Leah Thorvilson will ride again for Canyon-SRAM next season after securing herself a one-year extension with the team. Thorvilson has been racing with the German-registered squad for the past season after winning the Zwift Academy at the end of 2016.
A former runner with little experience in peloton racing, Thorvilson was thrown in at the deep end when she made her debut at the Belgian Classics in February.
“I remember my first night in Belgium, having a breakdown and thinking, 'am I going to be able to do this?', and feeling so out of place and feeling like the outsider and underdog,” Thorvilson tells Cyclingnews.
ADVERTISEMENT
“None of that was from poor treatment from teammates or anything, but everybody else knows each other and everyone else knows the ropes. I just felt like a stranger in a strange land, and then there are so many questions that for them seem like second nature or silly. It was hard for me to feel at ease.”
Thorvilson was speaking to Cyclingnews the evening before she rode the Taiwan KOM challenge, her final event of the year before a second brief off-season. Former professional Emma Pooley went on to win the event, while Thorvilson finished one hour and 27 seconds back on the Briton. Thorvilson had planned for the Taiwan KOM to be the start of her build-up to the 2018 season but she only managed a week away from her bike in her initial off-season stint and feels that she needs another short break to avoid mental fatigue in the forthcoming season.
“Even when I was running, I didn’t like time off that much. I think it is even more difficult for me now,” Thorvilson explained. “You’re trying to find things that don’t include riding the bike. I’ll go and meet a friend for coffee, it’s social and fairly inexpensive, but then I would rather ride my bike to the coffee shop than drive. Then you’re like ‘dang it now I’m on the bike'. It’s just a bit strange to navigate. I wish I could just relax and enjoy it more, but it’s just different. I don’t think I’ve ever had a time where I had a break from my sport where I didn’t have a job to go to.
One more year
Feeling like a pro
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest Interviews and Features http://ift.tt/2lftyxu
No comments:
Post a Comment