Chief Sports Writer of the Australian Lithuanian newspaper – Alex (Čižauskas) Tigani – caught up with “The Bicycle Show” ahead of the 2012 UCI Track World Championships to talk about the cycling rivalry between Simona Krupeckaitė (LTU) and Anna Meares (Aus) as well as the ongoing hospitally of the Geelong Lithuanian community.
**FOR THOSE WHO LIKE CYCLING –
The Geelong Lithuanian Vytis Sports Club will be hosting a BBQ at Pettit Park (Beauford Ave, Bell Post Hill, VIC 3215) on Friday the 30th of March 2012.
Be there at 6pm to meet Lithuania’s top track cyclists!
Is there a is there a particular chair I mean like you know obviously in Australia where you know very language-rich Aussie Aussie Aussie um uh what do you what do you call what do you cheers uh we have a chair called The Log and for those who were with me
With the cheese Squad at the Australian Open we just we stand up chests high and there’s uh Translate foreign unbiased hello do I well you’re a volunteer working at the event well I’m only in the accredited I’m in the accreditation Center and you’re in the media phrase
She’s promised me to come and translate if I get stuck yes perhaps so she’s not busy translating Spanish people um because of course I’m not allowed to speak French I’ll get in trouble with my boyfriend but he’s going to be there I don’t know I don’t speak French with him therefore
If I speak it with um people for work because I refuse to speak it with him which makes it interesting but we are talking about cycling not me and my languages and things like that so um cycling team do we if people sort of there going what what colors what are we
Looking for we know what their kit looks like oh well um their colors are yellow the nation’s colors are yellow green and red and um in in the basketball they’re famous for just being green tops of a bit of the other colors so the green army whereas the cyclists as we saw in
Geelong two years ago tend to bring out the yellow a little bit of red um and that’s been shown on the podium with um with Simona crippled shade there who um who along with um animes from Australia that’s where the Rivalry is on the track so yeah that of course was the championship
Sweat Simona got her second world record I believe it was for the flying 500 and so just for the fact the fact that a Lithuanian who has two World Records in any any sport is coming to uh Melbourne or Geelong area that’s that’s why we’re here and yeah that’s why I’m gonna cheer
Yeah when it comes to all the sport I mean in Australia we don’t really have look where you’re up there as a as a country to watch never exactly ever what other sports is there a big sort of between Australia and Lithuania um basketball like I said um a few Olympics Australia
Defeating Lithuania because they know how hard they had a basketball whereas anyone watching at home from Australia think well here’s a country the size of Tasmania geographically the population of Melbourne what’s the big deal so uh the basketball it’s a big deal but for cycling hopefully we can get we can
Start an Australian rivalry and keep it going for the years ago well at least you know we’ll start school we’ll start in Geelong cycling in the track we’ll get the uh the Geelong Australians Lithuania rivalry trying to work that out yeah it sounds good and I’ll tell
You what I can’t believe I’ve forgotten to mention this to those that were at the tour of the tour of Geelong last August the women’s um winner Rebecca wiser she’s actually half Lithuanian herself and her her father Alex is the president of the Geelong Lithuanian Sports community so oh there’s the
Little Geelong link right there it’s a very good little geologist so the team that’s over here um at the moment we said it’s dangerous team the endurance team are they commuting up to train um in daraban on the indoor or are they training around Geelong they’ve been
Training around Geelong and they will be here until Saturday and um for those who are listening next week oh yeah next Saturday not today so and um for those who are listening if you want to meet the um Lithuanian Insurance team and you are all welcome here in the studio
Um the Geelong Vita Sports Club will be having a barbecue Friday night at Petit Park sorry if I’m advertising without permission but yeah come on down make some potential maybe maybe we’ll see them in the Olympics yeah yeah so bringing up the the Olympics this is
Getting a bit detailed but do you know how many athletes from Lithuania have qualified for the Olympics to throw their Olympic hopeful from I know on the road cycling scheme we have um uh the Russell leviette she um like I said she’s come top two in the last
UCI Road championships and with the men for both track and uh Andrew there’s a bit of work to do but like we were talking like you were talking about on your last interview even the BMX cyclists have um helped Lithuanian women stand up as uh film modem shade to claim
The most medals at last year’s summer Universe yet for Lithuania that’s in any sport claiming uh two Silvers and a yeah two Silvers in a BMX