Rider Perspective: That's a Wrap, With Emily Batty

This past weekend the World Cup series concluded in Meribel, France and before I get into my race report I want to take this moment in time to offer my deepest condolences to everyone who knew Annafleur Kalvenhaar. My heart aches for the friends, team mates and family of Annafleur. An absolute tragic loss that took place in Meribel and it’s a frank reminder that our sport, at any level, has risk. We lost an amazing talent and personality. You will be missed Annafleur.


Annafleur would have wanted the racing action to continue and after many meetings with riders, teams and the UCI, we all decided it would be best for the races to go forward… I couldn’t think of a more beautiful location to finish the series then Meribel…pair that with the number of supportive spectators, an all natural terrain course that riders raved about, perfect weather and we had ourselves a bike race.


The race played out pretty well and it was probably the most competitive race of the season. There really wasn’t any world ranked riders missing from the Elite Women’s field and the depth really showed in the racing. Usually, 4-5 mins behind the winner will get you a top 10 finish in a World Cup (for the women anyways) and in Meribel, the top 20 women finished within 6 minutes of each other... that’s roughly a rider crossing the line every 15-18 seconds which is very tight racing. It’s normal in the men, although I have never seen such depth and competitive racing in the women, it’s a real testament with how hard everyone is working and where the sport is going.


I had a pretty descent race jumping off the start line and into 2nd position, fading mid race and then hitting the jets on the last lap to move myself back into 6th position. When I came across the line I actually thought I was in 5th and in the end, 5th was only 7 more seconds… damn! Overall a pretty good race and in doing so, I was able to secure my 4th place overall in the series. I was pretty focused on consistency this year and if I hadn’t had those 2 poor performances in Europe I would have easily secured 2nd overall… of course we always want more and I will settle to take 4th overall this year.


Thank you to all my sponsors, family and friends for the highest level of support this year. Adam for the best coaching and guidance from WFPcoaching. Trek Bikes for amazing support and the best equipment. Pfaff Porsche for loving cycling so much and providing me with a vehicle for the year, a huge expense off my shoulders. Lululemon for keeping me clothed haha… seriously though, a perfect company that’s very passionate about Yoga and clothing. Of course my FANS because I couldn’t do this without everyone supporting me… you guys really make the dreams so worth it and I hope to continue inspiring more people to ride bikes and have fun. That's all for now, as it's time to get ready for World Champs in Norway. Lots of love for everyone!

-Emily Batty

www.trekbikes.com

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