ALEX DOWSETT
TEAM K AT US HA-AL P EC IN
Before I start, I want to say what a pleasure it has been to write for Procycling. Every so often I take a moment to reminisce at the journey my career has taken me so far. To think at the start when I was a schoolboy time triallist looking to get into road racing, I would pick up cycling mags to learn about the world I was getting into, and now I am fully immersed at the top echelon (pardon the pun) of the sport. Hopefully someone else is starting his or her cycling journey reading this and looking forward to where it’ll take them.
This year, as ever, there have been highs and lows. I’ve achieved things that I came to think may never happen, like getting a call up for the Tour de France then lugging this big rig all the way to Paris. That’s a box I dreamed of ticking. Now I want to go back, to perform better.
A low has been the uncertainty for the majority of the year around my team’s future. Katusha has been a good team, not just in the two years I’ve been a part of it, but since its beginning. We’ve struggled for results these past two years and it’s cost us dearly. As a contracted rider through to 2020 I was stuck; stuck in a team that may or may not fold but unable to shop around, and as things drew on, and hearing of WorldTour teams filling up, it was stressful and worrying. News of the Israel merger seeped out and we hoped we were all safe within the confines of our contracts, but it was weeks of toing and froing until things settled in late September and I knew I was safe. Israel Cycling Academy was not the move I envisaged but given communications with the team it sounds like a very professional set-up that hopefully we’ll flourish in. Oh, and if this hasn’t been announced yet then I’m in trouble.
What we lacked in results we made up for in rallying round together and fighting and I’ve made lifelong friends along the way. The bus was always a fun place, training camps were hard but full of atmosphere. A highlight result was our fifth place in the Tour’s TTT. Not just because we punched above our weight but because of the work that went in. Nils, Marco, Kev [coach] and I all had huge input into the pacing strategy, and I did the bike fit for Jens, Marco and Rick days before to help them be more settled without compromising aero. The mechanics weren’t too impressed with each rider coming back from training and asking to widen their armrests and raise the front end by 4cm, generally on my advice. But if you’re reading this Roger, it was me, and I’m only a little bit sorry!
Lastly, the biggest highlight was the support I had for a home Worlds, resulting in my fifth place. Matt Brammeier’s confidence in my ability was the starting point, then rallying the GB support staff around me was pretty special to be a part of.
Thanks again, I hope next year’s columnists can be as insightful as I’ve tried to be or more!
I achieved things that I came to think may never happen, like getting a call up for the Tour and lugging this big rig to Paris