.
I'll be the guy with the sun tan!"
Any cycling regrets? "No,
my aim was to to be a pro; I did that and made a fair living, so no
complaints."
VeloResults
would like to thank Paul for taking time out to talk to us.
