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!
I um ever since the UCI came to jalong I did my first article for the Lithuanian paper which I called villus which is the capital city of Lithuania to mble Street cycling the Lithuanian way that’s BR and though I may not have been the most skilled journalist at the time they
Liked my passion so over the last two years I’ve kept up to it to the point where I’ve become the chief sports writer of the paper and now I’ve been selected as the media liaison for the uh the tournament this month so I suppose thing is I mean I’m guessing you must be
Lithuanian half Lithuanian that’s correct lith Sports oh that’s the mother’s side so what I mean I’m guessing you’re speaking the language Le is with the team uh I know some words but it’s more the sporting knowledge which get which is getting us through this week um everyone’s enthusiastic and the
Hospitality from the Jong with Community is outstanding I must give some credit on it that’s all right so I mean so the team is in town how many people are on it well there are two teams the Sprint team with um uh world record holders they’ll be arriving next
Week but right now the endurance team they’re staying in Grove they arrived here two days ago and it’s an interesting story um the jalong Leu Community uh got them a house for 2 weeks filled the fridge with food and when they opened it some of them were
Half in tears because they said there’s only been one ever time where this has happened to us because Lithuania aren’t quite the uh you know most economic country in the world so the president of the Lithuanian community in Jong St should us you know asked well when was
The other time St of interest and they said that was the last time we came to jalong so that that really shows how much the jalong communities put into these events well and some of those Lithuanian families might not even be Cy cycling Enthusiast the whole country the
Motto is we have two religions uh one one’s the you know Rel religious and the second is basketball so um everyone any other sport is very hard to get in but the last 10 years so many cycling stories have happened such as uh two Women’s World Road Champions um one one
Track Champion these are all female stories and also do we have any green Edge fans listening well two years ago when the World Championships came into town um one player was sely one C was sely disappointed that he couldn’t make the 10 and now he’s been selected um from
With to represent green fantastic so is it I’m guess it’s getting bigger over there I mean you know in Australia obviously we’ve got you know football and Cricket but k 11 is still a household name do we have household names in Lithuania uh with the cyclist females yes but the males they still
Have to you know keep pushing up the hill usually it’s the other way is looking at the smiles around tell this is a female bunch here come to to France you’ll have for example last year while we’re all you know we had the Y for cadal the only two
Lithuanian cyclist one came 170th and one came 156th at least they finished finished however when it comes to women’s for example one one um Cy Russa Lev She’s Come top 10 in the last two UCI roads one eth in Long ninth in uh was Denmark
Last year denark yeah so it was it was in Denmark it shows how the females are progressing to household names yeah that’s great that’s that’s really good for the sport I think we’ll keep him we could become a regular respond on the show yeah you’re a sist yourself uh no
Don’t tell us you’re a basketballer please I’m actually just strictly Sports journalist I’d rather bring out the positive stories of others rather than ATT myself so you just purely got into this from being in touch with the team during the world champs yeah that’s that’s exactly correct and since then I brought
Some articles just to prove that I’m actually who who I say got F lines in the paper exactly there some English I read a little bit oh yeah no I write in English so that everyone in the community can understand and basically from the uh members that
Visited jalong 2 years ago we’ve had some participants in the tour to France like I said um the UCI both world and track um championships and also um the J of Italia which is watch by millions throughout the world so when it comes to um cycling in Lithuania I mean we were
Speaking just before with Melinda McLoud and talking about the Rivalry between um in BMS it’s more Australia and France in the US I mean does Lithuania have you know another country where it’s just on oo that’s a good question well the Lithuanian people were held against their independence from Russia for the
For 50 years so uh in cycling basketball soccer whenever they defeat the Russians though though they try and be as political as possible on stage with a single clap off stage the party against blackit I was actually making me the Dutch with the Germ is there a is there a particular cheer I mean like you know obviously in Australia we you know got the good old very language Rich oie o oie o o o it’s not exactly amazingly exciting either for Chile and uh what do you what do you call what do you cheer in
Lithuania uh we have a cheer called the LA and for those who are with me with the uh Che Squad at the Australian Open we just we stand up chest’s high it’s uh love so it’s kind of like an Aussie I guess not as not as poet translate into anything or is it
