On Sunday, Australian Garry Millburn of Speedvagen/MAAP put an impressive cap on his month-long U.S. cyclocross tour with a win on Day 2 of the US Open of Cyclocross in Boulder.
Millburn and his wife, Fiona Morris, made the trip to the States from Sydney, Australia, to Iowa City to start their full U.S. cyclocross experience with the Jingle Cross World Cup.
Garry Millburn (Speedvagen / MAAP) continued his U.S. trip in CT. 2017 KMC Cross Fest Day 1 (Friday) © J. Curtes / Cyclocross Magazine
Millburn raced both the Jingle Cross and Waterloo World Cups and then headed to Connecticut for the KMC Cross Fest. He and Morris then traveled west to Boulder, where they raced in the US Open of Cyclocross over the weekend.
Garry Millburn (Speedvagen / MAAP) has some fun before his race. 2017 World Cup Waterloo Elite Men. © D. Mable / Cyclocross Magazine
Millburn is one of the top Australian cyclocross racers. He finished second behind Chris Jongewaard at Australian Nationals and then got the best of Jongewaard on Day 2 of the Fields of Joy Cyclocross race in Melbourne in August.
Garry Millburn finished second at Australian Nationals and raced in the epic mudder the next day in August. 2017 Australia NCXS4. © J. Curtes / Cyclocross Magazine
Cyclocross Magazine chatted with Millburn during Jingle Cross in Iowa City in the embedded . We also reached out to him for a bit more about his U.S. trip.
More with Garry Millburn About His U.S. Cyclocross Adventure
Cyclocross Magazine: How did you get into bike racing? Did you start on the road?
Garry Millburn: I started mountain biking as a kid and progressed to racing fairly quickly. I guess I have always been competitive so I wanted to keep getting better so I could keep winning. It started with local mountain biking club racing and just continued to progress to state, national and international. I do race on the road now too, mostly criteriums and a bit of road racing here and there for fun. It’s good offseason training.
CXM: What is the cyclocross scene like in Australia?
GM: The scene is growing and really gaining momentum. I would say our scene is more like the U.S. than Europe, lots of participation and people can get pretty into the spirit of ’cross.
The elites keep getting faster each year. I think part of that is due to people heading to the USA or Europe to race, which is the next level up. More women are coming into cyclocross whether they are coming from a mountain bike or road background or perhaps never raced at all.
Cyclocross is definitely a welcoming community. You have the best racers in Australia right through to someone who is at their first race. I think that’s pretty cool.
Garry Millburn and Chris Jongewaard battled on Day 2. FOJCX Day 2 © Jeff Curtes
CXM: What was it like beating JBlood? He had quite the impressive record coming into that Fields of Joy CX race.
GM: While it was rewarding, it’s only one time in two years. Le’ts start talking about it when I can make a habit of it.
Garry Millburn outlasted Chris “JBlood” Jongewaard on Day 2 of Fields of Joy CX. FOJCX Day 2 © Jeff Curtes
CXM: How has your American trip gone so far? Any highlights?
GM: It’s been a fairly eventful couple of weeks. The Trek CX World Cup was my best World Cup result to date and I just felt like I had a good race. Catching up with old friends and meeting new friends is always a highlight of traveling and coming to races.
CXM: What’s coming up next for you?
GM: We are currently just north of Boston and will be racing Midnight Ride of Cross and KMC Cross Fest, then we head to Boulder for Boulder US Open. Then its home for a few weeks before heading to Japan for ten days for a couple of C2 race weekends. Back home for a few more weeks, with a visit to Tasmania to check out McVilly Cafe and Cycles (a cafe and bike shop Millburn and Morris are part owners of). Then it’s off to Europe for an eight-week block of racing including the World Cup and World Championships. Then I’ll have a very short off-season before cross starts up again in May in Australia.
Then it’s off to Europe for an eight-week block of racing including the World Cup and World Championships. Then I’ll have a very short off-season before cross starts up again in May in Australia.
Garry Millburn raced in Japan last year and will be doing so again this year. 2016 Rapha Super Cross Nobeyama, Japan. © J. Curtes / Cyclocross Magazine
CXM: Where are the places to ride mountain bikes in Australia? Sell me on packing my bike up and heading down there.
GM: The up-and-coming place is definitely Tasmania, there is a lot of development, infrastructure and mountain bike riding. Think gravity enduro-style parks in some of the most pristine locations. There are more and more bike-for-hire places opening there, so you won’t need to worry about packing your bike for the long flight.
CXM: Thank you for your time. Good luck the rest of the season.
GM: Thank you.
