Story on my ride: Access denied - why no Australian rider interviews? I'll explain
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- čas přidán 29. 08. 2024
- After the best weekend of road racing Australia has ever hosted, there's a buzz in the air about cycling. I'm still thrilled by the memories of Saturday and Sunday in Wollongong and it does seem as though the event (18-25 September 2022) will create a strong legacy for bike riding in this country.
I have a lot of positive things to say about #Wollongong2022. But I'm compelled to publish this video of a story on my ride two days after the championships.
It is very long, and I'm reluctant to share it... but ultimately I'm doing so because I think it will spark a broader discussion about the state of the management of cycling in Australia.
I encourage feedback, and would like to hear and read what you have to say about AusCycling and how it managed what was a golden opportunity for fantastic exposure for a wonderful activity that most of us know and love.
A lot of people were exposed to something wonderful in Wollongong... but a lot more stories could have been shared.
This is the #StoryOfMyRide featuring a story ON my ride about why there are no interviews of Australian riders on an Australian cycling media company's CZcams channel.
- Rob
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(You can find more about Wollongong on RIDE Media's site and CZcams channel, links below.)
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Previously:
Story of my ride: early start, Wollongong on the final day of the 2022 UCI road world championships • Story of my ride: earl...
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#Wollongong2022
• Story of my ride: Wollongong City Circuit - recon on 'Training Day' at the 2022 world championships • Story of my ride: Woll...
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Wollongong 2022 route preview
• Worlds preview (part 1), Sea Cliff Bridge: • Story of my ride: Woll...
• Worlds preview (part 2), Mount Keira: • Story of my ride: Woll...
• Worlds preview (part 3), City Circuit: • Story of my ride: Woll...
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We acknowledge and pay our respect to the traditional custodians of the lands and waters of NSW, to the elders - past, present and emerging.
This film was recorded in Cadigal Country.
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www.ridemedia.com.au
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Music:
Chakra by Mark Himley
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Hi Rob, you were the most elucidating, encouraging and positive advocate for world championship cycling on ABC Illawarra radio. Most of the Wollongong community had no idea of what to expect, and you gave us the opportunity to get excited and get on board and overcome the fear and derision that sadly are too often the automatic response. Building all kinds of cycling is in everyone's interest.
Thank you Rob. Your honesty and uncompromising approach may scare the who's who at AUScycling but it builds trust with your audience. Wish there was more like you.
I find it interesting as an expat Australian that your social channels have far more international reach than the Aus cycling governing body. That says a lot about your approach to media outreach that you have shaped the narrative as a private organization. Keep up the great work and as hard as your rants are to watch, you continue to promote Australian cycling with the right mix of passion and respect the sport deserves.
Heart on your sleeve Rob. Love your advocacy for Cycling, exploring and Cyclists or all levels.
Stick it to ‘em Rob. Always enjoy your honesty and your content 👍
Rob- you nailed it. Any organisation that 'bans' or limits comment on their decisions and performance has significant issues...your comments are always well researched and balanced. And honest!
Thanks mate.
It's great to have a comment from you on the day of a sad anniversary.
Note: I've recorded another video to pay tribute to our mate who passed away a year ago... I'm sure Heiko Salzwedel would have been proud of what has become of cycling in Australia.
- Rob
Rob, thanks for sharing this mate. Your energy and passion for cycling at all levels is obvious. I could see how difficult and stressful this was to talk about, but I really appreciate how honest and open you are.
This had to be said.
You are 100% correct. The cycling itself was incredible. All the athletes did an amazing job.
I expected more of AusCycling’s organization and promotion though. Such an opportunity lost, in so many ways.
Thank you for providing the content that you did. What you gave us in the lead up to, and during the event was uplifting and exciting. I’m sure you would have inspired many people to jump back on their bikes again.
Keep doing what you’re doing Mate and keep up the awesomeness. 👍🏻🇦🇺
Geez mate. Thanks for your honesty and raw emotion. I feel so angry and upset that some old school small mindedness robbed you and all of us to enjoy the worlds even more and share it with interested parties who are only just discovering our beautiful sport. Hang in there mate. 👏
Rob, you're an honest person with something intelligent to say on the sport we love. I think you see cycling as an inclusive sport for the greater benefit, where these institutions see sport as exclusive to a chosen few (whilst sucking up govt money) - consequently they want to control the message and exclude any other voice or narrative. By following their protocols they silenced you (yet you are the most insightful person I've heard on these topics), next time I think you're going to have to get into a breakaway and do your thing, what can they do - just use your intuition and go for it. I also heard of uci bans/accreditation on certain journalists as well. keep up the great content.
