SWR 2020

A new decade. A new era.

By Black Sheep Cycling

Specialized and Black Sheep will once again join forces in support of Specialized Women's Racing for 2020. Specialized Bicycle Components have backed SWR since its inception eight years ago. A feat that makes the team, founded by Liz Phillipou in 2012, the longest running domestic women's team. This year will also be Black Sheep's third season supporting SWR – a commitment that continues to grow year on year.

Twenty-nineteen saw a number of notable successes for SWR – both individual and as a team. But what shone through most prevalently was the incredible team spirit and camaraderie that went hand in hand with the women's standout results. This last season, success came from the very first race – where Jaime Gunning took the honours at the Shimano SuperCrit – through to the last race at the Tour of Tasmania where the team took two stage victories, the QOM, Most Aggressive and Sprinters Jerseys as well as the Team Classification. The team and its riders also saw notable successes at Australian National ITT (Kate Perry, 3rd) and at the Women's Tour Down Under where Jaime Gunning claimed the coveted Young Riders Jersey.

As SWR move into 2020 that vision, winning spirit and companionship remain stronger than ever, particularly as we welcome four new recruits to the fold – Ashlee Jones (from the VIC Institute of Sport), Lizzie Stannard (Holden Gusto), Ian Jensen as assistant DS and friend of Black Sheep, Melita Van Steel, who takes over as Social Media Manager.

Meet the Team.

As Specialized Women's Racing gear up to go full steam for the Australian Summer of the Cycling, we caught up with the team to find who they are, how they got into cycling and why they race.

In the first of this three video series, we ask: 'How it all began?'

WHY I RIDE.

We know Specialized Women's Racing as a team of hitters. But for each member of the team, there's more to just riding a bike than racing. In the second of our three-part videos series, we asked the women 'Why they Ride?' Freedom, clarity, experiences, travel, and people were high on the agenda.

Kitted Out.

Each rider in 2020 was presented with a Specialized Tarmac Disc Pro; Specialized Prevail II Helmet, with ANGi Technology; S-Works 7 Shoes and their exclusive Black Sheep WMN Team Kit, based on the hugely successful WMN Range, which the team first tested in 2018. Both Specialized and Black Sheep will collaborate with the team throughout the year to bring you a number of special issue releases.

Shimano Supercrit.

Watch SWR in action at the Shimano SuperCrit – the last of its kind as St Kilda Cycling Club, Melbourne calls time on its show-stopping White Street criterium.

Meet the Riders.

We proudly introduce SWR 2020 – a vision for the future. A team that combines youth, experience and multi-disciplinary riders that will change the shape of the domestic women's peloton.

Ashlee Jones.

Initially inspired by her brother and sister, Ashlee came to cycling through triathlon. She arrived at her senses young – aged only 12 when she swapped three sports for one. Her competitive journey to cycling began at the Dunc Grey Velodrome in Sydney where she rose up through the junior ranks with much success. But the biggest influence on her has been her current coach, Glenn O’Shae, who she credits with developing her both on and off the bike. Ashlee has aspirations to become a part of the Australian National Track Cycling Team and the women’s pro peloton, wants to travel the world ticking off international cuisines as she goes and is also about to embark on a Science degree at uni. Audacious ambitions indeed but don’t bet against her making all happen – this one determined young lady.

Ella Bloor.

Now in her fourth year with SWR, Ella is the brains of the team. We think she might even be a Doctor. Not one that visits you when you're sick, but the type that has read a lot. Ella is extremely learned about buildings and design. She is also a hoot, infectious to be around and a bloody hard worker on the bike. Her love for two wheels came when, influenced by her father, she swapped horse trails for single trails. She went on to win the Australian National MTB Series in 2010. And, almost a decade on, is giving the women's peloton a run for their money on skinny tyres and Tarmac.

Briony Mattocks.

Briony began life on two wheels as a recreationalist, quickly learning to dodge traffic and compete for the 'Commuter Cup'. It was in so doing that she found the desire to increase both the distance and the challenge, having bought her first mountain bike in 2013. Briony’s racing career was thus built in the dirt, having achieved a long list of significant results in Marathon MTB and MTB Stage Racing, which has included repping Australia twice at World Championship events. In 2018, she increased her focus on the road by joining SWR. Balancing a corporate job in telecommunications, Briony is still committed to riding fast and will be doing everything she can to support her teammates in 2020. On the mountain bike, we will see her travel to South Africa for the Absa Cape Epic in March, as well as chasing another Aussie call up.

Holly Harris.

Unlike many of her peers, Holly was never magnetically drawn to riding a bike as a youngster. But grew up on a farm just outside Guyra, New South Wales playing every sport under the sun. When she crocked her knee as a teenager and had to take a break from cross country running, her father suggested she join him for a mountain bike ride. Shortly after her 12km debut, he upped the ante and put forward the idea of her competing at an XC race. She won. Left with $50 and has since represented Australia on her mountain bike at XC and Marathon, and is the current Australian XC Marathon Champion. She is also part owner of a bike shop in Armidale and one of the softest spoken and most humble riders in the female peloton. She has a charm that belies her success. We're stoked she's back on the team for 2020 and thank her Dad for introducing her to two wheels.

Jaime Gunning.

