S11 Ep8: Explore | Rubbing shoulders with giants
The Cycling Podcast
The Cycling Podcast
4.7 • 3K Ratings
🗓️ 6 February 2023
⏱️ 71 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This episode is no exception, although it features a slightly different type of journey.
Lionel Birnie talks to American cyclo-cross rider Ben Frederick, who made the trip of a lifetime to Belgium over the Christmas and New Year period. It was his first visit to Europe and he was there to take part in the big festive cyclo-cross races where he rubbed shoulders with Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert and Tom Pidcock.
There's nothing especially amazing about that, you might think. After all, Frederick, who is 32, has talent. He was eighth in the US nationals in December and had earned his place on the start grid.
But Frederick's sojourn to Flanders was the culmination of an extraordinary journey. A few years ago, an innocuous crash while training on the trails caused a serious concussion. He had to re-learn how to do simple tasks, such as making coffee, and how to read before he could even contemplate getting back on the bike. It was almost two years before he could race again.
He set himself a goal – to experience something most cyclists can only dream of. To line up with the stars of modern cycling, the giants of the sport, amid the feverish party atmosphere of a Flandrian Christmas.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You are listening to Explore by the cycling podcast, powered by Super Sapiens. |
| 0:16.6 | Energy management for committed athletes and coaches. |
| 0:22.3 | Explore is about cycling with a sense of adventure, journeying into the unknown, setting off |
| 0:27.4 | for a challenge not knowing quite what lies ahead. |
| 0:30.9 | This episode is no exception, although it features a slightly different type of journey. |
| 0:36.3 | My name is Lionel Bernie and in this episode we are going to meet an American cyclocross |
| 0:40.4 | rider called Ben Frederick. |
| 0:43.0 | Once upon a time he dreamt of making it as a pro on the road, he brushed shoulders with |
| 0:47.6 | Joe Donbrowski and even beat him in a cyclocross race once. |
| 0:52.2 | But an innocuous crash while training on the trails caused a serious concussion. |
| 0:57.1 | Ben had to learn simple tasks like how to make coffee all from scratch. |
| 1:01.8 | He had to learn how to read again before he could even contemplate getting back on his |
| 1:06.0 | bike. |
| 1:07.0 | At Christmas he travelled to Europe for the first time to brush shoulders with the giants |
| 1:12.1 | of cyclocross. |
| 1:13.9 | He stayed with friends of the podcast Jamie Anderson and Bernard Murman at the Flondry |
| 1:18.4 | and Hotel deep in the Flonders countryside and immersed himself in Belgian cyclocross |
| 1:23.3 | culture. |
| 1:24.7 | He raced alongside Wout van Art, Matthew Van der Poole and Tom Pidcock at the biggest |
| 1:29.4 | events of the festive cyclocross season. |
| 1:32.5 | A few weeks ago I spoke to Ben about his story. |
| 1:41.8 | I am in sunny San Francisco, California, where it's supposed to be a balmy 60 degrees Fahrenheit |
... |
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