Tour de France and Superbike world champions to compete at Pan Pacs
Three-time Tour de France green jersey winner Robbie McEwen has built a career on pushing his limits, so it is no surprise that he is taking code-hopping to the extreme.
The 46-year-old Olympian will switch his road bike for a mountain bike and golf clubs at the Pan Pacific Masters Games on the Gold Coast, which started today.
It will be his first competition in any sport since retiring six years ago.
"They really are two extremes of sports," McEwen said.
"Mountain biking, with my cycling background, is something I am pretty comfortable with entering into, while golf I really enjoy but I'm just not that good at it — I play off a handicap of 20."
But he will need to be on his game when he switches smooth, fast roads for rougher terrain.
In the mountain biking, McEwen will be up against another ace: three-time world Superbike champion Troy Bayliss, regarded as one of the most gifted riders on two wheels.
"The racing will be tough but it's not like what I've raced in the past," Bayliss said.
"I'm not going to lose sleep over it, I'm not going to stress out about it too much."
The pair will join 15,500 athletes from 30 countries competing across 40 sports. There are no qualifying standards, apart from a minimum age for each sport, which is generally 30.
Why retired athletes keep competing
The Pan Pacific Masters Games are marketed as a "celebration of sport", but Griffith University Sports College director Duncan Free said the games play an important role for retired elite competitors.
External Link: Twitter Pan Pacs McEwen
"Some athletes compete in their one sport for so long it's actually hard for them to give it up," Mr Free, also a two-time Olympic rowing gold medallist, said.
"That urge to compete again is back in no time at all — whether it be in the same sport or in a different sport that you have always had a passion for or always wanted to have a crack at but never had time to do it."
That sentiment is familiar to McEwen, who is still getting used to the challenges of cycling on tricky, off-road terrain.
"Rather than just being able to sit in the slip stream of other riders and cruise along and wait for your moment on the road, on the mountain bike it's super-intense and you can't afford to lose your concentration," he said.
"I am retired but I still need to have a hobby and I genuinely enjoy riding my bike.
"It is still something you enjoy — to pin a number on and enter a competition and have that feeling that there is something on the line here to ride for.
"Not that I'm expecting to go out and win everything but to take part and have that buzz of being in the field? I'm looking forward to that."
A record number of athletes will compete in the Masters Games, with a big increase in those participating in the distance running and ocean swim events.
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