HomeInterviewsJordan Kerby - the new World Pursuit Champion; "It's pretty surreal"
Jordan Kerby.
VeloVeritas first spoke to 24 year-old Aussie Jordan Kerby three years ago; he was 2010 world junior points and team pursuit champion but then turned to the road.
Success came quickly and he won the 2013 Australian U23 Road Race Championship.
There followed a forgettable spell with Michael Rasmussen’s ill fated Christina Watches team before he moved back to Australia, winning the 2014 Australian U23 Time Trial Championship.
Whilst he achieved some promising results over the next seasons in the service of the Australian Drapac Pro Continental squad it’s fair to say that he never quite reached the levels he’d promised.
Drapac didn’t retain him for the merger with Cannondale so after some hard thinking, Kerby decided to go back to his first love – the velodrome, for 2017.
The result of his switch could hardly have met with more success – Australian and World Pursuit Champion.
We caught up with him shortly after his Worlds success where he rode the third fastest time ever in qualifying then beat reigning world champion Filippo Ganna of Italy in the final.
The man who we were keeping an eye on, Corentin Ermenault – the European individual and team pursuit champion – finished in fourth spot.
Ermenault has the best of genes; his dad was ex-pro and pursuit world champion, Philippe Ermenault.
Ermenault junior was on the podium in the 2016 U23 Ronde and rides in the colours of Wiggins this year.
But getting back to Mr. Kerby, we caught up with him shortly after his Hong Kong triumph.
Ed's been involved in cycling for over 50 years. In that time he's been a successful time triallist, a team manager and a sponsor of several teams and clubs. He's also a respected and successful coach and during the winter months was often working in the cabins at the Six Days for some of the world's top riders. Ed remains a massive fan of the sport and couples his extensive contacts with an inexhaustible enthusiasm for the minutiae and the history of our sport.
In February 2023 however, our dear friend and beloved colleague Ed suffered a devastating stroke and faces an uncertain future; Ed has lost his ability to speak, to read, and has lost movement on the right side of his body. He's working with speech and physical therapists on rehabilitation, but all strokes are different and each patient responds differently, so unfortunately recovery is one day at a time. Ed ran his own business installing windows, and will probably not be able to work again. Please consider joining us to make a contribution to Ed's GoFundMe page to help stabilise and secure his future.
George Atkins was a name that suddenly appeared on the Scottish scene back in the summer. And on Sunday the versatile man from Leicester took silver in the British U23 Time Trial Championships, but before his foray into the world of riding 'alone and unpaced', he spent six weeks in Flanders, so naturally we needed to have a word with him, not long before the British Champs.
The last time we spoke to 23 year-old Aussie, Luke Davison he was burning up the kermises back in the spring. But now that it’s winter he’s back on the track and just keeps on winning. He was third in the omnium at the Manchester World Cup to new Belgian track flyer and Gent Six Day winner, Jasper De Buyst but turned the tables in the recent Mexico World Cup, relegating De Buyst to third and taking the honours.
George Edwards? The name might not mean much to you but along with Brian Smith, Robert Millar and David Miller he’s one of few Scotsmen who have won the British National Road Race Championship – in his case the BLRC version in 1946. George passed away in 1992 at the age of 68 but Harry Tweed connected us with George’s son who shares the same Christian name and now lives in the Netherlands. Here’s what George had to say to VeloVeritas, recently.
Paul Kimmage has been a near-lone voice in the wilderness for a long time, questioning the ethics in cycling and railing against the alleged corruption amongst the riders and the people charged with running the sport for over 20 years.
We thought it would be interesting to revisit a couple of interviews with Kimmage, to see if his position and message have changed any in the interim.
East Lothian in springtime should be an idyllic setting for a bike race; but today she showed her spiteful side for the traditional east coast season-opening Musselburgh 3-up, with a freezing, grey day which granted no favours to the weak. John Anderson’s Bicycleworks 'tester trio' of Sharkey, Dale and Caesar proving strongest on the day. But one must remember that Scotland’s notorious cannibal, Sawney Bean was born in East Lothian – perhaps on a day like this . . .
The 2019 Race Across America (RAAM) was won by a man who’s already won it five times previously – the undisputed king of the ultra-distance riders, Austria’s Christoph Strasser. We caught up with Christoph a week or two after his epic ride – by his own admission, the hardest RAAM he has ever participated in.
"Goodie bag!" I'm not used to "freebies;" by the time Dave or Martin and I stumble into the press room, all the goodies have gone - but we have the best sun tans. However, when Jim McFarlane mentioned "goodie bag" I was out to Livingston like a ferret. It seemed like a shame to waste a trip to Endura and not interview the main man. The timing was perfect, Jim was just back from seeing his boys in action at Haut Var.
We humbly ask for your help to support our dear friend and beloved colleague Ed Hood. Ed suffered a devastating stroke in February last year and faces an uncertain future.
As a result of the stroke, Ed has lost his ability to speak, and to read, and has lost movement on the right side of his body. He’s working with speech and physical therapists on rehabilitation but all strokes are different and each patient responds differently, so unfortunately recovery is one day at a time.
Ed ran his own business installing windows but will not be able to work again and his financial future is uncertain, so please consider joining us to make a contribution to the GoFundMe page to help stabilise and secure Ed's future. Thank you.
