Last night at the Technical Meeting we found out the start order and had the chance to meet with the other athletes. The main thing is that I’m starting in the middle of the day and the under the blazing heat. 3:03 EST will be when I head off for my 20 kilometers of pain and suffering. This is how I discribe bike racing and this is something that I voluntarily do. But when fit and and well trained, the sensation of digging into that fitness is very rewarding.
The rest of the meeting were things that I knew specifically or general statements of how the race will be run. The other benefit of attending the meeting was to see the fresh faces and possible new competition. Not to brag that much but I look at the packed conference room and saw only a small handful of guys that are going to challenge me. Everyone of them are my buddies and existing teammates. The members of the National Team are a tight knit group who have traveled and raced with eachother across many continents. We know eachother well and we help eachother out any moment – except for today. Looking around the room, I noticed a few strong looking guys that may suprise me. There is always the possibility of when around a hundred plus athletes you can become anxious and second guess your abilities. I took notice but left that meeting knowing that I am one of the best and have been for nearly a decade. If anything, they are eyeing me.
Sounds arrogrant? After years of doing this I Deserve to be confident. I certainly don’t discount the possibility of having a bad day and being out contention. I also believe in my teammates and know that they are some of the best athletes in the world. An athlete looking to be the best has to believe that they are the best. It’s just being confident.
In a few hours I’ll be heading to the course to go throughthe warm-up process, bike check and mental preparation before heading to the start house.
Next post will have the results.
-Mike