Kaarle McCulloch Interview
The Future's Bright, The Future's Australian
Just over twelve months ago Australia’s Kaarle McCulloch was fresh from winning the Team Sprint with Anna Meares at the Copenhagen World Cup. Little did she know that despite the fact that she was still finding her feet in the senior ranks, a month later she’d be pulling on the Rainbow Jersey as Women’s Team Sprint World Champion.
Velodrome.org.uk caught up with Kaarle in this exclusive interview to find out the story of her rise to fame and how she the young Australian has managed the burden of becoming World Champion so early in her career.
Kaarle switched to Cycling in 2005 after a successful Amateur career in Athletics. Despite winning a few National titles in the Middle Distance events she was unable to fulfil her ambition of representing Australia so decided to take up a new sport. On the advice of her Step-Father, Ken Bates, she took up Triathlon and after discovering that her strongest leg was actually the cycling not the running she decided to try Track Cycling.
“My step dad then pretty much forced me to try a track bike, which I was adamant I would hate but within about two laps I knew this was my sport – even though I wouldn’t admit it at first!”
Two weeks later and she was a fully fledged cyclist on her way claiming the 2005 New South Wales u19 Sprint and 500m Time Trial Championships, which she followed up with the National titles that gained her a place in the Australian team for the 2006 Junior World Track Cycling Championships in Ghent, Belgium.
Competing against much more experienced riders McCulloch held her own, as expected her inexperience was exploited in the Sprint and Keirin by riders such as the Ukraine’s Lyubov Shulika, Britain’s Anna Blyth and France’s Sandie Clair, however Kaarle still managed a more than respectable fourth place in both of these events. McCulloch then came into her own in the 500m TT recording a time of 35.763s to scoop the Bronze medal beat Clair and Shulika.
Cycling Australia clearly had a hot prospect of their hands and following some careful development work under the tutorage of her coach David Short OAM, she made her senior debut at the end of 2007 in the Los Angeles World Cup. Kaarle continued to progress and was rewarded a place on the world famous Australia Institute of Sport (AIS) in 2008.
This meant that McCulloch had to leave her home in Sydney and re-locate to Adelaide in South Australia where Martin Barras took over her coaching. With 2008 being an Olympic year Kaarle had a tough start to her career as a professional cyclist. Even though she would be unable to travel to the Beijing Olympics due to the lack of places on offer for female Sprinters, Kaarle travelled with the rest of the Australian team to America for an intense training and racing period.
“I won several of the Trexlertown sprint races and set myself up with some great base work for the oncoming 2009 season. In September 2008 Gary West was appointed the new AIS track sprint coach and took over my coaching.”
This takes up back to the 2009 season which ended with the aforementioned World Championship victory in the Team Sprint. Normally for a rider so young such an achievement would be unthinkable, especially as she claimed the title with the legendary Australian Cyclist Anna Meares.
“I think it has actually taken a very long time to sink in. I probably only really started to appreciate it late last year. Of course I was proud of myself and of Anna and it is a moment that when I think about it still brings Goosebumps to my skin.”
Coming down from such a high and returning to training for the following season is always going to be hard, but perhaps for Kaarle being so young (she was 21 at the time) it was harder to adapt to the pressures of being a World Champion.
“When you are on top of the world and riding well it’s easy to forget the hard times that ultimately helped you get to where you are. I have a new found appreciation for the process and for Anna and me. As a team we know that we are a force to be reckoned with going into London because we will only get faster.”
A lot of young riders who have achieved World Titles so young have got carried away with the ego boosting Rainbow bands, however with the careful guidance of the AIS and a close friendship with Anna Meares, Kaarle was able to use the World Title to her advantage as it is a constant reminder that hard work does eventually pay off.
“It wasn’t until I went through some hard times on the bike this season that I realised how much work went into achieving that title and how much work it takes to become a World Champion – you don’t just turn up and ride fast; there is a whole years worth, sometime life’s worth of work that goes into achieving these titles.”
Despite still having a lot to learn in the sport McCulloch has a huge advantage of knowing what it feels like to be a Senior World Champion early in her career, this can only help her focus on the future and build towards bigger goals that for many young riders could have been too much to cope with.
