CYCLING - Weeds and seeds

29th October 2009

JEREMY Vennell wobbles on a medicine ball, sinking his teeth into a toasted banana sandwich.

On the other end of the lounge, fellow Bissell Pro cycling teammate Omer Kem is sprawled across a comfy chair, massaging the keys to his laptop.

Fellow American Cody O'Reily is conspicuous by his silence as all three, kitted out in their snazzy cycling skin suits, unwind following a training stint around the picturesque Puketapu.

It seems Vennell, 29, of Hastings, has helped himself to homeowner and fellow Ramblers Cycling Club member Daniel Warren's food rations after two unsuccessful attempts at raiding the fridge for leftover ham and chicken.

Following an "Oops" from Vennell, Kem says: "Just tell Dan I made the mistake, if you like."

While it may sound trivial, that is pretty much symbolic of the food pyramid in cycledom.

As difficult as it may be to comprehend for the average Joe, the riders co-habit in a metaphoric world of delicate flowers and weeds as germinating seeds jostle for light in reaching for the sun.

"I'm very durable and Jeremy's a delicate flower," a poker-faced Kem reveals to SportToday as the members of Bissell Pro, including Peter Latham, of Wellington, and Ben Jacques-Maynes, of California, prepare for the gruelling annual Tour of Southland from next week (November 2-7).

"I'm a weed and I'll bounce back never mind how many times I've been trodden on ," he says as the others crack up laughing.

Vennell, who recently returned from California with wife Anita after his second stint in the US, nods in agreement: "Yup, I'm a little soft now. I hang out with all those hippies in California who are prancing about in the daisy fields."

A "captain", Vennell relies on "domestiques", such as Kem, to pave the way for him to cross the line for all the glory - almost like the stuntman who makes the protagonists in films look versatile.

That indubitably leaves 21-year-old O'Reily as the seed, waiting for that patchy off-season rain throughout the season so he can flourish in the mould of a wide-eyed apprentice who will one day mingle with the pretty boys.

"I take what I can get," says Cody, of California, who has been absorbing all the stories from Kem and Vennell about what hostile Southland has in store for him on his debut of the nine-stage tour.

The one-year-old Bissell Pro rider has an enviable pedigree as a track cyclist, his prowess the product of his father, Rory O'Reily, a 1984 Olympian who honed his skills from the age of 14.

This younger O'Reily is the current US track champion, stamping his authority in the madison and omnium disciplines.

"Dad coached me until I was 18 years old," explains O'Reily, indicating a shift to the tour arena is inevitable because the money in track cycling in the US is not lucrative even when compared with New Zealand.

Having just done three races this year on the track, he is open to the thought of a London Olympics berth in 2012 if approached.

In Southland, O'Reily will be relying on Bissell Pro team manager, Glen Mitchell, of Hamilton and 2000 tour winner, to throw him a bone or two.

O'Reily will have his moments in the sprint competition, stage wins and also qualify for the under-23 pink jersey.

The general consensus from the lounge-room gathering is that Latham, who thrives on the flat courses, is a "very delicate flower" and needs more TLC than Vennell, adept at taming hills.

They are unanimous Jacques-Maynes, of California, is a hardy breed, having finished runner-up in the US National Racing Calendar, behind teammate Tom Zirbel, after the Bissell (vacuum manufacturers) team finished runner-up to Colavita team (Italian food importers). Latham is ranked 17th on the calendar with Vennell finishing 23rd.

Says Kem: "I've been riding for Ben and Tom for three to four years now and I've never seen Ben have a bad day."

Jacques-Maynes, who, like O'Reily, was flatting with Hawke's Bay rider, Dylan Stewart (Southern Institute of Technology team) before heading off to Wellington to flat with Latham while catching up with his US girlfriend here for a visit.

Kem believes Jacques-Maynes can mix it with movers and shakers such as Glen Chadwick (Zookeepers - Cycle Surgery) and two-time defending champion Hayden Roulston (Colourplus), of Ashburton.

Vennell's former Belgium teammate, Chadwick, had not only Ramblers but the entire country scratching their heads when he clinched gold in the men's elite time-trial at the national road cycling championship in Upper Hutt in January 2007.

The Opunake-born 32-year-old lived in Hawera before emigrating to Australia with his parents, Alan and Delroy, when he was 12 years old. He registered, through Vennell, as a Ramblers club member to qualify to race in the country.

The 2007 Southland tour was a memorable one for the Bissell Pro lads when they won six out of the nine stages with Kem finishing 10th overall and missing out on the king of the mountain polka dot jersey as the runner-up.

On paper, Kem is game enough to say they should win next week's tour in a field of 125 riders, boasting 24 five-member teams.

"We are the strongest team in the race. If we take that pressure into the event then we'll be nothing short of winning," he says of Bissell whose New Zealand and Australia branches are sponsoring them.

The Americans laugh as Vennell recounts flying into the Deep South for the first time.

"We were landing at the airport and the plane comes in almost horizontally and we thought, 'Oh my God, we're not going to make it'," he says, simulating an aircraft with his hand and losing his perch on the medicine ball.

Adds Kem: "Oh yeah, there were like seven other Americans on the flight and we were just scared shit-less."

Pivotal to Bissell's composition is the ability of any member to make breaks.

"It's more a case of being at the right time and the right place because the wind is so unpredictable there ... I was always in the breaks in 2007," says Kem, who reckons his wet, cold and windy hometown of Oregon in November is Southland in March.

Kem, who picked up the sport at Oregon State University while on a mountainbiking jaunt as a credit to his papers, enjoyed the "company of peers and awesome culture".

"The income's good but not great. You've got to love your job. It's great to make anything because when you start you do it for nothing," he says, disclosing he earns about $US30,000.

He takes each day as it comes, reassessing his "internal drive" as injuries take their toll on an ageing body. He broke his hip in the Tour of California in February but, as Vennell jovially points out, he was "miraculously" back in the saddle in April.

It wasn't funny, considering medical experts felt he was probably not going to walk again.

It's remarkable that he raced 130 days this year compared with the average 50-60 days other professionals clock.

But while the body sometimes isn't willing, Kem's mind is fixated to the cycling industry. He is already coaching.

For now, Kem says: "I'd rather kill myself for Jeremy than demand he kill himself for me."

Vennell and Kem impress that for every rider who finishes the tour, there's a $50 bonus at the finish line, much to the amusement of the younger O'Reily.

"It's worth every dollar," says Kem with a wry smile, pointing out he was sick last year but the tour director wanted him to sign a waiver if he persisted on completing the tour.