Brown All Fired-up For Cup Victory
Sydney Morning Herald
Monday December 9, 2002
The worries of the bushfires roaring near his Menai home spurred world champion team pursuit rider Graeme Brown to victory at the Lapierre Sydney Cup on Wheels on Saturday night.
Brown, 23, said dodging the dubious riding tactics of some of the frontmarkers was dangerous, but nothing compared to the panic he felt when his younger sister Katie called him on Friday.
``It was very scary, she just said, `Is there anything in particular you want from your room, I packed your Olympic skinsuit and Commonwealth Games tracksuit in the car, but is there anything else?'," he said. ``I was in Canberra for a training camp and there was nothing I could do."
Fortunately, the family home survived.
During the cup, a seven-lap handicap, Brown was helped out by strong turns by, first, world sprint champion Sean Eadie and then Peter Dawson to catch the frontmarkers in the final back straight.
In the women's Hillbrick Sydney Cup on Wheels, world silver medal scratchmarker Rochelle Gilmore had overtaken the frontmarkers by the final straight, avoiding a nasty four-woman crash just metres from the finish.
© 2002 Sydney Morning Herald