Meet Sydney Uni Velo Cyclist Victoria McNeill

Please meet Sydney Uni Velo cyclist Victoria McNeill. Originally from New Zealand, Victoria has called Sydney home since 1986. We asked Victoria about her cycling, inspiration and more in our latest Q&A.

Staminade: How did your love of cycling begin?

VM: A work colleague (Tim Rice, a member) introduced me to it when I got sick of running all the way back in 2000, picked it up quite quickly and never looked back.

Staminade: What are your top 5 tips for young aspiring cyclists?

VM:

1. Cross training is important – walk or run as well
2. Don’t over train.
3. Incorporate recovery in your training plan.
4. Eat a healthy diet.
5. stay properly hydrated!

Victoria’s Successes and Goals

Staminade: What has been your greatest success to date?

VM: Hmmmm… it might still happen. I have 4 State medals so pretty happy with those and proving that age is no barrier when you ride or race.

Staminade: What’s your ultimate cycling goal?

VM: To keep up with the young ones and just keep on enjoying cycling as long as I can.

Staminade: Who was your role model as an aspiring cyclist?

VM: Would you believe Lance Armstrong! Now one of life’s biggest disappointments. I have always admired athletes, men and women for the sacrifices they are prepared to make to achieve their goals, too many to name these days.

Staminade: What’s your pre-event routine?

VM: A rest day one or two days prior as well as cleaning or adjusting anything on the bike (but NEVER the day before). Get everything packed and ready the night before. Always eat something before a race, a reasonable warm up and don’t forget to take food 15 minutes before start regardless of race distance

Staminade: How does a typical training week look for you?

VM: At the moment it might start with a recovery ride if I have raced or had a long ride the weekend and I often won’t get back into proper training until Wednesday which is usually a reasonably hard session, Thursday intervals, Friday easy and back it Saturday/Sunday. I juggle my sport with my kids sport so have to be flexible with my training.

Staminade: Favourite part of training?

VM: Coming home and knowing I have had a good work out (and enjoyed some great company and excellent coffee).

Staminade: Hardest part of training and how you overcome the challenge?

VM: Being time poor with juggling family life. My husband rides and luckily, we don’t need to juggle anymore as the kids are older, but I still miss out on the coffee more than I would like! I make sure I train efficiently and consistently and if I can’t ride, I get to the gym or go for a run/walk.

Staminade: What’s your favourite flavour of Staminade?

VM: Lemon Lime.

Staminade: Staminade’s tagline is ‘First Aid for Thirst’. What does this mean to you?

VM: It keeps me fresh in the heat.

Find out more about Sydney Uni Velo here: https://suvelo.com.au/

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