When I found out on July 17th tht I had been granted a "wild card" entry to the World's competition in Trento Italy and actually cried. After my fall in January I wasn't sure if I would ever seriously ride a bike again and getting ot go to Worlds was a dream come true. At that time Mike Hassur was still considering to go and Mike Smith was trying to get allocated. As it turned out neither would be able to go.
On Sept. 14th I headed to the airport on an adventure different than I had ever undertaken. I started out the trip spending a day in Frankfurt, Verona, Italy and then two days in Venice, Italy. I visited the typical highlights of all three cities. I then headed to Trento Italy for the "Worlds"competition. Trento is an incredibly beautiful city.
The first scheduled competition was the Team Relay. It was a country to country competition using 4 people at least one female from 4 different age groups. I was selected as the "old guy" for our USA team. The competition was a 1 k loop through town over the cobblestones with each person doing 5 laps. When I arrived at the Piazza where the race was to start it became clear that this was to be a special event. Over a thousand fans were already lining the course and riders from each of the 12 teams started riding around the course. I must admit I got a little concerned riding over the rough and unpredictable small bricks with many tight turns. This could be pretty dicy. It was then shared that 4 former pro riders and 2 current pro riders were going to parade around the route on their bikes prior to our event. Two of the riders had their World Champion Jerseys on. I started to get really excited about this opportunity but that excitement disappeared as I noticed that I was the only USA rider present and ready to race. I had several officials asking where my partners were. I had no idea. As it turned out they never did show and the race went on without me and a USA team. The home country Italy ended up winning the competition. I decided to drown my disappointment by getting my picture taken with the two podium girls. I didn't get the kiss on the cheek like the winners receive but... not a bad gig. I found out later our one female rider decided the cobbles looked to dangerous and another one of the USA riders had his bikes lost by the airlines and as a result could not race.
Friday was the TT which I had chosen not to do so Friday and Saturday was spent mostly doing tourist stuff with only a little bit of riding. On Sunday at 7:45 1,400 riders and myself lined up for the Road Race. It was scheduled for 69 miles and 9,700 feet of climbing. I was excited but nervous. The officials decided to start the older and most likely slower riders first followed ever 2 minutes by a younger age group. Prior to the first climg the 55-59 age group caught my 60-64 group. As the climb started it was pretty crowded . Most of the riders stayed close together as we completed the 4 mile climb. As I started to hit the descent I came around the first curve and saw 7-8 bodies laying on the pavement. I found out later two people with broken collarbones, one with 2 broken ribs and another wiht a broken neck. I think the slowest to fastest start was partially to blame for the accident. There was another serious crash farther dowwn the hill and another on the flats. I thank God avoided those dangerous events. When I arrived at the bottom of the climb I ended up being alone and having to start the 20 km flat section by myself. At about 15 km I finally found a group. At that point I was riding faster than expected and feeling good about my ride. As a group we were making good progress when we passed a police officer. I thought he was just holding back traffic but he was actually suppose to be telling us to take a 90 deg turn. He was talking with bystanders and neglected to inform us of the turn until we were passed the turn. When he finally yelled the other 3 riders jammed on their brakes causing me to run into the back of one of them and falling. I seemed to be o.k. but my saddle needed an adjustment and my computer was nocked off. By the itime I was ready to start riding my group was long gone. I finished the flat section by myself but was hopeful as I started to climb I would catch up. As I started to climb I noticed that shifting wasn't working well and the next thing I knew the chain became jammmed between the wheel and the back of my cassette. It took me about 10 minutes to pull it loose. After riding another 1-2 miles it happened again except this time the chain was jammed so hard that neither I nor a motorcycle rider could free the chain even after struggling for 15 minutes. Soon the sweep wagon arrived and they loaded up me and my bike. I was real frustrated and disappointed. I had come so far to do the race and now won't even finish. Those feelings subsided some as we picked up more and more riders some and one of an American rider who was expecting to be on the podium for my age group but crashed. He had two broken ribs and his front wheel was trashed. I started to feel grateful that I didn't have serious crash. Feeling that I had some unfinished business I did a temporary repair to my bike and then road the Monte Bondone climb the next morning. It is a beautiful climb with numerous views over the city as it climbs its 4,600 ft in 13 miles. Here is one of the views as you head up the climb.
On Monday I headed to Florence and watched American Kristen Small win a Bronze medal in the Elite Women's Time Trial. On Wednesday I headed up north to explore the Dolomites. On Friday I did a ride called the Sella Ronda. It was a 40 mile ride with 7,000 feet of climbing as you go over 4 passes. It was the most beautiful ride I have ever seen or road. Vista after vista.
The next day I headed west to do famous Stelvio Pass a 15 mile climb that covers 6,000 ft. and tops out at 8,700 ft. It is the 3rd highest pass in Europe. It is famous for it's 48 hairpin turns. They have signs that allow you to count them down as you climb. The climb get's steeper and steeper as you climb. As I climbed came across a group of 4 guys XC skiing with rollers up the climb and they reached a female amputee doing the same thing. Their climb to the top made my climb a minor accomplishment compared to theirs. They must have been incredibly fit and very powerful shoulders and legs.
My trip to Italy was a tremendous experience. I met many very special people, ate wonderful food, and saw incredibly beautiful things made by man and others untouched by man. My racing was a big disappointment but was overshadowed by all the incredibly wonderful things I experienced.
To see all of the photos from Leon's trip, click on the following link: https://picasaweb.google.com/103821724300588557330/2013_09_22LeonMatzAtTheUCIAgeGroupWorldChampionships#5931449485601186258
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