Growing up as a kid, Jaime (no, we haven't spelt it wrong) took on practically every sport known to women, "exclusive of ballet" (is that really considered a sport, Jaime?). As a keen swimmer and runner, her competitive career began in triathlon. To improve her lack lustre bike leg, Jaime joined a local Brisbane cycling club's junior development program. It wasn't long before her potential on the bike came to the fore and she had forgotten all about swimming and running. Swapping three sports for travelling up and down the country and across the world reached its pinnacle when she represented Australia in the Junior World Championships in Doha. That high lasted a while, but her studies took priority and though she was still racing the National Road Series, by her own admission, she was just getting by. That was until last year, when she joined SWR. In her first race for the team she won the esteemed Shimano SuperCrit with a cheeky last lap breakaway and then quickly followed that with a top 10 in the Australian National Road Race and by winning the Young Riders Jersey at Tour Down Under. As successful as she's been, Jaime still has more nicknames than she does race wins. We've lost track of the latest one, but believe it might be ‘Astro Boy’ kindly bequeathed by Matilda Reynolds.

Kate Perry.

One of Kate's first memories of riding bikes was when her Dad took her to the local park on her 16-inch, no pedals and pushed her down the hill. Lunacy, right?! Wrong. Grassy hill guaranteed to fall. But also guaranteed to learn how to balance. It will come as no surprise then that her father is her biggest influence on her successful cycling career. As an only child, with a father whose love for bike riding rivals only hers, it was only a matter of time before she hopped on two wheels. From hitchbike rides along the Maribyrnong River to heading down to the Brunswick Cycling Clinic aged eight, she really hasn't looked back. Kate is now one of the SWR's veteran riders – this is her fifth season with the team – and another in which she will aim for the green and gold stripes in the National Individual Time Trial (she has twice come third and is the current Oceania ITT champ). Off the bike, Kate works as a Lecturer and Academic Placement Coordinator at La Trobe University, in charge of over 300 undergraduate students and placing them in industry internships. Somehow she finds the time and balance to continue competing at the top level of the Australian cycling scene.

Lizzie Stannard.

Lizzie was born to be a cyclist. Literally. Her parents met while away racing in the Nineties equivalent of the National Road Series. That's not to say that Lizzie hasn't tried her hand (arms and legs) at a number of other sports, including running, equestrian, swimming, skateboarding, canoe polo, football, netball and triathlon. It was in the latter that she found the most success, representing the Kiwis in the ITU World Cup and on the French pro circuit. But according to Lizzie, "three sports is two too many!" And with that in mind, and nagging running injury, she decided to give road cycling a crack. Half a season in Europe later and a year into surviving by herself in Melbourne - rife with injury, crashes and a particularly hard dose of reality - she is still ambitious and very ready to start a new season with a new team and new opportunities to learn.

Matilda Raynolds.

Matilda vividly remembers purchasing her first bicycle – a hard earned $50 BMX bike. "I can’t remember if it had any performance benefit, but it was blue and moved forward when I pedalled and that was enough. Or it was until my brother flicked me into a barbed wire fence". A sport enthusiast 'Tils', like many of the women in the team, has tried her hand at lots of sports. She played NRL at representative level until she was no longer legally allowed to bring her milkshake to the yard and competed in top level softball, hockey, cricket and athletics. Her issue was she could just never pick one sport. Until she did. Triathlon! At which she quickly rose through the ranks until she turned professional. Pro life was quickly followed by a burned out life, so she swapped her googles and visor for her dream job in Melbourne with Specialized Bicycle Components. It was there aged 29, that she was "absorbed into an amazing cycling community, which was led by some pretty fierce female racers, and threw myself off a ledge to gain some experience. Joining SWR has taken my skill and confidence level leaps and bounds, but more importantly it’s making me a better person and is giving me experiences, which will stay with me for a lifetime".

Taryn Heather.

Quiet, unassuming and a mentor to every other woman on the team, you may not have heard of Taryn Heather, but she is one of the most decorated competitors in the Australian Women's Domestic Road Race scene. Now in her fifth season with SWR, to her teammates she is the ultimate domestique, not in the way that she is not capable of winning a bike race, but in her attitude and determination to put everything on the line to ensure the team achieves their goal. Speaking of putting everything on the line. Taryn’s achievements are many, including time in Europe in the pro peloton, but most notably in the season just past, Taryn took on the 235km 3 Peaks Challenge, smashing the current female record and becoming the first woman to complete this arduous distance and 4000 metres of climbing in less than 8 hours. If that incredible achievement wasn’t enough, consider this: she also has a double degree in Exercise Science and Psychology and postgraduate studies in Psychology, and currently works for the Department of Education as a Psychologist. Taryn, we salute you.

Providing a Pathway Through Cycling.

Be it safety, accessibility, or product, women’s cycling is, and always has been, a second thought. We, at Black Sheep, are trying to change that with the WMN Initiative – of which Specialized Women's Racing are a major beneficiary. The WMN Initiative is a program that focuses on providing a pathway through cycling – both aiming to increase female participation in the sport and provide elite, domestic female cyclists with the opportunity to gain experience across a wealth of disciplines and races.

5% OF ALL BLACK SHEEP WMN AND SWR BRANDED PRODUCTS GO STRAIGHT TO THE WMN INITIATIVE.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE WMN INITIATIVE

SWR 2020 – RACE CALENDAR.

As well as competing in the 2020 National Road Series, Specialized Women's Racing will attend the following races throughout the Australian Summer of Cycling.