This season, Anthony Clark has been a key member of the Squid Squad World Tour.
Anthony Clark has been Mr. Worldwide this season. 2018 Melbourne Grand Prix of Cyclocross, Australia © Ernesto Arriagada
Saving money on bag fees with its new tubeless setups, the team started its season in Australia, then headed to China and then back to the U.S. for the World Cups. After a trip to Canada for Pan-Ams, Clark and teammates Sammi Runnels and Emily Kachorek headed to Japan for the Rapha Supercross Nobeyama weekend.
Clark kicked off his Japan trip with a win at Starlight Cross in Chiba and then won Day 1 of the Rapha Supercross and finished second on Day 2.
Clark’s wins in Japan followed a monster fifth-place ride at the Pan-American Championships in Midland, Ontario.
New York’s Tony Sylor spoke with Clark after his win at Starlight Cross. The two chatted about racing in Japan and his big weekend at Pan-Ams.
Clark on Pan-Ams:
It was a really super-good feeling. It seems like if I go into races with no expectations and just ride my bike, it seems to work out really well. I just went into Pan-Ams with no real expectations because I had gone home for a few weeks, and I was working so much because my family needed me and I was super-stressed out because we were taking down a ton of tents in the pouring rain, doing all this super-physical work and my training dropped off, so I was really worried.
I went into Pan-Ams just hoping for the best. I rode a really strong race and felt good, and I ended up in fifth. I was super-stoked. I was really blown away by that.
Clark on racing in Japan:
The courses I race in Japan, I don’t want to say better than the U.S., but they’re really good. They’re laid out really well, they’re really technical, and there are a lot of fans out at every race. It seems like it’s really big here, the scene here is really big. They work really hard at growing it and making it bigger, kind of like the USA does.
They really welcome international riders here. I was really worried about coming here a few years ago, but it’s really no big deal. They’re very proud that we come to this country and want to race.
I realized they’re not super into hugging here though. Japanese people are a lot more shy than Americans.
You can listen to the full conversation below.
Featured image: Vicki Sama
