Armidale cycling star Mitchell Bullen is on track, aiming for a spot on the Australian Cycling team for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games after a successful 2012 Subaru Cycling Australia Track National Championships for NSW in Adelaide last week.
The 20 year old came away with an individual bronze in the Keirin event and silver in the Team Sprint, competing in his second National Championships for NSW.
Mitchell, along with his NSW team mates, has been training hard over the last 12 months and to come away with his first individual medal has made all the hard work worthwhile.
“This is my first individual medal as a senior in the national titles; it really puts you up amongst them and under the eyes of selectors,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell has made the transition from junior to senior ranks and has taken the last 24 months to warm up and be competitive against strong competition.
“In last year’s national titles we were second in the team sprint event, however our time was much slower than what we ran this year, so it has been great to see our times improve,” Mitchell said.
The chance to consistently compete against the top cyclists in Australia has been a huge achievement for the Armidale local.
“At first it is quite daunting, these blokes I am competing against are all 25 and 26 and have been to numerous world championships and world cups so it is always good to line up against a class field like that,” Mitchell said.
“However at the end of the day you’re a bloke with two arms and two legs; you have just got to get the job done.”
To compete at this level requires intense training with Mitchell spending around 40 percent of his time in the gym and 60 percent on the bike. He has spent many hours in the gym at the PCYC and throughout the winter has been hitting local roads clocking up many kilometers.
During summer Mitchell meets up with his NSW team mates, attending various camps and training together.
Mitchell’s sights are set firmly on making the Australian team.
“If I can get into an Australian team, that will take us into a World Cup ride,” said Mitchell.
“That is the big plan for the 2012-2013 season.”
There is little time for rest for the cyclist with an intense training schedule of 2 weeks rest and 50 weeks focusing on his cycling. After this short break Mitchell and his team will map out a plan for the year and targets for the next season, with the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow a long term goal.
Mitchell is extremely fortunate to have the help of his father Mark and grandfather Jock, who have been in the cycling game virtually their whole lives.
“There is about 60 years experience between them, with the advice and guidance they give me invaluable,” said Mitchell.
“Everyone around town is also really supportive of what I am trying to achieve.”
Story: Jo Harrison
