Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Darwin cyclist Poppy Goat has had a taste of athlete life after racing overseas as part of a professional development program

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Darwin cyclist Poppy Goat has had a taste of athlete life after racing overseas as part of a professional development program · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: I think everybody knows that I absolutely love my sport,
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  Speaker 1: so I do often catch up with the young Territorians
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  Speaker 1: that are involved in sport doing great things. I caught
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  Speaker 1: up with Emma Stark a little bit earlier, well last week,
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  Speaker 1: that was about her umpiring. I'd also caught up with
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  Speaker 1: the Wallow Girls who'd gone away for the Nationals for
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  Speaker 1: swimming just a couple of weeks ago. So if you
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  Speaker 1: do know an incredible young Territorian who's doing some great stuff,
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  Speaker 1: whether it's sport or whether it's something else, I'd love
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  Speaker 1: to hear from them, you can send me an email
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  Speaker 1: three sixty at Mix one oh four nine dot com
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  Speaker 1: dot au. But joining me in the studio this morning
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  Speaker 1: is cyclist Poppy Ghost. Good morning to you, Poppy Morning. Now, Poppy,
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  Speaker 1: I'd told our audience a few minutes ago that you're sixteen.
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  Speaker 1: You're actually only fourteen, aren't you. Yeah, so fourteen years old.
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  Speaker 1: Now you have just traveled back from Europe. You arrived
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  Speaker 1: back last week and you were there to take part
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  Speaker 1: in the International Pathway to Pro Development Road Cycling pro
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  Speaker 1: Now you raced with the x Speed Australian well the
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  Speaker 1: x Speed Junior team, which is a team based.
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  Speaker 2: Out of Perth.
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  Speaker 1: Tell me about what this Pathway to program is.
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  Speaker 3: Well, basically, it's we get a few juniors together and
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  Speaker 3: we all come together and we go away to race
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  Speaker 3: just to kind of get an idea of what it's
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  Speaker 3: like to race as a professional athlete.
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  Speaker 1: I'll tell you what being a professional athlete, Well, I
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  Speaker 1: wouldn't know what it's like because I haven't been one obviously,
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  Speaker 1: but it would be very difficult, especially in a sport
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  Speaker 1: like cycling. I mean, cycling is tough going and it
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  Speaker 1: it can be dangerous at times too. What was it
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  Speaker 1: like sort of riding in those other countries and part
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  Speaker 1: of this team.
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  Speaker 3: Well, it was definitely very enjoyable being able to ride
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  Speaker 3: with big groups of people, but obviously very intimidating as
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  Speaker 3: we don't get people up here to ride with. But
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  Speaker 3: it was definitely it was such an amazing experience.
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  Speaker 1: So you actually, you know, you did this race or
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  Speaker 1: you trained as well, but you did this experience in
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  Speaker 1: Belgium and Holland, including a six days stay race in Holland.
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  Speaker 1: What's it like writing for you know, for six days
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  Speaker 1: and being part of such a big team.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, so over the six days it was actually nine stages,
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  Speaker 3: so there was nine races and six days, so for
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  Speaker 3: three of those days there.
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  Speaker 2: Was a race in the morning and in the afternoon,
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  Speaker 2: so it was.
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  Speaker 3: The whole thing of getting up early, then going back home,
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  Speaker 3: chilling out, and then having to get ready again and
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  Speaker 3: going racing. So that was definitely hard, but it was
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  Speaker 3: good having people around you or doing the same thing.
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  Speaker 3: So we would all organize when we were eating, when
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  Speaker 3: we were sleeping, so that was.
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  Speaker 2: Good and poppy.
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  Speaker 1: Obviously, there was a couple of chaperones that traveled with you,
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  Speaker 1: including your mom. Now, but you guys, basically like you
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  Speaker 1: did everything for yourselfs, didn't you. You you had to
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  Speaker 1: organize your food. You've got to organize your diet. You
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  Speaker 1: literally treated this like you're on a pro tour.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, So basically, especially our race food, we would all
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  Speaker 3: do that individually because everyone's worked with different things before,
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  Speaker 3: so everyone has their different nutrition that they like to have.
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  Speaker 3: So some people prefer to have bars or gels, but
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  Speaker 3: with meals, we were luckily enough to during the tour
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  Speaker 3: to actually be hosted, so we got cooked for during
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  Speaker 3: that week, but the week before and after that, Yeah,
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  Speaker 3: we would be put into groups and we would cook
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  Speaker 3: for ourselves and figure out when we would eat all together.
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  Speaker 1: Now I know there's going to be people listening this
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  Speaker 1: morning thinking what an incredible experience and how did you
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  Speaker 1: you know, how did you get selected to actually do this?
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  Speaker 2: Well? I do track cycling as well. Yep.
