It took a lot of courage, but Cadel picked himself up after the Vuelta a España. He had to if he was going to salvage anything from his wretched 2009 season.
A week after the Vuelta ended, the World Championships began in Mendrisio, Switzerland. Cadel was contesting the elite men’s road event, perhaps the most important one-day race in the world. The Australian squad also featured Michael Rogers, Stuart O’Grady, Wesley Sulzberger, Simon Gerrans and Simon Clarke.
Cadel desperately wanted to win the Worlds. Winning the Tour de France yellow jersey is something every cyclist craves. But to wear the World Championships’ rainbow-striped jersey is really the ultimate prize. Riders who wear that jersey can think of themselves as the best in the world. Cadel always gave his best. To be the best would be an incredible reward for all his efforts. As far back as his mountain biking days he’d been desperately trying to win a world championship.
This year’s World Championships road race was to be held only 6 kilometres away from his European home, Stabio. Cadel knew the roads in the area really well since he trained on them so often. The Mendrisio course felt like home. A win there would be hugely sentimental to him.
Road World Championships
The road cycling World Championships, or the Worlds, is an annual competition in which riders race for their countries. There are men’s and women’s races in elite, under-23 and junior categories. The winner of the time trial event is considered World Time Trial Champion for a full year. The road race event winner is considered World Cycling Champion for a full year. As well as these impressive titles, winners are awarded prestigious jerseys. The World Championships’s rainbow-striped white jersey can be worn by the winners to every event of the following season.
Cadel also knew Mendrisio might be one of his last chances to win at the Worlds. Next year’s race would be held in Geelong, Victoria. That location was also close to his heart, but unfortunately the course itself suited sprinters better. If Cadel was going to win, Mendrisio was his best chance.
Like Cadel, Chiara was longing for a win in Mendrisio. After Cadel’s terrible luck throughout the year, she felt he deserved some success. She knew how hard he worked and how much he wanted to win. In his darkest hours she reminded him that his dedication and his honesty would pay off one day.
Chiara wanted to show Cadel how much she supported him. The night before the race she snuck away from their apartment. With a bunch of friends, she went to the course and spray-painted huge signs in support of Cadel. One was simple and said it all: a huge heart with ‘Cadel’ written inside.
The day of the race was bright and sunny. Around 120,000 people packed the course, all ready to cheer on their countries. The fans played music and partied as they waited for the race to start. The atmosphere felt more like a festival than a bike race. The Tour is known for its vibrant atmosphere, but the World Championships squeeze three weeks of excitement into just one day. There is something pretty magic about it for the riders as well as the fans.
In 2009, a lot of fans were Swiss. Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara was a favourite to win, which gave locals an extra reason to come along and cheer. He’d already won gold in the time trial World Championships and hoped to win the road race too. But since Mendrisio was close to the Italian border, plenty of people from Italy came to watch the race too. Italian rider Damiano Cunego was runner-up at the previous year’s World Championships. The Italian fans hoped he would win.
The road race was a 262-kilometre circuit. Cadel knew all the roads in the race, but that didn’t mean it would be an easy ride for him. There were two tough climbs in the course and a lot of riders who wanted to win. In his green-and-gold jersey, riding a bike decorated with a picture of a kangaroo, no-one wanted the win more than Cadel.
The race began in the usual way, with a group of riders who didn’t have a real chance of winning breaking away early. The serious battle began with 7 kilometres to go. At that point nine riders broke away from the peloton, including Cancellara and Cunego as well as Spanish rider Joaquim Rodríguez and a Russian, Alexandr Kolobnev. Cadel was determined to stay with the lead group.
The leading riders hurtled towards the final climb, Torrazza di Novazzano. By the time they reached the foot of the climb, the lead group had narrowed to three riders—Rodríguez, Kolobnev and Cadel.
Rodríguez and Kolobnev swapped glances. Rodríguez shrugged as if to say he wasn’t going to attack for the lead. Cadel saw his chance. He surged ahead of the other two riders and powered up the 1750-metre climb alone. Neither Rodríguez nor Kolobnev attacked back straight away. By the time they did, it was too late.
Cadel was concentrating hard. He knew the course and was in the lead, but it was critical he stay focussed. Cadel had lost the mountain bike World Championships in the last few kilometres at age 22. Ten years later, he wasn’t going to repeat the mistake in the road race.
Cadel didn’t know how far back his rivals were. By that point, it didn’t matter. The TV motorbikes clustered around him, filming him because it was obvious he was about to win.