Just like o o well the word means good so I guess for an Australian to translate it’s just good good good good good it’s nice to the countries when it comes to sporting Che just can’t be bothered that’s what I’m wearning it’s just like yeah we’re winning oh we better think of
Something this just mean I’ve got I’ve got a barri for the Lithuanian teams up there on the track wheels does it this may be a problem no you have to be nonbiased H do I while you’re a volunteer working at the event well I’m only in the accred I’m in the
Accreditation Center and you’re in the media well you never know she’s promised me to come and translate if I get stuck yes perhaps CU she’s not busy translating Spanish people um oh yeah yeah this will be interesting and possibly Japanese and of course I’m not allowed to speak French or I get in
Trouble with my boyfriend what he’s going to be there oh no no I don’t speak French with him therefore if I speak it with um people for work I’m in trouble cuz 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 thean cycling team do we if people are sort of there going what what colors what are we looking for do we know what the 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 cyclist as we saw in Ju long 2 years ago tend to um bring out the yellow with a bit of red
Um and that’s been shown on the podium with um with Simona kuch who um who along with um anim from Australia that’s where the Rivalry is on the track so for me living in Australia wor I don’t know who I’m God oh they thr Vicky Pendleton
In there oh yeah the Brit the Brit she she U had some rivalry on uh in the track championships hosted in Poland that of course was the Championships where Simona got her second um world record I believe it was for the flying 500 and so just for the fact that a
Lithuanian who has two World Records in any any sport is coming to uh the melbour and jalong area that’s that’s why we’re here and yeah that’s why we’re going to cheer I think it’s great cuz I mean you know when it comes to all the sport I mean in Australia we don’t
Really have Lithuania up there as a as a country to watch never incling ever well I can’t I mean what other sports is there a big sort of between Australia and Lithuania um basketball like I said um few Olympics Australia’s been jumping for joy um the experts have been jumping
For joy defeating Lithuania because they know how hard they H at basketball whereas anyone watching at home from Australia think well here’s a country the size of Tasmania geographically the population of Melbourne um what’s the big deal so uh for 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 year we at least try to get this you know we’ll start small we’ll start in jalong cycling in the track we’ll get the uh the jalong Australians Lithuania rivalry try to work that out yeah that sounds
Good and I tell you what can’t believe I’ve forgotten to mention this for those that were uh at the tour the tour of jalong last August the women’s um winner Rebecca WI that she’s actually half Lithuanian herself and her her father Alex is the president of the um jalong
Liuan Sports community so wow there’s the little jalong link right there for you a very good little jalong link I like that link so the team that’s over here um at the moment say it’s the endurance team the endurance team that’s correct um are they commuting up to
Train um in daraban on the indoor or are they training around Jal long they’ve been training around jalong and they will be here until Saturday and um for those who are listening that Saturday next week yeah next Saturday not today sorry and um for those who are listening
If you want to meet the um liuanan endurance team and you are all welcome here in the studio um the jalong V2 Sports Club will be having a barbecue Friday night at ped Park sorry if I’m advertising without permission but 6:00 come on down meet some potential maybe
Maybe we’ll see them in the Olympics yeah Wonder try to um spur them on so bringing up the the Olympics this is getting a bit a bit detailed but do you know how many um athletes from Lithuania have qualified for the Olympics do you know they Olympic hopeful from I know on
The road cycling scheme we have um uh the Russ she um like I said she’s come top to in the last um uh UCI Road championships and um with the men um for both track and uh and Road there’s a bit of work to do but like we were like you
Were talking out on your last interview even the BMX cyclists have um helped Lithuanian women stand up as uh V sh claimed the most um medals at last year’s summer University at fuia that’s in any sport claiming uh two Silvers and a yeah two Silvers in BMX oh I’m I’m
Really quite curious why do you think that as far as cycling goes it’s the women in Lithuania who are the men too busy playing basketball uh that’s probably correct I mean with with all the men in the country um well all the men out about 6’3 6’4 I suppose they’ve
Run out they they’re too tired of making bicycles toada for that s so the women are like well we bit on them so we’ll give it a go and we’ve produced all these world champion good excuse so we’ve got a country of 6’3 men
Yeah are we are we got a country of 5′ 11 women or uh well a triple shair down V because I’m not the tallest of men going around I’m actually very excited that she’ll be my height so um for once when I interview a Lithuanian female athlete I’ll be able to look at
