Team GB – What an inspiration!
I know I know you can read about Mark Cavendish winning the World Road Race Championships on any website but it would be positively wrong if I didn’t comment on how incredibly inspirational yesterday was.
Held in Copenhagen yesterday, 209 riders set off in the peloton over a 266 km (165 mile) course (yes that’s not a typo!). Team GB sat on the front for the WHOLE RACE, killing themselves just to make sure no breakaways stayed away, so that Mark Cavendish at least had a chance of winning the bunch sprint. I’m gonna say that again, 165 miles into the wind whilst 200 of the best riders on the planet (who have all peaked to win this event) all sheltered behind them, saving up to 30% of their energy. Oh yeah, if any of you are wondering how fast they went, I know I’ve had a good day out if I can do 65 miles at 18 mph; they did ONE HUNDRED more miles than that at 28.5 mph!!!
So to the finish, with 7 out of the 8 GB riders completely spent, Cav found himself boxed in with, I’d say, 350m to go. He must have been 15th at one point but somehow, I don’t know how, he found his way through and past EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM to win by no more than 2 inches, amazing!!
Like he said before and after the race, he knows how hard his team mates work for him and he doesn’t want to let them down. Fear of failure is a very powerful thing, whether it’s arranging to meet a mate to go for a run or to go to the gym, or riding a Sunday race for your cycle club when they’ve worked really hard for you all race. To motivate people I often get them to put themselves in a position where they really don’t want to fail and it scares them enough into succeeding, you should try it 😉
This was Britain’s first road race world title (for the the elite men) since the sixties when the great Tommy Simpson last won.
Cav won but the team got him there. To a cycling fan like me this is like a footie fan watching England win the World Cup, that’s pretty bl**dy special…
This increasing success will I’m sure bring us more cycling facilites, bike shops and people to ride with, thanks Cav and above all, thanks team GB.
You gotta youtube it…
August 8th, 2014 at 8:03 am
I hear you, Odessa. I’m not worried about amauetr cyclists or anyone with a brain. I’m concerned about the minority who use any shred of there I told you so to continue to fan the flames of anti-cycling. They’re a declining number, yet with the press latching onto every opportunity to fan the flames as well, we need to keep the conversation positive while minimizing all opportunities for distractions from those positive messages. I’ve been involved in cycling promotion and advocacy for a long time and will always press for keeping the conversation on-topic and positive, and that includes minimizing these distractions. The simple act of flipping the photo is a bit of artistic license that removes this particular distraction, without spoiling the beautiful setting and great shot.
February 18th, 2015 at 8:09 pm
You guys ABSOLUTELY RULE!!! As soon as I recover from the finaicnal hit that is the holidays, I AM BACK. The ride this afternoon was MEGA! My favorite coffee haus, spinning studio and restaurant all in Park Slope!
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