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By Fred Dreier
Photo: Fred Dreier
Last month Olympic mountain biker Georgia Gould headed to Northern Europe with a small band of American cyclocross racers to tackle the busy two weeks of ’cross racing that book-end Christmas.
Gould and her compatriots Katie Compton and Rachel Lloyd scored some big-time results: Compton won the December 21 round of the UCI World Cup in Nommay, France, and was fourth a week later at the World Cup in Zolder, Belgium and second at the UCI C1 Azencross Loenhout on December 30. Lloyd was fifth at Loehout, eighth in Nommay and seventh in Zolder, and finished fourth at theUCI C1 race in Teruven. Gould was third in Nommay and won the small C2 GP Hotel Threeland on January 1.
Results aside, Gould said the experience was invaluable in her preparation for her first crack at the Cyclocross World Championships later this month. And the two-week foray gave her a first view at the racing style and culture that permeates the world’s premier cyclocross scene.
VeloNews caught up with Gould Thursday to talk about her experience.
VeloNews: Was it a surprise to finish on the podium in your first ever World Cup?
Georgia Gould: I was definitely surprised that I felt that good in Nommay, because I arrived in Europe on Friday and raced on Sunday. I wasn’t expecting to have great legs, so I wasn’t so shocked I made a World Cup podium because I knew I was capable, but I just wasn’t expecting to get it there. I was happy with the race,
VN: Was it a surprise to not have as good of success at the following two races in Zolder and Lenhout?
GG: I was definitely disappointed in Zolder. I wasn’t aggressive enough at the start. It was just a small mistake but I lost a minute on the first alp because I got swamped and ended up in the back and had to run every little section where (the other riders) would get off their bikes. That was definitely frustrating. After that race I looked back at lap times, and I wasn’t having my best race but I was consistently putting in the sixth fastest lap times, so I know I could have been higher up if I hadn’t botched the start.
VN: What were the differences in racing style you saw between European and North American cyclocross races?
GG: People were more aggressive in Europe, and yeah, there are some more fast people there. I couldn’t just try and ride away from people, I had to be more tactical. Yeah, it was frustrating that something little like a bad start could put me so far behind for the whole race. Because it’s so tactical, people don’t really want to work together to bring other people back. In Lenhout I had good legs and I didn’t want to just stay in 15th place, I wanted to catch the leaders, so I would take big pulls on the pavement and the other girls would just sit on me and then jump around me at some random point. But it wasn’t like they were attacking me to try and bring the leaders back, they were just trying to get ahead of me to be one place ahead. After a while I would stop letting them go by. I’m not used to trying to chop people in corners or block them in the middle. I don’t personally like to race like that. But over there you kind of have to.
VN: How about the difference in spectators?
GG: I have to say, even though there are more (spectators) at the European races, they aren’t as rowdy or as fun or awesome as the spectators in the U.S. (In Europe) they cheer for the front group of guys, and everyone else in the race they just let go by. I would run alongside when Jeremy (Powers) or Ryan (Trebon) was going by and people looked at me like I was a crazy person. They were like why are you cheering for that guy? And there was nobody in a gorilla mask or a Speedo or a crazy wig. Nobody was shouting at you with a megaphone as you went by. I still give American fans the number one spot for ’cross. There are more people at the races in Europe but they are way more subdued.
VN: So here it is January, and you’ve been going strong since March of last year. You hit all of the World Cups and NMBS rounds and the Olympics and now cyclocross. How have you managed not to burn out?
GG: I was really burned out at the end of the mountain bike season. I got to ’Cross Vegas, and it was the Wednesday after the (last) World Cup in Schladming (Austria) and I was just like Oh man. I was not fired up. But I got to the race and the crowds out there were nuts. People were going crazy and I really got a second wind from that race. I was only going to do a paired-down ’cross schedule, maybe just the USGP rounds, but after that I was racing almost every weekend. When people are into (racing), that makes all the difference to me. I had a blast during ’cross season. I decided to keep going to Worlds because I’ve had such a good season, and I felt a little bit of an obligation to go and represent my country. And then these two weeks (in Europe), I just wanted to see what it’s all about. People are always saying that racing (in Europe) is different and that the courses are different. But how are they different? It’s been good to see how, and it’s been good to see that the U.S. women are really making a mark over there. People can’t just brush off the ’cross scene in the U.S. anymore. Yeah, it’s not as competitive, but it’s not that less competitive.
VN: I read that you worked the tech pits for the American men after your own races.
GG: Yeah, it started at Nommay, (husband and Kona mechanic) Dusty (Labarr) had to pit for Wendy (Simms), but he couldn’t be in the U.S. and Canadian pits, so I just said I wouldn’t take a pit for the race. But after a few laps my shifting was bad with the mud and whoever was pitting for Molly Cameron was in the pits and started washing my bike and pitted for me the whole race. It made a huge difference. After the race I saw Dusty was trying to pit for Jamey (Driscoll) and Ryan (Trebon), and there’s no way one guy can pit for two riders. Pitting was huge at Nommay, and I didn’t want either of those guys to get screwed, so I started washing Jamey’s bike. It was cool. It was the first time I’ve ever been so active in a pit. I had my little recovery water bottle and I don’t think I even took a drink.
VN: I take it Hanka Kupfernagel and Marianne Vos weren’t working the tech pits after the races?
GG: Ha, nope. But I wanted those guys to have good races. Sometimes you just need to suck it up and pitch in to get things done. What else was am I going to do — sit in the car and feel sorry for myself about a bad race? At Lenhout I didn’t even cool down, I just went straight into the pits to work and heckle the guys.
VN: What are your expectations for worlds?
GG: I don’t have definite expectations. I mean, I want to do as best I can with whatever I have to work with. I think I am definitely capable of winning, but I have to have the perfect race to do that.