Cromwell joins as ProVelo Super League Ambassador

“It’s so great to see the creation of the ProVelo Super League to help reinvigorate the domestic racing scene within Australia, and to help create better development pathways for Australian cyclists. It’s something that’s been needed for several years.”

“We must appreciate and thank Gerry Ryan for backing this new project. His love and support for the sport has been around for a long time. I think almost all Australian cyclists, myself included, have benefitted from his generosity over the years in doing what it takes to help grow the sport within Australia and the world stage, especially in times of need. He’s always been an amazing supporter of women’s cycling too and giving equal opportunities.”

We caught up with Tiffany to discuss how she got started in cycling and her current journey.
Enjoy the read!

Current Team Name: Canyon//SRAM Racing
Current Location: Monaco

What initially drew you to cycling at a young age, and how did your passion for the sport develop over the years?

Tiffany mentioned she didn’t know much about the sport at a young age. “It wasn’t in my family, and back then it wasn’t as popular within Australia as it is now. The bicycle though has always been part of my life, and I remember as a kid that it gave me freedom. I would always play outside on the street and with my brother and our friends. I loved to go fast. We lived on a hill, and we would race our bikes down the hill and play games like who was going to be the last to brake at the bottom. I would sometimes commute to school with my bike too. But, the sport of cycling, I always like to say that it found me.”

“When I was in year 7 at school, in sports class we did the basic fitness test, and our results were sent to SASI to be assessed. At the time they had a talent ID program to identify potential talent for certain Olympic sports that they were looking for greater participation in. Apparently, my results stood out and I was invited to SASI to be tested again, to verify the results. From there I was invited to try cycling at the Adelaide Velodrome. I was handed a bike with no brakes, a fixed wheel and basically told, off you go but be careful not to go too slow in the corners or else you’ll slide down.”

“Then the final step was a VO2 max test in the lab. I ticked all the boxes and was eventually invited to join the program alongside around 10 other kids. It wasn’t love at first sight though. We started on the track, and I was pretty tiny at the time. I was one of the weakest kids and at the time basketball was my passion. I continued to go to the training session for something to do, but I wasn’t loving the sport initially. It took time, but eventually this changed.”

“We were introduced to the road and I quickly saw more potential there. In my first race, it was the U15 SA state championships, I finished 3rd. And it was then when I started to enjoy cycling more and basketball less. Eventually I quit basketball and focused more on cycling. I loved going to all the races and travelling around Australia with the group. We had a nice group that became my friends and that also helped develop the love of the sport. I saw progress year by year and was competitive throughout my junior years. But it was when I had the opportunity to go overseas for the first time in 2005 and compete at the junior world championships with the Australian team, my passion really grew. My eyes were opened to how big the sport was, and the opportunities and places it could take me. And representing Australia on the world stage was pretty special. Since then, I’ve never looked back. It’s been a rollercoaster journey over the years, but I wouldn’t change anything and can’t believe everything the sport has given to me and what I’ve been able to achieve through the sport both on and off the bike.”

Memorable moments from your early days in cycling you can share, particularly as you progressed through state-level competitions?

“I have so many great memories. Coming through the Talent ID program, many memories come from traveling around with the group to the different races around Australia. There were many road trips, I would always remember the long 13hr drive to Canberra for the Canberra Junior Tour every July. It was always so cold racing there, but such a great event where all the best juniors from around Australia would come and compete.”

“Then there were the Victorian Christmas Track carnivals over the Christmas/New Year Period. We would go from country town to country town competing in the different track meets and racing all day long. We would travel as a SA group, and it was always a lot of fun and hard racing. My first very special memory though would have to be my first medal at the national championships in U17. Back then the junior nationals were always held in QLD in September. A lovely time to go to QLD and race. I was always competitive as a junior, but not a regular winner. I came home with a silver medal in a strong field, and this also earn’t me a spot on my first Australian team. An U17 development women’s trip to NZ where we did a training camp and some races over there against NZ riders. It was my first time outside of Australia. This is also where I first met Josie Tomic who also had a successful cycling career representing Australia numerous times. Since then, we’ve had a lasting friendship. 2005 and 2006 were special years for me as I stepped up to the U19 level.”

“I started competing in some elite events such as the Bay Criterium series and the Geelong Women’s Tour. It opened my eyes to the elite level, but I loved it. Having the opportunity to meet my idols and ride with them and race against them. It was also the first chance to make an Australian team to compete at the junior world championships. I travelled around Australia to all the different NRS events to try and gain selection.”

“In 2005 is when I first got to know Spratty (Amanda Spratt). She was a name that people were always talking about, she would win all the races and even beat many of the elite women. As we often raced together with the elite women in these events. I knew if I could stay with her in the races, then I had a chance to make the team.”

