Having ridden his first Tour de France in July, Paddy Bevin is now readying for his elite world championships debut this weekend in Bergen, Noway. The Cannondale-Drapac rider has ridden on the track for New Zealand at events such as the Commonwealth Games but the Bergen Worlds is his on the road. The 26-year-old broke his foot on stage 1 of the Tour but rode through to finish in Paris. After a month off the bike, an injury-free Bevin rode the Cyclassics Hamburg and GP Ouest France-Plouay to get into racing rhythm. A week later at the Tour of Britain, a ninth place and two 11th places suggested Bevin was getting back to his best ahead of the Worlds. `After breaking my foot I was down a bit of power in the sprints. I was in good position but not really able to capitalise on that,` Bevin told Cyclingnews from Bergen. `It was a building block towards Worlds and it was good to be there racing but I was a little bit off the pace.`ADVERTISEMENT In May, Bevin finished sixth at the Tour of Norway with three top-ten results. While his results suggest Bevin`s characteristics are suited to the Bergen parcours, he explained he is simply excited to be making his Worlds debut. Regardless of location. `I enjoyed Norway and I enjoy racing here and it`s cool to come back and race Worlds,` he said. `It is actually my first elite world elite, my first worlds since juniors in about 2008 so I am a bit green when it comes to world championships road races. I`m taking it as a big one-day race and looking to enjoy racing a world championship because it is something you don`t get to do at the best of times. As my first, it is really exciting.` Joining Bevin for the 267.5km race on Sunday in the Kiwi race kit are Jack Bauer and Dion Smith. While small, it`s a squad of quality and with the recent example of Peter Sagan winning a Worlds title with two teammates, Bevin believes the New Zealanders can spring a surprise.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
|
