All photography by Michal Cervany
The month before the World Championships was the hardest
training block I’ve ever had. If I
wasn’t motorpacing behind Andy on a scooter, I was doing hard intervals on single
track on my mountain bike. It was
aggressive, we really pushed my limits, and, most importantly, I was prepared
to have potentially my best ride yet at the 2016 World Championships in Nove
Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic. I was
feeling ready, and I absolutely love that course. Andy, my coach, and I discussed two goals for
the World Champs. I had a third row
start position, but the Czech start is very fair. So, he wanted me to move up through the start
loop and, if I did anything in the race, it was to be in the top three or four
riders going into the first single track.
This would put me in an ideal position to actually win the World
Championships. We also discussed attacking the entire race, exactly like the
kind of efforts I had been putting forth in training. Those two things became my priorities and
focus.
I lined up
behind Gunn Rita at the start, who I thought was a solid choice to line up
behind. The experienced veteran always
gets solid starts, but one never knows in mountain biking. The gun went off and, about three pedal
strokes in, Gunn Rita came out of her pedal.
As a result, I had to brake and try to find a space to get around
her. I eventually did and the right side
of the start was opening up and I sprinted up the side like a mad woman. Out of my periphery, I could see someone
swerve and then I heard one of the worst sounds of racing, the scraping of
carbon fiber and the crash of bodies on pavement. All in the instant, I was completely
startled. This was happening just behind
my rear wheel, and it immediately brought back memories of this Nove Mesto
start in 2012 where I had one of the worst crashes on this same pavement. I seemed to carry this shock all the way
around the start loop, and I entered the first single track in twenty- seventh
position. This was really not part of
the plan. Goal number one: failed. The course spits riders out of the woods onto
the pavement, and there’s a one hundred and eighty degree turn to go out on a
new lap. This one eighty turn gave me a
view of the front of the race, and a pack of ten riders that wasn’t that far away. I was thinking, ‘well, in order to even be
near contention for a medal, my first two laps of this race have to be the best
laps of my life’. I usually start a bit
slower and finish the fastest so I had to have an upside down race. It was a great opportunity to attack the entire race and not just the penultimate
laps.
I just
started attacking the course like there weren’t any more laps. Usually, there are some tactics involved where
I don’t want to pull around other riders while they get a draft or I pick a
great place to attack. I didn’t have
time for any of that nor did I care about anything other than going as fast as
I possibly could. I was on a mission to
pass as many riders as possible. If I
came up on a racer, I would just pass them immediately. I literally never sat on one wheel to recover
that entire race. I didn’t care. There was no time. My crazed passing and approach worked. About halfway through the race, I was sitting
in fourth place twenty to thirty seconds off the duo of Maja and Sabine
battling for silver and bronze World Champs medals. My teammate, Annika Langvad, had a solid
lead. I just started taking caffeine
feeds and didn’t stop out of desperation.
Since I put out such a massive effort to get myself in striking
distance, my legs started to cramp with two laps to go. I was trying to do my usual fastest last
laps, but my body wasn’t agreeing. I
came around for the last lap and thought, ‘wow, I am really proud of the effort
I put forth today, medal or no medal’. And
then, out of nowhere, I turned a corner and Sabine was off of her bike. First, I thought she was a lapped rider, and
then I realized I was in bronze medal position.
I thought she just had a shifting problem and she was right behind me
(she really had a flat tire) so I put in one of the biggest attacks I ever have
on that climb. It was probably the
deepest I have ever gone. I rode through
the feed zone where my mechanic, Brad, was standing in the middle of course
losing his mind. I wasn’t sure if he was
going to move out of my way. It was
awesome. (this literally gives me goose
bumps as I write it).
I couldn’t
even think about being in bronze medal position. I was just pushing as hard as I could and
trying to ride smooth. With about four
minutes left in the race, I heard the USA Cycling mountain bike director, Marc
Gullickson, yell, “Maja is off of her bike”. This didn’t make any sense to me,
and, with a last lap mush brain, it translated to ‘Sabine is catching
you’. So I went harder and saw Maja desperately
trying to get to the last tech zone with a flat. I passed Maja and, suddenly, I had a World
Championships silver medal. I was in
disbelief and just started absolutely losing my mind as I crested the hill and
pedaled towards the finish. My teammate,
Annika, was jumping up and down for me at the finish line to greet me. It was an amazing moment where we truly were
so thrilled for each other. I couldn’t
stop hugging her and everyone else from Team Specialized and support crew. I was completely happy with fourth place, and
I’m still on cloud nine from my luck with a silver medal. It hasn’t been the smoothest season with four
flat tires at the opening world cup and six stitches at world cup number
three. But I would much rather put my
time in during those races to have some good luck in the World
Championships. At the World
Championships in Czech, I finally had the race that I’ve been working so hard
for. The lesson from this race, never
give up. The race isn’t over until one
crosses the finish line.
I’m now in Vermont prepping from the Olympics in Rio. I am so excited.
Annika and I go 1-2!!!
It's so nice to share the victories with the staff that work tirelessly for these moments
What a good day for Team Specialized. It takes a village