Guinness writes "Nathan O'Neill is the first to admit his cycling career has been riddled with mistakes and misfortune. But the 22 year-old Queenslander will forget all that this morning when he lines up as favourite fo rthe 40 km time trial in the Australian Road Championships at Calga on the New South Wales Central Coast."
"GONE will be the memory of his agonising bout of the eating disorder anorexia, which forced him to drop out of the Australian Institute of Sport track squad in mid-1993 and return from Europe 12 kg lighter."
"GONE will be recollections of a heart-wrenching decision to withdraw from the Europe-bound AIS road squad in early 1995, having returned to elite racing only to realise 1993s mental scars had not healed."
"GONE will be the pain and frustration of a broken right pelvis, sustained after crashing into an open car door just nine weeks before last September's Oceania Games."
"AND GONE will be the self-reckoning over lost winning opportunities in major road races caused by tactical blunders."
O'Neill who will also contest the 200 km road race title on Saturday in Sydney's Centennial Park, says that "I think I've made more mistakes than most people but I've learned from them too, and I think I am a stronger and more mature rider now."
Guinness continues "The trough of the Toowoomba native's woes came in 1983. While he was with the AIS track squad in Europe, the pressure to impress national track coach Charlie Walsh pushed O'Neill to anorexia."
O'Neill says that "As a junior I always struggled with my weight. All of a sudden I was in the big league and with one of the most famous coaches in the world. I wanted to show I was dedicated. I have always been a perfectionist but it caught up with me and led me down the wrong road. Then I found myself eating less and less, while at the same time training more and more, and in six months my weight dropped from 75kg to 63 kg."
Guinness writes that "O'Neill finally left the track squad, returned to Australia and spent most of 1993 and 1994 'rebuilding myself'. After being chosen for the AIS road squad in 1995, he sacrificed his place again when required to return to Europe."
O'Neill says "I just want to stay in Australia and race here. I had learned my limits and the need to stay away from them, but then 1995 turned out to be a bad season. I failed to achieve every major goal I set myself."
Guinness writes "A spate of successes this season have convinced O'Neill and coach Peter Day destiny may finally shine on them in this year's road titles which end on Sunday. O'Neill won the time-trial in 1994, and astounded rivals in the 21 km AIS time trial Classic in Canberra on March 16. After finishing second in the Canberr-to-Goulburn road race on March 17, O'Neill won the final stage and overall honours in the White Pages Tour in Canberra from March 18-22."
O'Neill says "I love time-trialling and the feeling you get from a great ride. That's the only reason why I do it....having that ride. It's not for the fanfare or whatever. There's just no better feeling when you are on a ride and you know you have the legs that day. And then comes the moment when your coach gives you the thumbs up with 5km to go and says you are 20 seconds up. You almost don't feel the pain from there to the finish."
Guinness says that "O'Neill's focus on today's title has unsurprisingly deflected his attention from Saturday's road race, but he still has a warning for rivals."
He said "I'm not thinking about the road race. I haven't even seen the route. If I do have a good ride in the time trial, I'm confident I can back up for another good one in the road race. I ride on confidence, so I guess if I do win the time trial, then all I can say is watch out for me on Saturday."