Worlds RR, Norway (Bergen) 2017
Bergen Road World Championships 2017
What a way to end the season. In the break at Worlds for just over 200km in perfect weather. Yes it wasn’t raining. Very unusual for Bergen. But it seems the cycling community was blessed. Imagine the carnage there would have been on the circuit in the pouring rain.
The circuit was quite bizarre. With Salmon Hill being so close to the finish no one really knew what to expect. Anything could happen and that made riders and tactics unsure. Luckily that wasn’t my problem. I had free range to go in the break and admire the scenery and crowds. I’m new to this but was absolutely amazed how well behaved the crowds where. If you looked at Bergen on a map and it population you’ll notice it is not that big. But Sunday the 24th of September 2017 it felt as if the whole of Bergen where standing next to the road supporting the riders. We all experience moment in our life differently. This one has been unforgettable. Why? Stop asking stupid questions.
On to being in the break. All breaks that form so early are usually the same. You ride extremely hard the first hour. Get a time gap and then settle into a rhythm thats just just comfortable. You then keep a watchful eye on the time gap. If it starts coming down you push a little harder until it stabilizes. If it keeps on coming down, well then you start riding flat-out until your caught. Or if your lucky the peloton messes it up and you stay away. This probably happens 10% of the time.
So what happened with the feeding? Well basically each lap I timed my water consumption so that my water bottle would be finished at each feeding zone so that I was staying as light as possible. But as we where approaching the feeding zone the bottle dropped. I looked back at the Shimano motorbike because usually they have water bottles on or something but seems they couldn’t assist. But it really wasn’t a big deal. So please drink a chill pill ;)
Its not always that nice riding in breaks. Its quite demanding and you know that your going to get off the bike broken after riding in the wind all day. But at the same time it gives your ride purpose. I wanted to represent South Africa as best I could and I felt that was the best way I could contribute at the moment. So you are probably wondering what does this have to do with anything. Well the past few years haven’t exactly been as efficient as I’d hope. I waisted two years of my life at a crucial age (19y-20y) studding a degree I knew I wasn’t going to finish. Cycling half heartedly and studding half heartedly. To be honest I learned a lot of values so it was not a total waste of time but it also limited this so called cycling dream I was pursuing. And living in a hostel didn’t make it any easier.
The first six month was like bootcamp. It meant going to bed very late and getting woken up very early. Now that I think of it. Being woken up at four in the morning, standing all suited up in one line in the corridors ready for whatever activities they’ve got planned for us. The best part was when we all arrived there on the first day. We where told to study the booklet that was sent to us. We had to learn all the names of the guys on our hostel committee and remember their faces very well. Well what a fucking surprise that was when we arrived. In the booklet they all had very long hair and a beards. When we arrived they had none. I didn’t recognize one guy. The shit hit the fan…
So back to giving my ride a purpose. Things haven’t happened as fast for me as some. I’ve developed very slow due to so many variables, injuries, lack of funding, opportunities and doors closed simply because my honest opinion wasn’t appreciated. But I have sticked to my guns. That my friend, is called pride and dignity. Something to hold onto and never give up… I didn’t ride in the bunch because I felt I would not have been able to follow the attacks after 240km. It was also my first proper World Tour race and to be honest I felt like a small jack-russet between the big dogs. But more like that neighborhood jack-russel that runs barking after everything it sees. But once it gets to it, it doesn’t know what to do or runs away. I felt this is where I belong but at the same time out of place. I still need to find myself as a rider and focus on where I can contribute to the team to the best of my abilities.
A massive thanks to Daryl for being so helpful and I look forward to still learning a lot from him whenever and wherever our roads cross. However if time and schedule allow I’ve always been fascinated by the pure climbers and their abilities and hope to at-least spend two training camps with Louis at altitude in 2018 and see how its done.
Finally I would like to thanks everyone that assisted the South African Nation team at Bergen. Without your support we would pretty much have been f@#$d. Aidan thanks for the fundraiser and all the comment from the fans. I literally spend three hours after the ride trying to read every single tweet but it simply wasn’t possible. But probably the most hilarious things I’ve read in quite some time. And if your South African and reading this. The South African cycling community definitely knows how to stir. Damn. Keep it up. Otherwise life would have been quite boring.
All the best.
Smurfy
