MITCH DOCKER

Orica-Scott's Classics rider on struggling as a neo- pro, crashing on the pavé and hosting a podcast

Cycling was tough at the beginning as I wasn’t an immediate success. Sometimes it’s not the best juniors who turn professional. I think I had a bit of talent but sometimes it’s just the people with the most determination. Guys I raced with in the juniors were way better than me but maybe they didn’t want it as much as me. I struggled in my first season with Skil. I was meant to be a Classics man, but I don’t think I finished one Classic that year. I remember talking to the DS and saying, “Why did you sign me? I suck.” He was like, “No worries, mate, it’s your first season. You’ll perk up.” The biggest thing I noticed when I came to Orica was that we raced for the win. At Skil, we had multiple plans; we’d get a guy in the break and, if not, we’d do the sprint. Now, it’s like, nobody move for the break. Wait until the break is settled and then we need a guy on the front. After that we need a guy for the final and we’re going to win.

My favourite training ride is one I call the Flecha Loop, which starts and

finishes in Andorra. It’s about a six-anda-half hour day. You head up out of Andorra the French way, over Pas de la Casa and down to Ax-les-Thermes, then you go over the Port de Pailhères. You loop around and go all the way back to Puigcerda, then you climb back up Pas de la Casa. The first time, I did it with Wesley Sulzberger and I didn’t really know where the loop was. I said, “Hey Wes, do you want to come for a ride?” He said, “Yeah, I’ve got to do three hours today.” The thing is, once you get over the Casa, it’s almost an hour of descending. We got to the bottom and Wes didn’t want to go back up. So I said, “Mate, we’re practically around the loop.” We were nowhere near around, but I committed him to finishing it. Next thing, we saw a cyclist in the middle of nowhere. He waved at us and as he rode past we saw it was Juan-Antonio Flecha. So we called it the Flecha loop.

I love the sprints. I love working with a sprint train, trying to get everyone’s abilities to make that train work.

In my crash in Roubaix last year, I cut my face open at the top, broke my eye socket, cut my lip, cut my tongue in half

and broke six teeth. My recuperation was pretty good, though. I just took my time and the team said, “Mate, do whatever you have to and take however long you need. When you’re ready let us know.” When I finally got my mojo back I really felt good. I came back strong and was happy and motivated. I’ve changed coaches since my crash and the way I approach training now is different – mentally and physically. It’s very specific and there’s not a lot of time spent just cruising around. Now, it’s head out, get into it, do all your efforts and go home. It’s very, very specific.

The daily routine of racing is what

grinds me down. I like to keep things interesting. When you come on a race, you race, you come back, you have massage, you relax then it’s on to the next day. Next thing you know, a week has gone past.

My podcast, Life in the Peloton, is not for

cycling fans. It’s for anyone. The idea was to do a podcast for anyone who doesn’t understand cycling, break it down, make it interesting and speak to guys in the peloton. People don’t really know what we do. Most riders speak differently to a journalist than they do to another racer. When there’s a microphone there, you speak differently. You get an answer, but do you really get the answer? The riders know me better. I don’t want gossip, I’m not trying to get scoops. I just want to hear what you have to say.