Cycling at pre-season camp in Sorrento
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The Blues’ fifth week of pre-season training has seen the players head into camp at Sorrento on the Mornington Peninsula.

Unlike last year’s gruelling camps at Anglesea and the Grampians, where Carlton players were only allowed to refer to each other in code and where mobile phones were banned, this year’s camp married solid training activities with team and leadership meetings.

Wednesday morning saw an early start for the players as they jumped on their bikes for a two-hour cycling session which included sprints, hill climbs, and a champion deciding final - not to mention a few punctures and spills.

The session was organised by professional road cyclists Zak Dempster and Tom Southam, with Dempster offering nothing but praise for the players.

“They are very good athletes with a high level of fitness, so it was great to see how they performed on the bike,” Dempster said.

“The boys were pretty strong, they were all competent cyclists and they worked extremely well together when they approached another hill climb or sprint.”

Matthew Kreuzer took home the yellow jersey as the star cyclist, defeating Michael Jamison, Dennis Armfield and Irishman Zach Tuohy in the Final.

The Carlton players return to Visy Park on Monday to further their preparations for the 2010 season.