Neal Kindree can now claim to be among the top 25 best cross country mountain bikers in the world following his Sept. 7 performance at the Mountain Biking Championships in Scotland - his first attempt at a world title.
"Better then I was expecting given my plague stricken conditions," stated Kindree in his blog, referring to the illness he'd endured in the days prior to the race. "But not as well as I had hoped."
The road to the worlds has been a rollercoaster ride Kindree is sure to never forget. Last month, he celebrated the announcement he'd made Team Canada and would represent his country in Scotland. Then two days prior to departure, Kindree suffered what he called "mild food poisoning," which kept him off his bike for a crucial 48 hours. After two days of travel, Kindree had the opportunity to test the racecourse on Monday and Tuesday."And might I add I absolutely love the course," he said. "It's not technical by any means but it's so stupidly fast that is just leaves you screaming for more."
Kindree was then again struck down with a sickness."Following a good training session Tuesday all was looking good for race day... until I got sick, again!" he said. "I think my immune system must just be frazzled right now."
Kindree spent two days sleeping and resting before hitting the track. He had a smooth race with no mechanical mishaps or collisions, and in the end he finished 24th out of 81 racers in the U23 cross country event. "I was lacking energy when it came to crunch time and pushed through going as fast as my body would allow me," he said. The achievement is notable, to put it mildly, but Kindree -who had hoped to make the top 16 - simply accepted the results.
"The result was 24th. This isn't good or bad... it just is."
He still found something to celebrate however.
"Damn that was a fun race."
Kindree finished first among Canadians and nine minutes and 58 seconds behind the winner Jakob Fuglsang of Denmark.Max Plaxton, the 2006 bronze medallist, was 28th after a flat and brake problems on the third lap kept him behind. Plaxton had a great start and was fifth after two laps, according to reports from the Canadian Cycling Association.
''I was feeling great and then the flat happened,'' said the Victoria-based rider.''I changed the wheel then had trouble with my rear brake.I had to slow down considerably on the downhills.It was my last year in this category and I really wanted to win.It's the first time I've experienced such bad luck.It's very frustrating.''
Raphael Gagn茅 of Lac-Beauport, Que., was 43rd.He also experienced mechanical problems as his chain broke at the start of the second lap.
