Defending champion Zdenek Stybar has paid tribute to the massive crowd at Koksijde today, saying that the respect shown to him en route to a disappointing 13th place helped carry him through a very tough race.
“I had a really bad day,” the Omega Pharma Quick Step rider admitted after today’s event, won by Niels Albert ahead of six other Belgians. “Already in the warm up phase on the rollers I didn’t feel very well. [It was] maybe also because of the slight fever that hit me yesterday evening.”
Stybar said that he tried to put those early sensations out of his mind and to hope that things worked out well in the event itself. However he quickly discovered that he wasn’t firing on all cylinders. “At the start of the race when Albert took off I knew he was going to be a tough customer; he loves these types of routes. I tried to keep up with him but my legs weren’t responding as they usually do,” he said. “Lap after lap I was losing positions.”
He won the race in 2010 and 2011 and headed into today’s contest hoping to take his third consecutive title. “I am in top form for the World Championships,” Štybar said in the days leading up to the race. “I see myself on the podium.”
The disappointment he subsequently felt is easy to imagine, and he might have been expected to pack the race. However he showed courage in pressing on, even though he was far off his best; he said that the support he got from the spectators gave him energy to do so.
“The thing I liked best about today was the affection from the crowds. The further back I fell in the classification, the more the public supported me,” he said. “I’d like to thank them all; it was a magical moment, unforgettable.”
Stybar has had a quieter cross season than in recent years, and appears to be either fatigued from racing on the road in 2011 or else perhaps lacking the high-end intensity he had before due to riding longer events. His Omega Pharma Quick Step team had previously expressed concern that he might be taking on too much. In response, he said in December that he would follow Lars Boom’s example in riding only a few cross races and instead prioritising the road.
“When I stayed with the rest of the team in Calpe [at the training camp], I was amazed looking at the way the team was working,” he said. “When I saw my team-mates have their road season prepared, it made my decision: I want that too. Maybe you I only have one chance at a WorldTour team. I’ll dedicate myself to it, grasping it with both hands.”
If anything, today’s result will make that shift in emphasis even more likely. He said afterwards that he will soon evaluate his position in the sport.
“Will I still do cyclo cross in the future?” he asked. “We’ll see, right now I don’t know how to answer that. We’ll talk it over with the team at the appropriate time.
“Now I want to recuperate and think about the season ahead on the road. I still have lots of races ahead of me in which to do well and recover from this first part, which has been a bit lacklustre.”