“I think being so new to this sport I am still learning to cope with different pressures. When I first started there was no pressure on me, no one expected me to perform so the results that came early in my career were surprising and I realised pretty quickly that the sky was the limit. As I go on and I achieve greater things the pressure that comes with those achievements is something I am learning to take on the chin really and I treat it more as a natural part of what it means to be the best – they go hand in hand.”
When you are a World Champion you have to get used to performing under pressure all the time, as everyone looks towards you when you pull on the Rainbow jersey.
“I had my first real taste of pressure at the World Cup in Manchester last year when Anna and I donned the rainbow skin suit for the first time, it was good I lifted another level because of it, despite not riding a great time, I was very sick 3days before so I think my pride came through for me and my legs were forced to ride fast – plus Anna is an 18.6 starter! I had to make sure I was on my game!! We won so it was very satisfying result.”
So sitting on the start line before the start of a major competition, what goes through Kaarle’s head and does she cope with the pressure to perform?
“When I am in the zone I really think about not much at all. I might visualise my race once or twice but usually I just sit there and watch people in the stands or something. There is footage of me before the Team Sprint at the worlds last year where my eyes actually roll into the back of my head...it’s so embarrassing! I didn’t realise I did that and I can’t remember doing it – I just go into my own world sometimes!!”
“I always have a few process goals that run through my head depending on the event, they keep me from focusing on the potential outcome of the race and focus on what I need to do.”
“These usually only entail 2-3 things per event so that I don't over think things, for example in the 500m Time trial at the nationals my PG's (as I call them) were "Strong Body (out of the gates), drive it in the seat (when sit down) and head up (through the last lap)".”
“I pretty much recite them over and over in my head, especially if I find my mind starts getting off track and thinking things like what time will I ride or who I might be competing against.”
Process Goals are a perfect way of focussing on the task ahead and not the bigger picture, no matter what the level you need to think of what is right in front of you, like Kaarle in the 500m TT or Team Sprint for example, break the event down into stages and do not look at the overall picture like if you win you’ll become World Champion. It’s a huge challenge to be able to control this side of your riding as regardless of how fast you can perform in the event or how hard you train if you do not go into it prepared on the day and in the moments leading up to your start, everything will go wrong.
“At my first Senior World Championships in Manchester 2008 I had what I call a ‘brain explosion’ on the first day! I got a little ahead of myself and really underperformed in the Time Trial. I had one day to get my head back on but luckily I did.”
“It’s something I draw a lot of inspiration from to this day because I really was a wreck to begin with and I was able to come out in the sprint qualifying and ride a PB which I only just bettered at the Nationals last week after two years.”
For anybody that knows Kaarle, the question of whether she would be able to overcome such a challenge would never require answering. As with an increasing number of children, Kaarle was forced to deal with the heartbreaking consequences of her parents getting divorced when she was only twelve years old.
“I really struggled with the whole change, in hindsight it was a time of my life that helped to shape the person that I am today and I am thankful for it, but it was very tough at the time.”
“I was forced to grow up a bit quicker and the change in schools and towns (country to city) really helped me to appreciate myself as a person more. I was happy when I moved to not be like everyone else, I was proud of the fact that I chose to train and race over going out partying with my friends, even though I am sure they thought I was boring!”
“I realised how important school was and really knuckled down and achieved great results at school whilst at the same time excelling in all sports really, not just running.”
For Kaarle to come through such a tough time and then be thankful for it as making her the person she is today demonstrates how incredibly strong the young girl from Sydney really is. It’s also evidence that it is doesn’t have to be the end of the World for Children when their parents separate.
“My mum is my rock. It’s as simple as that. I can have a really shit day and I call my mum up and she can either bring me back down to Earth or lift me back up again – she tells me how it is all the time and that honesty and love is what helps me to be the best in all aspects of my life.”
As you may have recently read, Kaarle entered the 2010 Australian National Track Cycling Championships as favourite to emulate Anna Meares and claim all four Sprint titles which she had no problem in achieving along with two Championship Records that set her up perfectly for the forthcoming Copenhagen World Championships
“To be four times Australian Champion is an amazing achievement and something only Anna Meares has done in women’s sprint. But for me the two Australian Championship Records and Personal Best Times that I recorded in the 200m qualifying and the 500m Time Trial are for me the more important results of that meet.”
