Ride Routes 5 – 11th April

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Hi all,

Today’s blog see’s part 2 from our very own Claire Tyrrell covering Sophia’s professional career. Enjoy!

Sophia is heading to Europe to race in the next few months. If you would like to support her (which would be amazing), head to her fundraising page here. You can also get along to the Spartans Paris Roubaix on the Big Screen organised by Adrian Emilsen – all funds raised go to support Sophia’s upcoming travel to Europe.

Best of luck to everyone heading south for the Tiger Tracks Gravel this weekend.

Finally, SPR Chicks is running another skills session – check out all the details on the SPR Chicks Facebook page here.

See you out on the bike.

Daniel

Sophia Sammons (part two)

Sophia Sammons, 19, signed with Australian domestic development outfit Praties Cycling Team last year, after riding with Brad Hall’s Cycling Development Foundation. 

She’s had a strong start to 2025, under new coach Nick Owens. Sophia came fifth in the inaugural ProVelo Super League in Adelaide. She rode a strong race in the AusNats in Perth, breaking away early but cramping in the final turn. 

Sophia spoke to Claire Tyrrell recently about her professional career. (If you missed part one, see here)

So you’re with Praites cycling this year. Where will that take you? 

Yep. I’ll do all Pro Velo races with them, which is five or six races in total around Australia. And hopefully I can do a Europe stint, I’m not sure if it will be with them or not.

Have you raced in Europe before? 

Yep. In Belgium last year. It was good. It was a bit of a shock to the system. There are like 125 girls in a race, which is crazy, but it was really good. It was good fun. 

I survived. I managed to finish pretty much all of them, but I think I still need to work on positioning in a bunch, that’s really crucial, and I still find it really hard, but hopefully something I can improve on this year, especially with the new team I’m on.

What’s your ultimate goal? What kind of rider do you see yourself as? 

Time triallist. I love a good breakaway. Hopefully GC, but we’ll see how it goes. Otherwise, I’d be happy to work as a domestique but just fulfill any role, really.

And who are your role models? 

I don’t actually look up to anyone really. I want to make my parents proud most of all.

Could you talk me through your experience at the Nationals? 

Nationals was really fun. I wasn’t really expecting it. I wanted to do well, obviously I didn’t have a plan in place of how I was going to do that. 

A lot of people told me, “Breakaway or early breakaway is the way you’re going to win that race”. It was about getting into that early break that everyone wants to get into. I sat off the back pretty much the entire first lap to try to get a feel for it going up Malcolm Street, I was in the top 15 to 20 wheels, which was really good. 

Coming into King’s Park, I was still in those top 15 to 20 wheels, and I see this girl in front of me move through the side, and I follow her wheel, and she actually attacks the bunch. I just follow her wheel, which is really handy, really good luck, I think which most of cycling comes down to I reckon. It was a good group, and I think they really underestimated us, really left it to the last minute, and it was just too little, too late. 

I was feeling really good throughout the entire race as well. I was really keen, and I was telling myself, “I think I can win this race”, but I cramped up the final climb coming into King’s Park. And yeah, I couldn’t do anything after that. I just had to kind of limp home. But yeah, still an amazing experience.

And what did you learn from it? What would you do differently?

I don’t know. I’ve been struggling with this cramp for a while. I think maybe I just have to try more things, more sodium, more liquids. Otherwise, I think doing less work within that bunch and trying to be the person who does the least amount of work, because they often end up doing the best in the finish.

What about outside of cycling? 

I work at Ride Advice, and Steve is really great there. He helps me a lot with everything, which is amazing. 

I’m not doing uni at the moment. I tried, but I dropped out twice, so I think I’ll just try cycling for this year, and see how it goes. I did Bachelor of Science, which I didn’t like and then I tried a Bachelor of Commerce, again, didn’t like it. If push comes to shove, I’ll join the police force.

*If you’d like to support Sophia’s European campaign, see her Australian Sports Foundation page. 

Racing this weekend – If you want to race, or get in on the action watching others race, read on.

1. 4Five+ Tiger Tracks Gravel (this weekend!)

2. WCMCC Splendid Park Criterium

3. PDCC Hilly TT & BBQ 2025 (13 Apr)

4. MCC Stan Gurney VC Memorial Criterium (25 Apr)

5. CCC Tom Lowry Memorial Road Race (3 May)

Summer Crit Calendar
Summer Crit Calendar

Juniors Ride — Saturday (29/3) – 10:30 AM
📍 Meeting point: Under the Mt Henry Bridge (https://maps.app.goo.gl/rFwTfCrdmiqznMrv8)
🔹 Route: https://connect.garmin.com/modern/course/337069988

  • Start by riding along the freeway PSP to the Farrington exit (~5 km, circled in the map).
  • The group will split for fast-paced training, continuing to the Willeri Dr exit (for ~7.5 km).
  • After a short break, we’ll ride back, regrouping at Farrington Rd before finishing together in recovery mode.
  • Young riders and beginners can join, but I would recommend them to ride back to Mt Henry bridge when we reach Farrington Rd (for a total distance of ~10km). In this case your child MUST be accompanied by a parent all the time. There will be no support on your way back.

🚗 Parking Information:
There’s a large car park under the bridge and near the nearby park. If no spots are available, consider parking in the surrounding streets or at Deep Water Point. Be sure to allow extra time to park so you’re ready to start at 10:30 AM

From the Ride Coordinator — It’s Step Up Saturday this weekend, giving you an opportunity to challenge yourself by moving up a group (or two)!

At time of writing, the weather is looking a bit iffy for Saturday morning, with possible early showers & a strong easterly. If roads are wet, be cautious on corners & roundabouts, and avoid painted lines.

One issue that has come up over the past week involves pulling away from lights or stops, especially with big groups. No point in having the front riders at full speed before the last of the bunch have stopped talking…err, clipped in! A good tip shared among the ride leaders is that front riders should moderate their pace by soft pedalling for as many seconds as there are ride pairs!

Don’t forget to wear any SPR green!

Saturday 5th April

Sunday 6th April

Monday 7th April

Tuesday 8th April

Wednesday 9th April

Thursday 10th April

Friday 11th April

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