Q & A: Ian Field’s World Championship

 

Five time British cyclo-cross champion, Ian Field (Hargroves Cycles-Ridley-Montezumas) chats about his World Championship race

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Q & A: Ian Field’s World Championship

After winning the National Trophy and then his fifth British title, Ian had high hopes for the Worlds but challenges out of his control saw him finish the race further down the result sheet than hoped.

1. How was the lead up to the race post British championship win?
Ian: The lead up was a mixed bag. I had a bit of a re-occurring knee problem which hampered training slightly but I managed to keep ticking over trying to hold onto form and then was away for nine days with the GB team in Hoogerheide and then Luxembourg which was a really well run trip and produced results for the team at the World Champs.

2. Was the course the most tricky you have ridden on in cyclo-cross?
Ian: By the time I raced, the course wasn’t actually that tricky at all. Sunday was a completely different set of conditions compared to the Saturday where things looked almost impossible to control the bike fully.

3. What was your strategy for the race?
Ian: The strategy for the race was to try and get a good start from the third row which I managed to do and then try and maintain over the first few laps then try and move through from there as I am usually strong come the last 20 minutes at World Cups.

4. You mentioned punctures before the race – what was causing the punctures and yours in particular?
Ian: Rocks were coming through the surface as more and more people rode the course and dug out the mud from around them creating super sharp edges which were just slicing tubulars. I knew this was going to be a big issue in the race from practice so put a lot of air in my tubs to try and combat this but it still didn’t work.

5. Did the conditions from the pre race rides you did change to those conditions you had in the race?
Ian: The course completely changed from Thursday when the course was covered in ice and snow, however I knew the conditions were going to change drastically due to the weather forecast so didn’t actually ride on the course again until Sunday morning after the weather change so that I only really rode the course in the conditions I was going to race it in.

6. Did you have any bike trouble besides the puncture in the race and how often did you change bikes?
Ian: I changed bikes once due to the punctures. There were so many puddles and parts with standing water that the mud was actually just getting washed off as we raced so no real need to change bikes.

7. How does the gridding position affect your race – ie, are you being held up, delayed by crashes etc
Ian: Third row is one of them where it can either open up for you and you can really move forward towards that top ten or it just closes on you with someone in front missing a pedal or just not getting a great start and you can just get swamped.

8. Will you have a break from racing now?
Ian: Yes, I will have a good break from racing now, probably get back into the swing of things come April, May time with some road racing to compliment the training. I think I will probably do some MTB in the summer as well as I really enjoy riding off road in the summer.

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