Momentum Energy, ride with Matt Goss

30/11/12

A week or so following the Fling, I was invited by one of my major sponsors, Momentum Energy, to attend a corporate ‘Ride with Matt Goss’ day.  The event provided an opportunity for me to give something back to the Company, who have helped me out so much over the course of this year. Momentum Energy form part of the Hydro-Tasmania group of companies which is Australia’s largest generator of Green Energy.  They are a fantastic company to work alongside and I’m certainly proud to continue to promote them.

A coach picked most of us up, out front of the Momentum Head Quarters in the centre of Melbourne.  We then made the journey down toward Geelong and onto the scenic town of Barwon Heads.  The hour or so bus trip provided a great time to meet many of the friendly Momentum staff and others with various connections to the company. Although we all came from different backgrounds and worked in totally different fields, we all had one thing in common and that was a passion for cycling.  There were even a few on board who rode and raced mountain bikes, so I certainly didn’t feel too out of place!

The threatening dark clouds seemed to clear just in time for our arrival at the Heads Restaurant out on the end of a short jetty.  The view over the water was quite beautiful and I truly felt like a queen as croissants, fruit and muesli were served along with a choice of freshly brewed coffee.

Following breakfast, David McKenzie introduced us all to Matt Goss and also made mention of me as a Sponsored Momentum rider.  As an ex pro rider himself, and current cycling commentator on SBS, David was an excellent choice to MC the day.

The focus of the day, of course, was on Matt Goss.  Matt is the main sprinter for the Aussie Road team Orica Greenedge who had made a hugely successful International debut this year. The highlight of the Season was of course Matt Goss’ sprint victory in Stage 3 of the Giro.  I think I was as excited as everyone else to meet Matt and it was extremely pleasing to find out what a lovely, down to earth guy he is!  No sprinters ego to be found.

Once, changed into our supplied Momentum knicks and jersey, we all got the chance to have our pic taken with Matt and then we headed out for a 50km ride down to Torquay and back.  The Sponsorship Manager at Momentum, Chris Leat, had left nothing to chance and had organised full mechanical support, thanks to Sram, as well as a medical vehicle just in case.  The 50km journey, gave ample opportunity, to again chat to the many different people, although once the pace picked up a notch it got a little harder to talk!

I noticed Matt stayed up front for the entire ride, most likely avoiding the riff-raff behind and perhaps an increased likelihood of hitting the pavement.  The ride of course would not have been the same without a sprint finish, and so those wanting to contest edged toward the front once we were on the home stretch.  I noticed that Matt was running his SRM power cranks and, once we had finished the ride, I asked him just how many watts he had produced in the day’s antics.  He smiled and said he hadn’t gone much over the 1000 watt mark. It seems the sprint for many had merely been a small surge for him!

Once showered and changed, we felt like we had earned lunch.  With a delicious 3 course meal served, we weren’t to be disappointed.  Over lunch, David McKenzie got both Matt and me up the front individually, for an informal question and answer type session.  David had really researched each of us well. He seemed to know all the right questions to ask and steered the conversation to the most interesting topics. We had a few laughs but also were able to discuss our sport in depth and what it takes to race at the top level.  I think that all of those who attended got a lot out of discussion.

There wasn’t quite so much chatter on the bus journey back to Melbourne.  I think most of us were quite tired and also had quite full bellies!  For me the day had been, not only a great chance to meet one of the stars of road cycling but also a chance to give a little back to this great company who have helped me continue to  do what I love…race bikes!