Originally Posted by 12XU
****** bag of the year?
"I don't think there was any doubt about who the fastest rider out there was," says Ford, 33. "That would be me."
Man, this guy sounds like a complete tool; I don't want to wish death upon him or anything, but him messing up a few tags would be funny.
He's ok, it's good to be cocky sometimes, helps your game.
He was very fast in Seattle, but while there may not have been any doubt in his own mind I don't think the crowd could say that. I made it to the finals with ease, and was in the same semi-final as Adam. I -smoked- him off the line, he certainly caught me quick enough and got half a wheel up on me, but when I saw that we'd left the rest of the field many many bike lengths behind I knew finishing next to him was A-ok as both of us would up move to the Final. I figure he knew the same because neither of us struggled at that point.
As for the final...broke my chain on the start, maybe it was my chain, maybe my "holder" held a half sec too long (felt like it) but all well that ends well, I didnt get mad or anything. I ran up the hill for 6th place.
I was actually quite lucky to make even the semi-final. On the qualifier I did an un-intentional wheelie when they said go, I'm not used to trackstanding up hill, and that the sprint was up a hill meant I was starting in my small ring in front, normally I'd start on the 53. Anyway I did a wheelie, stopped cold. put both feet down unclipped to avoid falling and laughed and cursed and then started the race. I guess the guys I was with just didn' want it because the leader had 25-30 yards on me and I slalommed all 5 of them to win since only 1st place would go forward in that heat.
I think the fastest person there was Brooks Rapley. He was on a sweet track bike and due to some oversight had no idea til the day that the race was up a hill. Had he the gearing, or if the race had been on a flat he may have beaten those of us on road bikes. Brooks has won before and is super fast on the drome, rode for the canadian national team and may still do so, haven't seen him much lately. He got second in the final and it was close. That's the kind of trackbike rider it takes to beat a good sprinter on a road bike, someone on the national/international level, but it can be done if the track sprinter outclasses the road sprinter to that degree.
Seattle rocked, so much fun, best Worlds I've been to.