Inspiring a Generation Older
As the cramp hit, all I could do was watch the race go up the road about 5 km from the finish line. I don’t think they even realised they had dropped me, but I heard the words go through my head “It’s gone.”
Then I remembered that this is exactly what Peter Sagan thought 5km before he took his third World Championship in 2017. The dream of being able to hold 3 fingers aloft as he had on the podium in Bergen was enough to spur me on, and I caught the group just before they started the final climb. The dream was still alive!
I took part in my first bike race ever in 2015, the year Peter Sagan won his first World Championship. In 2017 when he won for the third time in a row at Bergen, I won my first National Title. Then in 2019 I climbed the podium and proudly held aloft 3 fingers.
In 2020, Peter turns 30 and I turn 60. You often hear pro-cyclists talking about inspiring the next generation, as they were similarly inspired by the cyclists who came before them. But I’m not sure if they realise how much they inspire a generation older.
I’m not suggesting I look to them for life advice. After all, as one of my friends said, “they’re just kids.” In fact all of the riders in the current pro-peloton are younger than my own son, and some are young enough to be my grandchildren! But they ride in the public eye. Their races are captured on camera and their training is shared on social media. They are the best of the best, whether through genetics, training, attitude, or a combination of them all.
It’s a well known fact that watching a performance you want to replicate is not only inspiring, it prepares your brain to do the action yourself.
I like this science because it justifies my enjoyment of watching cycling races! But I have a few all-time favorite performances that I’ll re-watch in the week before my own races. I suppose it’s a bit like having motivating songs that get you in the mood to compete.
Peter Sagan’s first World Championship win in Richmond in 2015 is a display of timing, power climbing prowess, down-hilling excellence, and the presence of mind that I believe is essential for finding your flow in a race.
Cadel Evans was the master at never giving up. On Stage 19 of the Tour de France 2011 he had a mechanical and had to get off the bike. As his closest rivals disappeared up the road, it seemed like his chance of winning the race was gone. But Cadel collected himself, rejoined the bunch and caught the leaders at the base of Alpe d’Huez. He finished third on the stage and created history the following day by taking the yellow jersey and winning the Tour de France.
More recently I was in awe of Annemiek Van Vleuten’s audacious win in the 2019 World Championship, taking a climb with such power that no one could stay with her, and then topping it off with a 105km solo to the line. She achieved this just a week before my third National Championship race, and it gave me the belief that if I had to go early in my own race, I would have the perfect inspiration to take it all the way.
In the end, I know that winning three National Championships in a row came down to so many factors, some of which had been laid down even earlier than I ever started riding. But I have no doubt that inspiration is something we all need. So they may be kids, but they can rest assured they’re inspiring others, young and old.