Many people including myself ask the question, why are the Europeans so much faster then us?! Last night whilst driving in circles looking for my accommodation and today riding 3km up a pass with my bag of shopping strapped to my shoulder. It was clear this isn’t normal, I didn’t see any europeans doing shopping, carrying bags full of groceries, worrying about budget.
So I ask, how much of a advantage is it to be in your comfort zone off the bike. In my opinion thats pretty much all it is, this separates us from them. Its uncomfortable for many traveling in foreign countries. The cost of living, language barrier and so many factors make most of us feel uncomfortable. Not much is being done by responsible parties to make racing our bikes in Europe the priority.
We have so much talent in our country it frightens me. The numbers we do in training are on par with some of the best in the world. Yet we seem to struggle?
Today on track I saw several national teams training. All with the sole purpose of gathering olympic points for their country. Keep in mind olympics is two years away. Plans are in place, the belief in there athletes is there.
It seems a little unfair that my sponsors pay for me to gather points for our federation. Parents spending there life savings on there kids dreams. In my eyes thats not a pretty picture.
Im fortunate I have worked hard and never given up on my dream, my sponsors understand all my concerns and collectively we are working around these problems, we understand the importance of being comfortable so when the time comes to be uncomfortable on the bike we are mentally and physically ready.
I was confident all week leading into the french world cup, its difficult to explain but when you on it, you most certainly know it. I had been doing some great numbers since joining since2sport, with Johns help I knew exactly where I was physically.
The start was no different to the rest, the only thing on my mind was fighting for the next wheel. You get to the point where your mind, body and pain either get the better of you, or you over come it and realise the possibilities. On lap three I knew I was having a stormer, I was ticking them off one by one and soon in the twenties. I have always believed I could do it but not as a first year elite. On lap five I could see a group of nine riders 20sec up the road. Only a cyclist would understand that feeling.
AND YES I FLATTED, it wasn’t a side wall cut but the valve core had come loose. I didn’t realise that was the problem so as soon as I used my Co2 the valve core blew completely off. I managed to ride a lap on the rim and put a new wheel in at the tech zone. I finished the day in 34th. I can honestly say I am proud of this result.
This is where the first part of my blog comes into play. Leading into world champs I was out of my comfort zone, off the bike. I know many of you wont understand it but cyclist are best described as a well made swiss watch, all it takes is one lose part and we are out of sync. Gone are the days off putting a bad result down as experience. We need to understand why and make sure it never happens again, not on the big days, but on the days that really count.
Far too much was out of sync leading up to World Champs, a big crash in training left me in pieces, too much travel time, the list goes on. I could sit writing for hours explaining but whats done is done and we will make sure we control the controllable next time. My end result was 56th, far from what we believed was possible.
Looking back there was so much positive that came out of my final European trip, Friends, Family and sponsors now believe its possible to ride through the field and soon into the teens. I cannot wait for the new World Cup season.
The trip home always seems a lot longer when things don’t go your way.
I was back 24hrs and Trav and I were off to PE for the four day stage race, Plett2Pe. I knew Trav was in great condition, you can see the glow of confidence in a athlete when he knows he is on good form. It was almost like he couldn’t wait to pay me back for how much I hurt him at Sani2C. Day 1 was long and we both suffered. We didn’t go there just to win, we went there to race our bikes and that we did. Everyday we climbed on our bikes and raced them as if we only had a 10 second lead.
Early on in day 3 we had a mechanical. It was amusing watching Trav get his panties in a knot. After calming him down and fixing our mechanical it was a simple case of patience. Trav wanted to go harder and I had to talk him though it. It was truly a great event and I know why Victor created the Vipa. The bike was built for those conditions.
A huge thanks to the Momsen crew for sorting us out each day.
Till Next time
