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No shoes, no worries: NSWIS Cycling head coach to ride MS Sydney to Gong

Just four days before the 35^th edition of the popular MS Sydney to the Gong community bike ride, NSWIS Cycling head coach Brad McGee admits that he hasn’t seen is bike shoes since March this year, possibly earlier.

McGee, along with fellow NSWIS Cycling coach Ben Kersten, is an ambassador for the event and will be riding the 90-kilometre event from Sydney to Wollongong this Sunday, along with his Subaru NSWIS & MS Development Race Team athletes.

The team, sans McGee, will also take on the exciting MS Wollongong Criterium that follows the community ride.

In his time as a professional athlete McGee was a pivotal part of Australia’s cycling history, claiming three Olympic bronze medals, one silver and a gold. He also became a household name after winning the prologue at the 2003 Tour de France, and holding on to the race leaders yellow jersey for the first three days of the race.

In 2004 he wore the leaders jersey in the Giro d’Italia, and in 2005 donned the leaders colours at the Vuelta a Espana (Tour of Spain). He was the first Aussie to lead the Tour of Spain and first to have worn the leaders jersey in all three of the world’s grand tours.

Now with a focus to nurture the next generation of Australian riders to the elite level, McGee’s personal riding exploits have taken a backseat, but says that his long time involvement with the Australian MS Society keeps bringing him back for the annual pilgrimage from Sydney to Wollongong.

“The begging of the relationship with the MS Society is a bit lost, but it was a natural progression for both Ben [Kersten] and I,” McGee recalled.

“Ben has had some close experiences with the disease, and he also did some work with now three-time Paralympic gold medallist Carol Cooke, who suffers from the disease, and returned with glowing reports of that experience.

“Fast forward to recent years, and Ben and I had both been ambassadors for the MS Sydney to the Gong, so we worked with them to combine NSWIS and the event. Now they’re part of our team and our riders participate in the event.”

While the NSWIS athletes will all have their eyes on a strong finish in the MS Wollongong Criterium, McGee continued that the whole team was looking forward to riding in the spirit of the event.

“We have tried to make the NSWIS Cycling program as much about helping athletes in competition as it is about helping them become good citizens,” he said.

“This Sunday in the 90-kilometre event we will be riding our bikes, helping people in need and have fun at the same time.

“I might even have to ask the boys for a hand, maybe a quick push, because I haven’t seen my bike shoes since about March and I might be a little out of form!”

With the quota of 10,000 entries almost full for the event, McGee implored those that have yet to enter to make it happen for what he describes as one of the best events of the year.

“It’s an amazing ride, a long day with 10,000 of your best friends, but it has a great atmosphere and it is a outstanding celebration for the MS Foundation and everyone involved in raising money,” McGee enthused.

The 2016 MS Sydney to the Gong will be held this coming Sunday, November 6, beginning at 6am AEDT at Sydney Park, St. Peters.

Follow the Subaru NSWIS & MS team throughout the day on Twitter and Instagram!