For a man who less than a week before the World Championships was still undecided about taking part, Czech ace Zdenek Stybar didn’t fare too badly.
His world championship victory – the third of his career – came on the back of just a fortnight’s ‘cross racing at the turn of the year and his priorities just a week before the worlds had been a block of road training in Mallorca with his Omega Pharma-Quickstep team-mates.
Some people, however, are blessed with natural ability, and it certainly rings true for Stybar. His ‘rusty’ technical skills meant he frequently conceded the upper-hand to Sven Nys in their enthralling duel at the head of the race, but each time he fought back.
Twice a junior medallist, twice an under-23 champion, and now three-times elite men’s champion, Stybar knows what it takes to win a ‘cross race and when his moment finally arrived he seized it emphatically. There is just no substitute for natural talent and experience.
