Cycling: Kiwi time trial ace on top of the world

Linda Villumsen shows her winning style in the women's elite time trial at the world championships in Richmond, Virginia, this week. Photo / AP

Diminutive New Zealand cyclist strikes gold with help of ‘my tight little team’

You will go far to find a New Zealand world champion whose public profile is lower than Linda Villumsen.

But that seems the way she likes it.

The new individual time trial cycling champion is no high flyer. Flashing cameras and TV microphones don't follow her the way they are attracted to other elite athletes.

Villumsen is happiest going about her business in an unfussy way. Garrulous she is not, although those who know her well talk of a bubbly element to her nature, when the time, place and company are right.

However, what the 30-year-old unquestionably possesses is a steely determination towards what she wants to achieve.

In five successive world time trials, she finished third, third, second, third, second before last year's ninth.

When she got her chance this week, at Richmond, Virginia, there would be no stopping her.

On the longest course, 29.9km, for the event in 20 years, Villumsen shot out, and produced a time of 40m 29.87s. Then she had to sit and wait while eight other riders strove to overtake her.

None did, and when the last challenger, defending champion Lisa Brennauer, fell short, Villumsen got to her feet and beamed a winner's smile. The closest to her was Dutch rider Anna van der Breggen, 2.54s back, with Brennauer third 5.26s adrift.

You need certain qualities to prosper in the individual time trial. Mental fortitude in bucketloads for a start.

This is not akin to riding in a team, where, in simple terms, you have company. Moves are being made around you. Smart wits are required.

In the time trial, riders set off a minute or two apart and just ride, as fast as they can. There are no human markers to give bearings. The riders have to sense how they're travelling. It takes loads of discipline.

Villumsen has an ability to shut out distractions that not all cyclists possess. So why does she think she's outstanding at the solo discipline?

"I don't know. I think it suits me," she said. Evidently.

Mark Elliott, high performance boss at Cycling New Zealand, describes her as "a unique individual, no doubt about that. She doesn't crave the limelight, she's happy with a small group of people around her, and maybe time trialling is reflective of that".

Villumsen was raised in Herning, a town of 48,000 in the middle of Denmark. When she came to New Zealand for schooling she fell in love with the country and after repeat return training trips she received her citizenship in late 2009.

She wasted no time making her mark. Villumsen was fifth in the road race and 13th in the time trial at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. The first of her clutch of world champs podium finishes came in 2009, along with quality performances on the road.

From there, it's been onwards and upwards.

Villumsen was fourth at the London Olympics time trial, won gold in the event in Glasgow at last year's Commonwealth Games and now, she's top of the world.

"It was a mix of everything," she said of the moment she knew she'd finally climbed her highest mountain.

"Relief and delight. So many times I'd been in that position and seen at least one rider pass me at the end. I kept saying 'it's not over till the last rider has finished'. When I looked at the time, I was amazed, could not believe it."

Linda Villumsen. Photo / AP

Elliott recognised an important early point with Villumsen.

"She needed people around her she could trust. She operates a lot on trust."

Enter noted mechanic Craig Geater and former pro rider Marco Pinotti as her coach. That's it. No other hangers-on, just the essentials.

"Cycling is not as individual as you think," Villumsen said. "Like [the worlds win] it takes more than one person to win a race.

"Yes, I am the only one who can pedal on the day but it is really the whole team getting things ready for that one day. On the day I can blame myself if something goes wrong; when it doesn't, I can thank more than myself."

It's clear Villumsen is happy with her setup.

"They are my tight little team. They have been with me for the last five or six years, they are with me every step of the day, making sure everything runs smoothly so I just turn up on the day and ride the bike. They do the hard work.

"I trust them, and what they tell me and do for me. It has to work that way. [You must] be honest with each other and we figure things out as we go along. I honestly think that's what's working so well."

So what about the bike, a slick all black Trek bike, which Elliott said is a standard piece of equipment which could be bought off a shop shelf.

Villumsen's pro team, United Healthcare, cut up rough yesterday when they discovered she had not ridden the team issue bike, threatening to sack her. The counter argument is when she's representing her country, Villumsen could ride whichever bike she fancies.

"It's a bike that suits Linda," Elliott said. "She's very flexible, and comes from a triathlon background. She has good flexibility in her hips and shoulders. She's small and not a lot of bikes are really designed for ladies who are 5ft zip."

In layman terms, the design enables Villumsen to tuck in low, in a position which "makes her incredibly efficient. When wind is your biggest enemy, she's a very slippery girl", Elliott added.

Testing was done early this year in an Auckland wind tunnel. There are more advanced designs on the market but this is the best fit.

"We know a very low position is good for me and that bike allows me to get into a lower position than most other bikes," Villumsen said.

Villumsen is noted as a highly self-motivated athlete. No need to push her out the door for a training ride.

"She's first up in the morning on the rollers having a spin for half an hour, just to start the day. It requires a lot of focus and hard work and Linda's not short of that. I guess all those attributes make her a world champion," Elliott said.

Villumsen doesn't disagree with the self-starter line, although ...

"It's not so much lifting myself for a big occasion; it's probably more what I try to do and how I train for a big event. Some people would call me crazy, but if I put in an extra hour every day, or even half hour, maybe that extra time gives me an extra second - like yesterday," she said of the gold medal ride.

So is this thoroughly dedicated champion at her peak? "I hope not," quipped Elliott, his mind pushing forward to the Olympic Games next year. "The course in Rio is incredibly technical so it will suit her. It comes down to course specifics, maturity of the athlete and ultimately the best preparation and equipment."

This is such a demanding event there are no guarantees. But look at Villumsen's record, a consistent podium finisher.

Sports bosses are fond of saying the days of the bolter Olympic performance are over. Form and times one year out from an Olympics are solid indicators of who'll be jousting for the medals.

"She is in the right training and racing environment," Elliott said. "The fact she's been able to nail two of the big three for New Zealand athletes (the world and Commonwealth titles) will give her incredible confidence that she knows she's doing the right things, with the right people around her."

And predictions for Rio should stop right there.