FORMER Horsham cyclist Shane Miller has won his fifth consecutive Australian Masters Road Time Trial Championship.
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Miller, 35, only took up cycling eight years ago but quickly pushed himself to excel against strong competition.
The Masters – open to riders over 30 years of age – had plenty of former professional riders and top Australian athletes.
Miller’s main competition at the championships was former road racing champion Peter Milostic. Miller said he was happy with the October win, which he said was the result of intensive training.
“It’s almost professional level speeds and power output that we’re getting so it’s pretty tough competition,” he said.
“You don’t just rock up on the day and expect to do well – it takes a few months of preparation.”
Miller said the biggest challenge of riding as he aged was to keep pushing himself to get better and improve his time and power output.
“The thing that motivates me is progression and seeing myself get faster,” he said.
“As you get older, people tell you ‘you’re going to slow down – you can’t do that, you’ll get worse’, but every year I’ve managed to lift.
“You see that right down through the grades as well, where guys in their 50s and 60s are still getting personal bests, so that in itself is a big motivation.”
It was a good day for the Miller family, with Shane’s wife Veronica finishing fifth in her time trial event in a strong field.
Miller said he and his wife favoured time trial competitions over other forms such as road racing because it removed most elements of luck.
“You see in the Tour de France, you can be the best rider there but if you miss a breakaway or don’t play the tactics well, that’s your day gone – or even your championship gone,” he said.
“In the time trial, you’re in full control from start to finish – there’s no guess work.
“It’s an honest competition – it’s A to B and the fastest man or woman wins.”
Miller said he would return to Horsham briefly this summer and was looking forward to competing in February’s triathlon.