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An electrician who traded in his device equipment for a mountain bike earlier this yr is now travelling the world, competing towards one of the best of one of the best and creating higher native amenities alongside the best way.
Mike Ross says he is at all times liked something with two wheels — first driving motor bikes in his youthful years, then freestyle BMX — however, when he discovered mountain biking, he “fell in love with the neighborhood”.
The 30-year-old spent a decade juggling his ardour for driving with full-time work as an electrician in Queanbeyan, simply outdoors Canberra.
A couple of months in the past, he give up his job and went all in to pursue his dream.
“I spent the final 10 years doing my electrical commerce and that simply allowed me to comply with my ardour and juggle the 2,” he says.
“I believe it was tougher than I bear in mind on the time, wanting again on it. I do not understand how I did that.
“Doing eight, 9 hours of labor a day after which attempting to journey for an additional three or 4 on prime of that could be a fairly massive feat.
“Then, this yr, I acquired the chance to truly give up my job and do that full time, and I believe the outcomes form of present for themselves actually.”
Ross has already gained quite a lot of medals and trophies, though his most up-to-date triumph is one he will not be forgetting any time quickly.
He took first place within the males’s pace and magnificence occasion at Crankworx Rotorua, the primary of 4 stops on the competitors’s world tour. He was the one Australian to win a gold medal within the males’s division.
“I believe this medal actually exhibits how onerous I’ve labored for it,” he says.
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“[It], sort of, brings a tear to my eye interested by it.”
Nonetheless, that victory wasn’t the one first for Ross. He’d beforehand landed a trick by no means seen earlier than in competitors.
“Mid final yr I did a money roll off a flat drop, which is the primary time that is ever been completed,” he says. “So, consider a 4-metre drop off your balcony, say, after which touchdown down on a touchdown doing entrance flip 360, mainly.”
With a world tour gold medal already underneath his belt, Ross says he does not plan to decelerate any time quickly.
“Subsequent up is Crankworx Cairns. So, the following cease of the world tour is right here in Australia, which is fairly thrilling,” he says.
“I believe it is an enormous step for the neighborhood, and Australia generally, to see one thing of that calibre right here.”
He says to maintain up his basic health he likes to journey the paths round Canberra, however coaching for tips requires a extra devoted set-up.
“For the correct, massive, airtime tips, we needed to construct our personal facility,” Ross defined.
“There’s nowhere actually in Australia that has what we want so we put all of our cash, all of our time, into constructing one thing that we will practice on — and that we will practice on safely.”
He says that, whereas he and different native skilled mountain bike riders constructed the ability for their very own coaching, it was open for anybody to use.
Ross says mountain biking is “undoubtedly a younger man’s sport”, however he says that is just the start for him, and he is hoping to compete professionally for a few years to come back.
“I am 30 now and I am pretty much as good as I’ve ever been and I do not actually plan on slowing down.
“I will see how far I can get.”
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