The 2011 Road Worlds have now come and gone. While other notable competitions remain this fall, in my mind the primary objective for the year has now come and gone. This season had its ups and downs, wins and losses, but in the end the performance, achievement and success gained, out weighs any of the moments that left me off the back and out of contention.
When we first arrived in Roskilde, Denmark, it was evident that things were going to be cold and rainy. In addition to the weather, none of my race equipment arrived, leaving me anxiously frustrated. Eventually, my bikes arrived and once I was in the saddle things began to the look up. The rain was persistent, but dealing with weather, after all, was nothing new.
The day of the time trial broke and not a drop of rain was in the sky. The high level clouds managed to keep the warming sun at bay, making for exceptional race conditions. With 6-km remaining in my time trial, I was racing towards my best TT finish ever at a World Championship. A chance encounter between a sharp object and my front tire would instantaneously take it all away. As I surged out of sharp right hander sprinting to full speed I heard the text book whisper of a soon-to-be soft tire. As luck would have it, the catch of my 1 and 2 minute men in the technical heart of the course left my team follow vehicle nearly a minute behind me. When all was done the flat would cost me well over a minute, plummeting me from a possible podium to a disheartening 9th place.
Being the final major event of the 2011 season, would the road race foreshadow what was in store for the remainder of 2011?
The weather forecast was for rain, and during our 5:30 a.m. breakfast, the sky was ablaze with lightening. The race started under ominous clouds that were rapidly morphing themselves into formidable beasts primed for the epic onslaught. Despite the impending weather, I was excited for the racing ahead; my legs felt great and riding along side me were two teammates: Jonathan Copsey and Matt Bradley. Rarely do I have the privilege of having a team to race with. Thus, riding along side these two was a real treat.
Collectively, the three of us set about covering and then countering any moves that contained the pre-race favorites. Time and distance seemed to disappear under our wheels, and soon we were receiving the bell for the final 15-km lap. At some point in the chaos of racing, we had outrun the impending doom of lightening and rain and were now racing under clear skies. It is important to note while I had spent much of my spring flanking and running from many a mountain storm, this would be the first time in 2011 in which I successfully out foxed Mother Nature.
Early in the final lap I covered a few big attacks by the heavy favorites, but nothing stuck. With half a lap to go, Jon road up to me to see how I felt; my legs felt great and I was starting to envision the impending field sprint. Moments later, Matt was at our side and checking in for the final run to the line. The final 2-km consisted of a stiff climb into a hard right before the 1.0- km false flat charge to the line. A technical cobbled round-a-bout at 300-meters from the finish had everyone’s nerves peaked.
As we steamed into the final kilometer, I was sitting in the top third of the pack locked to Jon’s wheel. We wanted to be no more than 5th or 6th coming out of the round-a-bout. So Jon went to work knocking off places until we were sitting 5th and 6th respectively as we entered the round-a-bout. As we crossed the cobbles a slight gap opened and I immediately made the jump to the next wheel.
As I locked on the final wheel of my lead out, I recall clinching my bars in anticipation of lighting the afterburners. I knew I could win this race, but I had to be patient. Suddenly, the second wheel rider began to fade and loose ground. The rider I was following surged out of the saddle to close the growing gap and in doing so threw his rear wheel into my front wheel, sweeping me hard to the right. All of a sudden, I was fighting to keep the bike up while sprinting at 40-mph. I quickly countered this loss of traction to regain my line, but in doing so I had lost a big chunk of speed and had to start my sprint further out than I had desired.
I lit the burners and away we went, zeroed in on the second place rider to slingshot around him in my bid for the line. The lead rider was too far out for me to close the lost distance, but I dug deep to hold on for second. Just as I was about to the cross the line I could feel a rider coming up hard from behind. With empty legs I fought, but Morte, the Norwegian, had managed to slide a wheel past me. Had I just earned my first World Championship’s podium?
As luck would have it, during the chaos of a feed zone, an attack from one of our C4 classified riders had snuck into a C5 break. He crossed the line moments ahead of us, to win the race uncontested. This was bittersweet news as we could have easily brought the break back, but the pelaton had been convinced that the break was solely comprised of C5 riders, and thus there was little interest in bring the break back.
While I may not have stepped onto the podium at this year’s Worlds, the satisfaction I felt at the end of the race made up for it. With a little luck I know I had the legs and team to win the whole thing and that what makes the day so special and future so exciting.
So, what does this say to the rest of 2011? I have no real idea, other than to say I continue to enjoy each moment, regardless of the outcome. I am eternally grateful for the family, friends, and teammates that help make it all possible. Regardless of how the next few months play out it has been a great year of bike racing.