Cadel couldn’t quite believe it was happening. The crowd fell silent. Thousands of Swiss and Italian fans had come expecting a local victory. No-one knew quite how to react to an Australian winner.
Cadel raced for the finish line, never slackening his pace. As a GC rider, he was used to shaving seconds off his time wherever he could. In the World Championships, it didn’t matter what time he did as long as he was first across the line. But Cadel couldn’t help riding like a GC guy.
In the spectators’ area, Chiara and all Cadel’s friends and European family were glued to the action. They screamed so loud they could hardly hear the commentary telling the crowd Cadel had hit the front.
Chiara went to sit by herself and block her ears. The tension was unbearable. Chiara started to worry that Cadel had lost the lead. Then she saw him climbing the Torrazza alone. She knew Cadel had nailed it.
Cadel crossed the line half a minute ahead of the nearest rider. He was the World Champion!
In a single moment, every crushing defeat was erased. Every injury was forgotten. Every critic who said Cadel couldn’t attack and wouldn’t ever win a big race was silenced. Cadel had just won one of the biggest races in the world. Not only that, he’d done it with a brave solo attack at the foot of a monster climb.
Any other rider would have celebrated with a victory salute. But not Cadel. When he crossed the finish line, he kissed his wedding ring, touched his heart and pointed in the direction of his home in Stabio. The satisfaction of winning was all Cadel needed. He saw no point in a victory display.
In the crowd, Chiara was crying. She ran towards the road with tears streaming down her face. A photographer helped her jump all the fences and barriers until she made it to the foot of the podium where Cadel was standing.
The Australian national anthem played. For the first time, Cadel put on the rainbow jersey. So many times he’d stood in the number two spot watching someone else win. He’d become used to the sick feeling it gave him. Not this time. At last, it was Cadel’s turn in the top spot.
It was a huge weekend in sport back in Australia. Cadel’s AFL team, Geelong, won the grand final. Now a local boy had taken out one of cycling’s biggest prizes. But back home, Cadel’s win got nothing like the attention the Geelong Football Club’s did. Despite what a huge achievement Cadel’s win was, AFL still trumped cycling.
If that upset Cadel, he didn’t show it. For him the World Championships victory was about personal satisfaction, not fame. Cadel did admit to watching the race over and over again in the days that followed. Normally he hated looking at photos or footage of himself. This time he made an exception. The first time they watched it, he and Chiara both burst into tears.
The win was a turning point for Cadel. That day in Mendrisio he put the whole season and every piece of bad luck behind him. Now he could look forward to a much brighter 2010. No-one could doubt his ability next season. He’d be wearing the rainbow stripes in every race, proving over and over again that he was the best rider in the world.
Some riders thought the rainbow jersey was a bit of a curse. Many who wore it never repeated their success in other races. Cadel didn’t think the curse would apply to him. As far as he could see, he’d had his cursed years leading up to the Worlds. From now on, the future was his.
Cadel’s Road Bike Race Highlights, 2009
3rd Stage 3, Vuelta a Andalucía (Ruta del Sol), Benahavis, Spain
4th Stage 6, Paris–Nice, La Montagne de Lure, France
4th Stage 2, Settimana Ciclistica Internazionale Coppi e Bartali, Faenza, Italy
2nd Stage 3, Settimana Ciclistica Internazionale Coppi e Bartali, Serramazzoni, Italy
1st Stage 5, Settimana Ciclistica Internazionale Coppi e Bartali, Sassuolo, Italy
2nd General Classification, Settimana Ciclistica Internazionale, Coppi e Bartali, Italy
2nd Stage 3, Vuelta Ciclista al País Vasco, Eibar, Spain
4th General Classification, Vuelta Ciclista al País Vasco, Spain
5th Waalse Pijl, Huy, Belgium
1st Stage 1, Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, Nancy, France
2nd Stage 4, Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, Valence, France
3rd Stage 7, Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, Saint-François-Longchamp, France
2nd General Classification, Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, France
1st Points Classification, Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, France
5th Stage 1, Tour de France, Monaco, France
4th Stage 8, Vuelta a España, Alto de Aitana, Spain
3rd Stage 19, Vuelta a España, La Granja. Real Fábrica de Cristales, Spain
3rd Stage 20, Vuelta a España, Toledo, Spain
3rd General Classification, Vuelta a España, Spain
1st World Championships (elite), Mendrisio, Switzerland