Recently titled King Kane at Nationals in Ballarat, Kane Richards is certainly surprising the professional cycling circuit with his aggressive, powerful racing.
We’re extremely happy to have both Kane & fiance Danielle as FIXX Sponsored Athletes.
Kane, being a taller cyclist than your “average” professional you’ve certainly bought the lime light to yourself. As a member of ACA Pro Cycling you rattled many feathers on the hilly Nationals course!
Robbie McEwen couldn’t speak highly enough. Can you share with us some emotions you felt during the road race.
The Road Race was a bit of a roller coaster. I was fairly confident in how I was riding but I have never raced nationals whilst being so fit, so I didn’t know what to expect. As the laps ticked away, I was more in disbelief as I was still in the lead group coming through the finish with 3, then 2, then with the bell ringing with 1 to go. It wasn’t until the top of the climb on the last lap that I was confident that I could win the bunch kick against the guys that were left in the group. But even then, it was hard to believe the position I was in.
Now, we know you’re a regular cramper so how does it now feel since discovering CrampFix?
Crampfix is definitely a game changer for me. I have cramped myself out of more races that I can remember, so to be able to have it in my pocket for when I do start to cramp, it has proven to be the difference between just finishing the race and winning.
Can you tell us which FIXX products you used at Nationals.
I was trying to collect 2 bottles per lap over 16 laps at nationals; 1 bottle of water and 1 bottle of Fixx Fuel X. The water was mainly used to pour over my head and back, helping with the heat. I also had 4 raspberry Crampfix Shots. From memory they were on laps 8, 10, 12 and 14 and that got me to the finish.
So, after your huge results at Nationals you went on to race at Tour Down Under. Can you share with us some of your hardest moments during the different stages.
The hardest stage for me was stage 1. The race was split up mid-way through and I was in the lead group of 15 that made it to the finish 4 minutes in front of the main peloton. This stage was particularly hard for me as there was 1580m elevation and average temp of 36 degrees. Perfect combination for a hard day out and it was a decisive stage for the tour.
How difficult is it as a professional cyclist to juggle training & working?
Working and training is quite a struggle at times to be able to fit everything in. I am very lucky to work at Mikes Bikes, Miami where my hours are flexible to suit my training and racing. Because my boss Mark Stout also has a passion for cycling, he is great when it comes to having time off to go away for racing.
So Kane, where do you go from here? We’re super excited to see how far you go on the World’s Circuit
Our plan is to head over to Europe in mid April to do some racing in Belgium which should really suit me, and I am really looking forward to it. We will be over there for roughly 2 months and I can’t wait to get over there and see where I match up against some of the world’s best.