Big guns and big lessons (Cro Race st2)

I still can’t believe what I did! I talked about winning a stage in this years Cro Race earlier in the blog, but it feels surreal to actually be this close.

I cannot describe what this means, to finally step on the podium against some of the best sprinters in the world. And to be so close to the win with such a competition. After a season that felt like a rollercoaster. We finally made it. Yesterday, I was in white as the best young rider in the whole race! Such an honour to be able to do this on my home roads in front of my friends and family.

Thank you everyone who stood by me through the worst and throughout the whole process. And even bigger thanks to those who accidentally added oil to the fire. You sparked something big inside me.

Novalja positioning chaos

During the final 4km lap in Novalja, within the positioning chaos, I often entered the trains of the other teams, but I do it very respectfully. Everytime I saw a rider from the same team wants to pass, I would let him go. Espesially, if it is a sprinter going after his own train. I am not so experienced and I know if a rider like Molano or Kogut decided to get nasty with the elbows, I would most probably end up somewhere in the bushes. Therefore, as soon as Magnier, Molano, Kogut, Teutenberg would get mad and try to remove me, I would shout that I see them and that I would let them pass. There was a moment I went in reverse bumping from one sprinter to another and my DS told me on the radio "Bolj trdo Niki!" Which means more hard in Slovenian.

Flame rouge

Well, I knew this finish very well and I knew that the last 600m are slight downhill and that it will be over before you know it. Therefore, the position exiting the last right corner was extremely important. I often have that realisation point in the final. "Oh shit, we are close, and I am still 25th wheel" and then I get to action as soon as I see an opening, whatever it takes. So at 1km to go, just before the final corner, it opened up on the right and I went all out after one Bahrain rider, in the moment I thought it was Fran but actually it was Tiberi. That way I passed like 20 positions in that one corner by doing my signature move on the outside. Later I got myself after the train of Uno X which turned out to be far the best wheel. If I were more confident and experienced I would have probably exited already at 200m to go. But since I was behind a sprinter and the leadout guy did an excellent job blocking me, I could only start my sprint at 70 - 80m to the finish line which was much to late too take the win.

The lesson

I learned something big from this. After the race, as I was rushing towards the podium to do the interview for the national tv, I didn't even know I would become the leader of the young rider clasification and take the jersey from Magnier. I explained to my team which things I need packed for the car that is waiting for me and Mihael (who was picked for the doping control test). The rest of the team rushed to catch the first ferry off from the island Pag. It turned out they forgot to leave me the most important suitcase where I had all the clothes and shoes.

Therefore, when travelling back, on the ferry from Žigljen to Prizna, I was very underdressed. It was quite windy on the ferry. At first I was outside, getting compliments from everyone and enjoying my beautiful country, but soon it got cold and after 10min I was already inside.

It turned out that those 10min underdressed on the open air was enough to destabilize my health. I haven't slept for the whole night and next day I woke up with my face so swollen I looked chinese … :) I haven’t slept for two days, even the night before this amazing result, my face all swollen and I am pooping liqiud. Who thought it would go so much downhill from where I’ve been.

When I was a kid, at the croatian national team camp, we had a crazy coach. He would always say that the body after the race is sensitive like a woman after labour and you have to be extremely careful with it. I can’t believe I was so selfish that I went over this sacred rule. Turns out he weren’t so crazy after all.

A day in white

The body felt horrible and instead of showing how well I can climb as a sprinter, it was a loooong day of suffering and turning myself inside out on the climbs while just trying to hold the wheel in front of me. I have got some compliments through the peloton and I cannot describe how much it means. Just to have someone you look up to, say to you "Nice ride yesterday!".

Hopefully, after two well slept nights, I will be able to show how well a sprinter can climb and survive the Plešivica climb with the first group. For now, even though those are the two hardest stages, we try to enter recovery mode as much as posible.

Small talks with the big guns and how much it means

But not only that, since I am conti for the last 3 years and doing my very best to be at a level with the pros, I've experienced this a lot of times. Mostly pros, proconti and WT riders, treat us as if we were a different worse species, don't talk to us and push us to the bushes if there is a chance. But you wouldn't believe how much it means to have a chat with a pro rider, for a 20 year old doing his very best to be up there next to them.

Once, when I will turn pro, I will always talk with the younger guys from the conti teams. I don't think that jersey you wear should change how you behave towards others and I know how much it means for the kid inside of them.