On Sunday during the men’s world championship race in Hoogerheide, CyclocrossWorld-Cannondale rider Tim Johnson joined CXM’s Jake and Myles for live race coverage of the race, sponsored by CyclocrossWorld. Following the race, we hosted a 80+ minute interactive chat with Tim to discuss the race and pick his brain for his thoughts on our beloved sport. In case you missed it, we’ve got an excerpt below. The full archive is here, starting at the 9:42 mark.
| 9:42 | Jake – CX Magazine: OK so while things settle down, we’re gonna try to get ourselves set up to start fielding questions for Tim Johnson, so let’s take a little breather and get things fired up |
| 9:43 | Jake – CX Magazine: Dont forget to visit cyclocrossworld.com who were wonderful enough to help bring you today’s live coverage |
| 9:43 | Myles- CX Magazine: For all your cyclocross needs! |
| 9:43 | TJ: Rudy deBie, the Belgian coach, is a happy guy right now. |
| 9:45 | [Comment From Wayne Barlow] Nice job guys, really fun to follow the race this way. |
| 9:46 | [Comment From elgee] killer commentary, thanks for the coverage CX mag, great insight from TJ as a guy who knows the field so well….thanks to all |
| 9:46 | TJ: Thanks elgee |
| 9:47 | Jake – CX Magazine: OK, so lets get this party started! First off, Tim, what are your initial reaction to what happened in today’s race? |
| 9:47 | TJ: I’m surprised and incredibly impressed with what Albert did. |
| 9:47 | Jake – CX Magazine: Would you have expected that this year’s race would have been won from the first lap? |
| 9:48 | TJ: He is a part of the best ‘team’ in the sport. He’s got to take his chance early so that he’d even have the rope to go out like that |
| 9:48 | Myles- CX Magazine: Is there that much of a pecking order even at this level, at worlds?? |
| 9:48 | TJ: I was truly expecting a race like last year. With the course this fast, it’s usually a different story. Steady/slow and then a superlap at the end |
| 9:48 | TJ: Def a pecking order. But like anything else, you have to take a dig if you ever expect to be at the top of that yourself |
| 9:49 | Myles- CX Magazine: Will the team coach actually put out the order “ride for X” today?? |
| 9:50 | TJ: It won’t be that obvious unless the course is really better for one, rather than another. This time, I’d say that Albert was given some rope as the ‘early guy’ given his lack of racing and results this year. He just wound up being good enough to last the whole race |
| 9:50 | Cyclocross Magazine: A quick U.S. rider update: Powers in 35th, Shriver in 44th, Matter, in 49th, Page in 52nd. |
| 9:51 | [Comment From elgee]TJ, do you think albert was actually thinking “win” early or was it part of another tactic that just rolled into “I’m out here, lets see if I can hold on”. |
| 9:51 | TJ: elgee, it could have been part of that. However, he’s all piss and vinegar and has ambition to burn also |
| 9:52 | [Comment From elgee]And you have been there, off the front, how the hell do you keep it together for 50 minutes with THAT group of riders working behind you? It almost seems as though it would have to be some type of super human day for anyone to do what Albert did today…. |
| 9:52 | TJ: So what he was thinking to himself could have been that he was going to win no matter what. |
| 9:52 | TJ: elgee…actually, it’s simpler than that…he had to hold a certain lap speed/time once he had the gap. Sometimes that’s a lot easier than it looks(shhhh). |
| 9:53 | TJ: If he hasn’t raced much, it’s tough to handle a race with lots of speed changes, ups and downs and big power spikes…steady and fast with a gap is the way to go |
| 9:54 | TJ: with a gap is the key tho. He had to attack the best riders in the world when the speed was Mach 5. That’s a unique ability |
| 9:54 | Jake – CX Magazine: How much affect did missing all that time early in the season have on his ability to hold that gap? |
| 9:55 | TJ: He’s been training since early Dec so he’s got plenty of training…he had extra freshness which is very powerful when you’re dealing with guys that are doing 45 cross races in a season. |
| 9:56 | [Comment From Gil in Portland]Lots of fast, frozen courses this year. Could Albert have done it if there was mud? |
| 9:56 | TJ: I doubt that he’d have been able to do that…Who knows tho. |
| 9:57 | Jake – CX Magazine: You’re one to prefer a muddy day, who are the big mudders over in Europe? |
| 9:57 | TJ: All of them…haha |
| 9:57 | Jake – CX Magazine: That must make your life that much more fun when Eurohopping |
| 9:57 | TJ: no, Sven has an amazing ability to rip through mud more than any other. He’s the best of all time |
| 9:58 | Jake – CX Magazine: Don’t forget to chime in with your questions, all you readers out there, you can have all your queries answered |
| 9:58 | TJ: If you’re able to check out the finish of the Koppenburg Cross from Oudenaarde, Sven andBoom have a last lap together that’s a site to see. |
| 9:58 | TJ: Boom will be riding ProTour next year, so we may not have him with us much longer. |
| 9:59 | Jake – CX Magazine: I was going to say, Lars is one of those who likes a good mud bath |
| 9:59 | Jake – CX Magazine: Is that a fact? That would be a loss that’s no fun for anyone |
| 9:59 | TJ: He’s always had that going for him…Although, I just remembered that Boom was injured just a couple weeks ago. That would have made his day more painful today. |
| 10:00 | Jake – CX Magazine: What are your thoughts about this year’s worlds team? How did we stack up against years past? |
| 10:01 | TJ: It’s tough to say…Obviously Page’s… |
Follow the rest of the chat here, starting at the 10:01 mark.