💯 . A lot people
Mentioned they were not hearing much about the Aussies cyclists . The Aussie team should have been all about Wollongong before the championships to get a following . We knew more about the Europeans than the Aussies . Our cyclists are not household names and need to be promoted by there media team .
True, but most of the Australians live and race in Europe and were only flown over days before the event. Some were racing in Europe only a week earlier.
Freaking loved the content that you did put out. Didn’t look at anything else, didn’t feel like I missed anything.
Keep on keeping on. Your passion shows. It will come right. The politics will auto-correct. Newtons laws hold. Energy given is energy gained. Good luck. From sunny South Africa 🇿🇦
Why was the TV rights given to STAN. closes a spectacle to people who dont subscribe to pay tv, Also the woeful coverage by Ch 9 for last two hours. 5mins of race,..cut away at crucial times for 5 mins of Ads. This went on for the whole 2 hours. I lost interest. There should be no way Commercial TV should get the rights to cover the TDF. One can see how they would treat it.
Thank you so much for your content Rob! Your series about Wollongong have really built excitement and anticipation around the event, and was a key motivator for my party to travel to the event for this amazing week. Please Aus Cycling consider being more inclusive of passionate and respected cycling journalists like Rob Arnold who are doing their utmost to promote and build this sport.
I found these Worlds a huge, wasted opportunity by Australia. I found them to be virtually invisible with miniscule free coverage and content. I was expecting better and looking forward to them. But NO.
oh well, at least if anything is consistent here, it is that whatever form Australian cycling takes it never fails to disappoint.
Damn mate I feel your pain , I’ve only got into cycling 12months and totally hooked , I live in Tarramarra and now cycle over 300km a week on strava , my mates got me into cycling after I lost 27kg in 30weeks. I’m 52 and just purchased a Pinarello. I met my mates in Wollongong on weekend wearing my Eritrea jersey but have Belgium & Dutch jerseys at home , that’s how much I love cycling now. I always watch your video posts on CZcams. I think the Bobbin Head classic was marketed better than UCI lol 😝 . It’s a shame Aus cycling is what it is mate. I proudly wear different country jerseys when I cycle around Sydney because of the love of the sport and the way European cyclists ride races around the world , and also proud of how the Aussie cyclists ride as well , it was great to see Cadel Evans appearing on stage during medal ceremonies. And why on earth did the world championships got hardly any mention on major networks in Sydney.
As a cycling fan and a Wollongong resident I was really looking forward to the rest of Australia getting to see both my city and get a taste of elite cycling. However the broadcaster chosen was pay tv company stan, not only that it was actually on stan sport which you have to pay extra to watch even with a stan subscription.
The reason I say this is I was hoping Aussies from around the nation would be able to put on the tv and just happen to get a glimpse of both my city and elite cycling and maybe decide to watch it for a while longer because it looked interesting. Then they'd get to see how beautiful Wollongong is while also possibly getting interested in cycling as a sport. But having it on pay tv because the one off payment of money was good meant the only people that watched it were already hardcore cycling fans; meaning cycling Australia lost their best opportunity to gain new followers and potential participants.
Stan sport had a week free trial right when the races started it was easily had for free
The event was awesome
Yeah, it was nickel and dime shit. They only had one job and they screwed it up. Speaking as an Aussie, it was pretty embarrassing to watch the week unfold.
Now your comments when we chatted in the lift foyer on level 7 make sense, Rob.
It was very nice to meet you, thanks for the brief chat
It was good to meet you Andrew.
Thanks for introducing yourself.
- Rob
Rob, your job is a journalist - to write and present for us - and not to be an AusCycling mouthpiece.
Keep it up. This is what makes me keep coming back.
Hard to find a journalist thesedays who isn’t utterly mendicant towards their PR masters.
Should have just done the interviews anyway. I always do.