Her eye it’s fantastic I think that’s quite that’s short I’m real short then that’s whats for you it’s a bit the same in in the Dutch actually with the dut cuz my cousin came over here to say with us and she said I feel at home because
Of all my height the average it must be the latitude I actually I heard something recently but apparently Holland is actually the tallest country on average was the second tallest T the news might have the reason why I heard it might have been the news that just taken just taken possibly
Because the a lot of the women are very tall there too but yeah she’s just wrapped that um that’s so they can keep their head above the water that’s probably right Heather someone was going to make a SN and and wait for the sun to
Come out I mean they got to reach for the sun usually I like well I asked some friends who are studying there right now during our hot Aussie summer just on on a social network going oh it’s 40 today mate how you going like yeah it’s almost minus 40 thanks for reminding
Me so they’re reaching for the sun too so like a plant like a flower reaching for the sun like a what are you on about well that’s why they’re tall they’re going to reach for the sun this means this is why I’m short I don’t have to reach that’s exactly what we get
Plenty of it back to it’s really interesting though to hear the cycling news of the Lithuania women the’re bied I knew nothing about thean cycling participation till about 3 years ago and now I’m speaking on behalf of lithuanians in Australia so there we have it and all of them based in jalong
While they’re awaiting the um well the world the world champion s would say that due to other commitments in other um tournaments she’ll be straight to Melbourne on the day of the uh the tournament however her her trainers her her teammates and even her Mur who I might borrow halfway through the
Possible uh no just just kidding um they’re all they’re all staying in jalong um they they they’re looking forward to the barbecue this Friday night 6 p.m. at p park B I’ve got five state championships on other be right not I’ll get you so are you um have you received are you
Expecting many media requests for the uh the Lithuanian s team well uh the funny thing is um I I do some work at The jalong Advertiser and I’m doing some work for the UCI so the jalong advertiser have asked the UCI for a story who then asked me who I’ve then
Asked the addy so it’s a it’s a triangle of just news sourcing in and out the UCI website’s been very helpful and hopefully um you can see more through the Jong Advertiser later this week so so what’s the work you’re doing for the UCI is that again umazing with thean
Team I’ll be liasing throughout the tournament um sacrificing half half my holidays which isn’t good for a year 12 but I’ll still get into it um yeah also um dely Sports who are the number one sport site in Lithuania as the as the official Australian writer for them um
I’ll try and I’ll be um contacting them every single result so it’s going to be a busy this is all with2 happening at the same time that’s correct what a you I I hope when when you get up to high Sorina you’ll come and say hello to us
All she’ll be there I’ll be there I have to bring a few Liu scarves and WRA you girls up you will yeah that works for me just so long as you’re not offended when I take it off to interview animy now I get some robber happening
See a reaction I don’t I don’t have to interview anybody I’ll be fine actually no i’ actually be it’s actually good to hear about this because I mean because everyone asks um Anam about Vicky Pendleton and you know to bring in other countries and instead of being like how
Is it against pris you know knowing that particular the women well how is it against Lithuania like they’re coming up next or something yeah and with who’s her rival see to the Lithuanian people Pendleton’s just an amateur name comp compared to Anam I mean it’s and mival there so that’s your officialy
There pendet perhaps in the London olyp that’s a possibility but until then it’s we’re targeting we’re taking on I just love hearing the different perspectives really I really because I mean for us yeah it’s it’s all about pendon yeah exactly and I’m not even going to try to say the name
Of I’m already pinching myself the fact that I’m approaching this so yeah see how it go so I’m assuming it’s uh studying year 12 hoping to get into journalism or something that’s correct um writing for the Lithuanian paper having done stance at the herald son jalong Advertiser I’m hoping and of
Course 94.7 The P he no trouble with interviews does he no no trouble I was actually more thinking he’s got no problem with just rolling the name of the radio station off his tongue well that as well unfortunately they don’t pay you here that’s all right no we we’re all volunteers here at
94.7 the polls bringing these shows to you for your listening en joyment to learn all about the fact that over in Lithuania no one cares about Vicky Pendleton it’s all about Anna M I’m loving this I’m totally loving this oh I know I just think it’s great cuz for
Once it’s not about England yes if you are enjoying these interviews and everything that we’re bringing you www. 947thepulsetv at this moment this uh and right after this make sure you do stick around because sport Saturday is on we’ll be back next week and it’s almost 12:00 iic window