Cycling News' excellent piece on Danny Nelissen and his winning the last ever Amateur World Road Race Title in Duitama was as comprehensive as it was engaging. The 1995 Worlds was at an Everest-like altitude and on a parcours so brutal that not many riders were registered as finishers.
Nelissen might have won but Great Britain's Matt Stephens was right up there throughout, finishing an eventual seventh in a true race of attrition. These days the Briton is better known as Global Cycling Network's presenter. But catching up with him at the Abu Dhabi Tour in February gave me the chance to chat to a man who has literally 'been there and done that,' and has come out the other side with no regrets. We waxed lyrical while on media assignment in the desert, talking about his career timeline from Colombia to his being part of 'Team on the Run,' otherwise known as Team Linda McCartney, the latter being the central theme in this 'multi-part' text.
So, what follows is a mish-mash of personal impressions and memories, intermingled with talking with Matt in and around the environs of the Yas Viceroy and atop Green Mountain.
+++++
I've recently just re-read John Deering's excellent 'Team on the Run: The Inside Story of the Linda McCartney Pro Cycling Team.' Having always been a keen follower of British riders, Deering's book was a 'must-read' for me, especially considering I got to see the squad up close in February 2000.
The Rapport Toer of the New Millenium proved to be the last edition of South Africa's national tour. That year's race boasted a top-class field, including Team Telekom, Team Gerolsteiner and TVM-Farm Frites. And the Linda McCartney Pro Cycling Team. After missing the race-winning move on the first day, Sean Yates had the McCartney's race off the front and they didn't disappoint: Pascal Richard and Maurizio De Pasquale blitzed up Signal Hill way ahead of a pudgy Jan Ullrich (in the third group) and the best of the rest. A week later and the race returned to the Mother City, with a circuit race around the environs of Greenpoint. Max Sciandri was resplendent in the climber's jersey (or was it Ciaran Power?) and Linda McCartney ended off a successful week if not for a high GC placing.
Only weeks before and Matt Stephens was doing his GC duty for the team. High placings in Tour Down Under and Le Tour de Langkawi had left Matt feeling a little flat, so he was rested for the South African stopover. But that was OK with him: racing for Linda McCartney signalled a dream come true for Matt, having come so close to turning 'Continental' pro a few times. Like in Colombia at the end of 1995. Matt had a verbal offer from Eddie Borysewicz to join the fledgling United States Postal Service and was looking forward to starting his adventure with the Yanks the very next year. Then Eddie 'B' got fired, the management changed and Matt was left with nothing, opting to combine pro racing at home in the UK with a full-time job.
"Jeremy Hunt was in tears after DNF-ing in Colombia," remembers Matt. "He thought his chances of turning pro were shot whilst I was celebrating my good performance. But only a few weeks later, Jez deservedly signed with Banesto and I was left in the lurch. Cycling's like that and I just had to get on with life."
To be continued.