I refuse to be a victim of peoples undercarbed/money grabbing egos lol.
Hey Rob. Great piece, thank you. Can now understand how/why you were feeling so when we quickly caught up last week. Stay well.
Your honesty is refreshing, hang in there !
That's a shame. This was a big opportunity missed. I would have loved to see more content on the Australian riders who seemed invisible.
Thanks for the update Rob, take care buddy. 🚴🏻♂️👍🏼
The problem with organisations is bureaucracy being the time-filler and ego-burnisher of the selected few who feel entitled to direct others than to shut up and listen.
Rob I agree with your rant. The World Championships was a total case of mismanagement. Want to keep it a low profile sport like it used to be? Then give it to a pay TV channel like Stan. I don't know about the other states but there was no free to air coverage in Adelaide.Stan's web site said they were giving a free weeks trial. OK so I started entering all of my details then they asked for my credit card details. This was for a free trial. Yeah right. The reason cycling has become so big in Australia is because SBS promoted the TDF and later on the world championships. if a pay channel gets the TDU next year it will detune cycling. OK I'm a dyed in the wool cyclist but 30 years ago I wasn't. Free to air sucked me in, but what about about the fringe dwellers with a minor interest that needs to be stirred they will just click over to a free to air channel showing some other sport.
Rob, what are your most viewed youtube episodes? A quick review of 'views' suggests to me that product review videos are the most viewed by far (typically >4500 views). Your videos with Ben O'connor, Luke Plapp, Gracie Elvin all have
Wow! How unprofessional! And I thought Australian cycling would be doing everything to make it inclusive! Having been born and raised in Wollongong but not returning for many years, I was especially proud it was hosting the Worlds and looked forward to it for years!! And the racing didn't disappoint! Nor did the awesome vision of the city! It seems the very people paid and charged with promoting our beautiful sport like no other, have got other agendas. The Worlds were a prime opportunity for the country to learn more about our riders, the incredible machines they ride, insights into how they prepared, etc but there was a dearth of exposure! Actually there was none! Arguably the biggest, most prestigious cycling event on the planet in our own The Gong. This is not Belguim, Holland or Italy. Cycling doesn't dominate in our culture like Aussie Rules, NRL, cricket or Bathurst 500 so cycling needs all the help it can get! Perhaps when it does, we cyclists will be given some respect out on the roads rather than being hurled abuse or forced off the roads(while riding lawfully). Rob, you wear your heart on your sleeve for our beautiful sport so bravo! Follow your heart and above all, be true to yourself - to quote some obscure, little known English writer a few years ago.
Understandably angry. I sympathize. It was a great event.
What a total missed opportunity. A successful bid for such a an event in Australia and the media team did NOTHING to activate it and amplify the opportunity at all. Shame on them.
I don’t get the media for the race as they set up a media tent and there were pre race interviews that were done by a podcaster but I do not know how many people were there
So, in the end , I'm sympathetic but confused. Obviously, your ability to disperse information was blocked or restricted, but that was presumably due to a portal which was more financially advantageous or which had a greater reach . So, who was that portal and if they didn't exist, who was Auscycling holding out for?
AusCycling Paolo. Their portal.
Cycling oz seems like a waste of energy, best to use that energy elsewhere
I’ve always found in the corporate world that those who know the most…ie the most about all the good and bad history, where all the skeletons are and who is accountable…they are the ones that cop the vilification. The best advice I can give is don’t follow their rules because it won’t help.
What? This is happening? 😢
That Xavier guy sounds pretty pissweak. Pick up the phone and call someone pal, dont text! First time I have come across your channel. Sounds like AusCycling are just as bad as Paddle Aus.
Doesn't surprise me you were denied.
Bigger picture..after the behavior of the Australian Authorities during the past couple of years,have ZERO respect for Government and those carrying out Totalitarian,Police State,Anti-human Rights measures. So George Orwell inspired behavior....Not really surprised to learn of your experience. As far as Cyclings ‘governing body’s’....here in Ireland our ‘Cycling Ireland’ organisation seem to model themselves on corrupt Government principles, behave as if the cyclists who pay for their licence are there to serve them,instead of them being in place to serve the needs of Ireland’s club riders.
Aus cycling have been terrible