The top Canadian at CX worlds on moving past setbacks
Almost a week after the cyclocross world championships, Ruby West was back in Sherbrooke, Que., studying at Bishop’s University. The first-year student had missed two weeks of school to compete in Bogense, Denmark, at the beginning of February. It was West’s fourth appearance in the under-23 field at worlds. She lined up on the front row this year. Soon after the start, she missed a pedal. She finished 20th, the top Canadian at the competition, but felt disappointed initially.
“I think the week since worlds has definitely given me some perspective on the race and my season as a whole,” she said. “There is so much that goes into the world champs: racing all season, the hours of training, the final tune-ups and all the travel. It’s the focus of every day of your life for so long, so of course you want it to be nothing shy of spectacular. I think this year I put more pressure on myself than I had before because I knew I was stronger than I’ve ever been. After pre-riding the course, I knew this was one that suited me.
“Immediately after the race I was upset, no denying that. It’s taken a lot of thinking over the past week to try to come to terms with the race that wasn’t what I had hoped for. That’s OK. On such a fast course, where the top 20 are within 1:45 of each other, one little mistake can cost you the race. Everyone is fit, and everyone is ready. There is no room for error. I raced my heart out. I never gave up on trying to make it back to that lead group. At the end of the day, that’s all I could really ask from myself, so I’m content with that.” West wasn’t sure what she’d do on-bike before the start of the next CX season, but she had a general plan. “I’m hoping to hit some fun mountain bike and gravel races this summer, but without too much pressure,” she said. “I want to be fresh and motivated when ’cross comes around again in the fall.”— CCM