Best post-race interview ever. Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig after De Ronde.

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ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
She had fun, didn't she!

It is easy to forget that most professional athletes love what they do, and are not just in it for fame and fortune. (Especially true of women cyclists, since most of them don't earn much.)

I went to see the women finish their stage of the Tour de Yorkshire at The Cow and Calf climb at Ilkley last year. I was standing close to the finish line and could see that those riders who weren't completely shattered were really loving the crowds. One rider took her hands off the bars and was gesticulating to the spectators to give her more applause. They gave her such a roar that the hairs on my arms stood up - she must have got a great kick from it!

It was interesting to hang about and watch the body language of the riders as they gathered beyond the finish. One woman had the 'thousand yard stare' ... she was standing a few feet from her teammates but didn't say a word. She was a completely spent force. One of her teammates was indicating with her hands what she thought of the climb. I could see from a distance that she was indicating something like "Yeah, it was steep at the bottom. Then it got steeper. When I got to that ramp at the top, I thought, like, WTF!!!" The other riders all cracked up when she did that.

These 2 almost fell off their bikes as they crested the summit, but a few seconds later had big grins on their faces...

Exhausted riders TdY.jpg
 

rugby bloke

Veteran
Location
Northamptonshire
Brilliant ... so good to hear talking about their sport with fun in their voice. "I was a dead fish" - I will have to remember to use that line next time I'm talking about a hard finish !
 
U

User169

Guest
It is easy to forget that most professional athletes love what they do, and are not just in it for fame and fortune. (Especially true of women cyclists, since most of them don't earn much.)

Not sure it’s true for all or even most pro riders, but I guess it certainly helps given how much time you have to spend on a bike.

I followed Laurens ten Dam for a while on Instagram and I was struck by just how much he loves riding a bike. That’s pretty much all he seems to want to do in life alongside going camping with his family.

Others I’ve got the impression it’s very much a means to an end or lack of other options.
 

ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
Not sure it’s true for all or even most pro riders, but I guess it certainly helps given how much time you have to spend on a bike.

I followed Laurens ten Dam for a while on Instagram and I was struck by just how much he loves riding a bike. That’s pretty much all he seems to want to do in life alongside going camping with his family.

Others I’ve got the impression it’s very much a means to an end or lack of other options.
It definitely isn't true that all pro cyclists love riding for the sake of it. For example - Bernard Hinault gave up cycling for decades after retiring.
 
Location
Brussels
Not sure it’s true for all or even most pro riders, but I guess it certainly helps given how much time you have to spend on a bike.

I followed Laurens ten Dam for a while on Instagram and I was struck by just how much he loves riding a bike. That’s pretty much all he seems to want to do in life alongside going camping with his family.

Others I’ve got the impression it’s very much a means to an end or lack of other options.

Currently reading Thomas Dekker’s book and he says the same about ten Dam: rides because he loves it and rides clean.
 
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