“I think we only had 3 spots. I had a strong NRS campaign and was selected for my first Aussie team to head to Europe and compete in the junior worlds in Austria. I went with Spratty and we had one other rider who was competing on the track too. So, she wasn’t with us for the earlier stint in Italy where we trained and competed at junior races in the build-up to the junior worlds. We had a lot of fun adventures and had our eyes opened many times to the cycling scene in Europe. It’s pretty cool though that both Spratty and I are still in the sport and still competing at the highest level all these years later and still representing Australia. I have many more stories I could share, but we’d be here all day. But I can definitely say, my time racing in Australia at the start of my career and all the state-level competitions I competed in has helped shape my career and the bike rider I am today.”

Favourite Australian Race and Memory?

“Australia has so many great races, but I think my favourite must be the Tour Down Under. It’s the first bike race I ever saw, being born and raised in the Adelaide Hills. It’s been a feature of the Aussie cycling calendar for a very long time. I remember the first time going out to a stage just after I had just started in the Talent ID program in 2002. It was a super-hot day out in Barossa, and we were there, cheering the riders fly past and enjoying all the freebies and atmosphere. From then on, I always looked forward to January. As a young rider I would collect bottles and caps, get the riders signatures, and follow around the stages. Then as I got a little bit older, I often had the opportunity to join in on training riders with the pros in the lead up to the race. I got to ride with my idols and thought it was the coolest thing.”

“As I started racing as an elite rider though, I always dreamed to be able to race this race myself. But back then there wasn’t a women’s TDU. We had support races, such as crits, but never a women’s version. But I still loved the race, hanging out with friends, doing big training days, and creating ‘Tiff’s mystery tours’ as we would ride around and chase the race. Now there is a women’s version of TDU as a WWT stage race. It’s so special to be able to race. It’s a rare occasion where I can compete in front of my friends and family and race on the roads that I started my career on and continue to train on when I’m back in Australia.”

“It’s a race that’s close to my heart and one I’ll always love.”

When and how did your first pro contract come about? 

“I would say I had a few false starts into the world of professional cycling. My international career began in the US after being spotted by a team whilst competing in the former Geelong Women’s Tour and Geelong World Cup back in 2007. I was invited as a guest ride to race on the US circuit with the Colavita Sutter Homes Women’s Team. This was my first taste of semi-pro racing.”

“The US road scene was booming back then with big criterium races, stage races and one-day classics all over the country. I spent the next two years racing half my season in the US with Colavita and then half the season in Europe with the women’s AIS/National team program. Back then there was no Continental or World Tour categories for women. National teams could complete in the biggest races on the calendar against the best teams in the world. We were basically thrown in the deep end and you either sank or swam. I embraced the opportunity. I learnt the racing craft and importance of team-work whilst racing in the US as it was a level down from Europe. So, when I came to Europe I was full of motivation and just wanted to show what I could do.”

“I had some strong results and got my first big wins in 2009. Through this it caught the attention of some of the European pro teams. I eventually signed with the German Nuremberg Women’s Team. At the time they were one of the biggest women’s teams in the sport. They had lost their major sponsor at the end of 2009 but had a new one coming in for 2010. But it was December of 2009 when we got the communication that the new sponsor fell through and basically the team wasn’t going to continue. I had my first pro contract basically taken away before the season even started.”

“Fortunately thanks to the support of the national program they took me back to compete full time in Europe for the 2010 season. August 2010, I had the opportunity to join the Belgium Lotto Ladies Team, so I left the national team and finished my season racing professional with Lotto. Unfortunately, it wasn’t all roses there either. I started the 2011 season with them strongly, but due to some issues within the team we mutually agreed to end the contract mid-season and I transferred to the Norwegian Hitec Products Women’s Team for the remainder of the season. 2011 was a tough season for me and the closet I ever came to leaving the sport.”

Part-way through 2011 it was announced that Gerry Ryan would be backing a bid to create Australia’s first ever Professional cycling team for 2012, GreenEdge Cycling Team. I was thrown a lifeline and given the opportunity to sign with this new project.

“The management knew the potential was still there in my abilities, I just needed more structure around me. 2012 was a clean slate and where I would say my professional career really kicked off. So, although I technically had signed my first pro-contracting before 2012, it was 2012 and the GreenEdge Cycling Team where I felt like finally, I had made it into Professional women’s cycling.”

Anything you miss about Australia when overseas competing?

“There are always a few things I miss when living abroad for most the season. Firstly, my family, they’re still all in Australia. A few of the Aussie comforts like Allen’s lollies, pawpaw ointment, Aussie café/breakfast culture and the easy-going lifestyle.”

Follow Tiffany via her channels below

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