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  Speaker 3: So last year there was the Tasmanian Track Carnivals which
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  Speaker 3: we ended up not being able to go to because
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  Speaker 3: of COVID, but Amanda O'Connor from Wa got in contact
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  Speaker 3: with us asked I was cycling anti if there was
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  Speaker 3: any athletes that would like to go with her so,
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  Speaker 3: and because I'm pretty by myself, it was easy, Yeah, Popy,
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  Speaker 3: you can come with us.
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  Speaker 2: So that's how we got involved.
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  Speaker 1: Really tell me how much training you know you do
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  Speaker 1: for cycling to be getting experiences like and competing at
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  Speaker 1: this level, it must be pretty tough and lots of training. Yeah.
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  Speaker 3: So on the lead up to Europe, I was riding
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  Speaker 3: pretty much every day, and then some mornings before school
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  Speaker 3: I would have to do gym work and then.
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  Speaker 2: That afternoon I would ride.
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  Speaker 3: So luckily I've got a few weeks just chilled out
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  Speaker 3: riding for now rather than really intense. But then over
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  Speaker 3: the next few weeks I start to get back into
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  Speaker 3: it to get ready for the track season.
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  Speaker 1: And so what's coming up as part of the track
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  Speaker 1: season if you got a losh.
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  Speaker 3: Well, yeah, there's heaps of races obviously, but the main
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  Speaker 3: one would be Nationals in March, which I'm aiming for.
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  Speaker 3: So it's just the whole process of qualifying for that
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  Speaker 3: and then hopefully heading over there.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: And when will you find out if you've qualified for
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  Speaker 1: the Nationals?
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  Speaker 2: Oh?
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  Speaker 3: Well, last year I found out maybe four weeks before yep,
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  Speaker 3: So it was just making sure I was.
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  Speaker 2: Ready just in case I was going, and it ended
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  Speaker 2: up going, so that was.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. It was really good, and it would be tough,
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  Speaker 1: you know, being in a place like the Northern Territory.
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  Speaker 1: I know that in the likes of Wa for example,
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  Speaker 1: and some of those other states, they've got lots of
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  Speaker 1: other people to train with. It's a little bit more
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  Speaker 1: difficult for you here in the territory, isn't ash.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, it's definitely can get pretty lonely, especially the lead
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  Speaker 3: up the last few weeks.
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  Speaker 2: Of training before Europe.
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  Speaker 3: I was getting pretty disheartened because it was very much
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  Speaker 3: by myself.
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  Speaker 2: But it was all worth it. When we all came
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  Speaker 2: together and we all ended up being able to race together.
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  Speaker 1: What was that experience like for you then as well?
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  Speaker 1: Going away on this trip traveling overseas, you know, being
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  Speaker 1: selected to travel overseas at fourteen years old, it must
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  Speaker 1: have been incredible.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it was pretty amazing.
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  Speaker 3: We were all very very appreciative that we were able
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  Speaker 3: to do this. So we met with a Canadian team
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  Speaker 3: which we had never met before, which was really cool.
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  Speaker 3: It was very hard saying goodbye to everyone after you
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  Speaker 3: we've lived together for three weeks, but.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it was just amazing. Yeah, how wonderful.
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  Speaker 1: I just think it's incredible what you've done, and incredible
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  Speaker 1: you know that you are aiming for things like the Nationals,
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  Speaker 1: and like you've said, you know, it can get a
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  Speaker 1: bit lonely when you're doing that training on your own,
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  Speaker 1: but you know the highlights I'm sure far out way
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  Speaker 1: that hard training, don't they.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, definitely.
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  Speaker 1: Did you push yourself to the point where you're like, wow,
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  Speaker 1: I didn't realize I could do that.
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  Speaker 3: Yeah, especially because I haven't been exposed to big group
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  Speaker 3: racing before.
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  Speaker 2: So the first few races were very.
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  Speaker 3: Scary, but then eventually you're able to get closer to
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  Speaker 3: them and end up getting really next to all the
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  Speaker 3: big guys, which was really cool.
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  Speaker 1: Now, obviously it was all about sort of you know,
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  Speaker 1: what it would be like to be a pro cyclist.
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  Speaker 2: What do you reckon? Poppy?
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  Speaker 1: Is that in your future?
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  Speaker 2: Hopefully? Yeah? I love it.
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  Speaker 1: I think it's incredible what you've done, and like I
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  Speaker 1: said earlier, I love seeing young Territorians do great things.
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  Speaker 1: So it's wonderful to see how well you're going with
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  Speaker 1: your cycling. Please keep me up to date, let me
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  Speaker 1: know how you go with your qualifiers for the Nationals
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  Speaker 1: and that kind of stuff. We'd love to have you
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  Speaker 1: back on the show to hear more.
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  Speaker 2: About what you're up to. Awesome.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you, Thank you so much for joining us in
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  Speaker 1: the studio this morning.