Emily Batty takes podium at Swiss World Championships
The World Championships in Lenzerheide, Switzerland were a battle royal, with the top riders all vying for the ultimate prize, the rainbow jersey. Trek Factory Racing brought a full team, all looking to climb the top step.
The elite womens race proved to be one of the most intense fights, with Emily Batty making her mark on one of the most competitive fields of the weekend.
It was an all out effort for Emily Batty, who kicked into high gear from the gun. As the selections were made, it was clear Emily had the legs for a top finish, riding in second position for most of the race. They day’s winner Kate Courtney would eventually distance herself from Emily, and catch the lead rider Annika Langvad. In all, a terrific day out for Emily and an incredible cap to the season!
Anton came into the race with realistic goals of a podium. With a restful few weeks behind him, Anton felt like he was in a position to make major moves. Unfortunately a low energy run-up to the race would mean a flat performance for the ambitious Kiwi.
"I arrived in Lenzerheide around 10 days before the race and felt very flat for the first 5 or 6 days as my body tried to adjust to the high altitude. I felt I perked up a bit closer to the race, or maybe it was just the excitement of World Champs week and me trying to be positive!
In the race I had a great start and felt completely fine for the first 10 mins of the race. Cautious not to push too hard early on I backed off towards the end of the first lap / start of the second with the intention of riding solidly somewhere in the top 10 for a few laps before coming home strong over the last laps. Unfortunately I couldn't keep up my usual pace and dropped further and further back although I was pushing my max. Eventually I finished in 31st place which was very disappointing but at least I can be satisfied that I gave it my everything on the day even though it felt like a disaster! I've tried not to think too much about why it went so wrong but hopefully those answers come to me soon and I can try and buck the trend of performing poorly at altitude. Not everyone's body can adapt the same way or as quickly but hopefully I can figure out some ways to maximize my performance at altitude over the off season!"