However whilst Kaarle is delighted with the performances, see is rightly more concerned as using the results and event as training for Copenhagen.
“My thoughts on it are quite low key, the times were a little unexpected to be honest considering I trained through the meet and also based off my poor results in Beijing the week before. For me it was a bit of a confidence booster and as a result I am a lot more relaxed now leading into the Worlds, because I know we’re on the right track not only for the upcoming worlds but also on track for my Olympic cycle.”
So what sort of training does Kaarle do in order to prepare for a World Championship defence?
“My home track is Dunc Gray Velodrome in Sydney, however as I am now a part of the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) I have moved to Adelaide in South Australia and now train on the Adelaide Superdrome.”
“We have different focuses depending on the time of the year. For example at this time of the year (preparing for worlds) we spend more time on the track and less time on the road and in the gym. But in the early part of the off season we would focus largely more on gym and road and developing those core bases of strength and fitness.”
“Road for us is largely a recovery tool, just easy rides of 1-2hours. Gym and track vary a lot depending on the time of the year, sometimes there is strong strength phase so big weights in the gym and sometimes on the Track there is a big speed focus so lots of Motor Paced efforts.”
If you thought that being a full-time cyclist was more than enough to keep Kaarle busy, you’d be wrong as she is currently studying for a degree at the University of South Australia. Her studying is closely linked to her cycling career as her course is a Bachelor of Applied Science (Human Movement and Health Studies) majoring in Exercise Science. Obviously the extra knowledge gained by the in-depth study of how the human body reacts to exercise can only help her cycling, but does she find it difficult fitting her studies around cycling?
“Yes very much so, I'm in my third and last year but doing it at less than part time load so it will take me another few years to complete. As my career in cycling keeps progressing it gets harder to balance the two, but I am a big believer in having balance in my life and from my own experience when I just focused on cycling I went a little insane. I need a distraction from cycling and Uni is the perfect.”
“Cycling is still my number one priority so as a consequence I am only doing 1-2 subjects a semester at Uni which means it will take me a lot longer to finish my degree. This year with Commonwealth Games it’s likely I will defer Uni and learn a language instead.”
With the Commonwealth Games in mind how important is the event to Australians and will she be targeting Gold in Delhi come October?
“The Commonwealth Games are very important to me because I see it as a dress rehearsal for the London Games. Aussies love the Commie Games and I will definitely be going out there in India with Gold in my eyes. Post 2010 my focus will largely be on the selection process for London, and of course being a part of the AIS and the high performance program we are all going to London to win, so bring it on I say!”
So does Kaarle think that Australia can bridge the gap to the British come the 2012 Olympics?
“Yes! The things that we are doing across all programs at the moment are very positive and innovative. In the sprint program in particular things have come a long way in the past year and whilst we still have a ways to go we are for sure on the right track, initiatives such as Team Jayco are a step in the right direction for us Australians.”
Things are definitely looking good ‘down-under’ and the Australian setup as a whole has certainly made huge improvements since the Beijing Olympics, but does Kaarle spot any weaknesses in her rivals that she feels she is able to use to her advantage?
“I try not to focus so much on my opponents. They are an important part of sprint and Keirin racing but at the end of the day it’s my job to get from A to B in the fastest time possible and be the first to cross the line!”
“I know what my opponent’s strength and weaknesses are and I will definitely employ some tactics to use to my advantage but at the end of the day it’s about me and what I can do on the track.”
“The best thing about our team is that we are never complacent and we have a ‘things can always be better attitude’. London will be interesting, I have no doubt the British won’t go down without a fight, but that is the best thing about sport – the fight! And we are not foolish enough to just be looking at the British team, the French, Dutch and Germans all have the potential to be massive pains when it comes to the Games!”
McCulloch is clearly going to be a force to be reckoned with in the future, the problem for her rivals is that the future seems to be coming quicker than they realised and in Kaarle, Australia have got the future of Women’s sprinting just waiting to stamp her authority over the sport.
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Kaarle's Website
For all the latest news on Kaarle visit her website at
www.kaarlemcculloch.com.au
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Mags Photography
Thanks to Mags Photography for kind persmission to use Kaarle's photos,
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