I was once a runner... I had my share of bad races and was often beat... but usually I could attribute these things to a bad day or a stronger opponent. I don't think I ever had a shoe failure; nobody once fell down in front of me to end my race; and I never worried about errant cars, potholes, or little pieces of glass on my course.
In the past week of bike racing, I've had a car nearly hit me during a prologue; two girls crashed and took me down 200 m from the finish line; and a broken wheel unknowingly rubbed my breaks during the nationals criterium. But the worst case of bad luck came for my team last night right before the final lap of the national criterium championship. After a strong race by the team, the crew was ready to duke it out in a sprint, but our sprinter was taken out and the race was over with 1 lap to go. Not even a chance to try for the victory...
Hard preparation and strong execution aren't enough for a good bike race -- you also need to have a little luck on your side. It can be a difficult and heartbreaking sport some days.
But I still can't help but love racing.
(photo credit: shortCHINESEguy)
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