It was just 20km into the UCI Gravel World Championships elite women's race on Saturday and Rosa Klöser (Germany) thought it may have already been over, when a tricky flat dropped her out of the lead group not long before the first crucial climb of the day.
But somehow, some 100km later, she was out front with Marianne Vos (Netherlands) and contending for the win.
"It was definitely a tough race. I mean, the course is really relentless," Klöser told Cyclingnews after going to the podium to claim her silver medal.
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The bad luck also seemed to be just as relentless for the rider wearing the number 13 on her back, as it turned out her flat tyre wouldn't be the only misfortune of her day.
"It was a really big job for me to come back because it was also not easy to find the hole in my tyre, so it took me really quite a while until I got going again," said Klöser. "And if I'm honest, I saw the race move away from me there, but I was like, 'OK, you know what, you can only try'. So I kept pushing, and when I could see them I got an extra gear and I managed to come back to the front group,"
The front group ebbed and flowed as groups rejoined and then were again shed on the unrelenting course and a caught stick caused another quick stop for Klöser , that, however was quickly dealt with and the Canyon-SRAM-MAAP rider went with Vos at around 20km to go
Once she made it, however, her travails weren't over, with a stick caught in her rear mech, but that barely made a dent compared to the other chase back which could well have weakened her sprint.
Klöser, who has also spent a considerable amount of time on the road this year, jumped back into gravel with a couple of UCI Gravel World Series races in September, winning both and in one of them, Sea Otter Europe, shaking off Vos. It's clear that Klöser was coming into the race with a course that seemed to suit her and some powerful form.
"I won't lie, it was a really big goal," said Kloser, who did have her season interrupted by a parasitic infection that she was unaware of, but worked it out in time to prepare for the rainbow jersey race.
As the final 10km approached, it looked set to come down to a sprint battle between Vos, who is renowned for her prowess in delivering a sprint finish at the end of a tough race, and Klöser, who managed to pull off a huge gravel win when she clinched Unbound in a sprint of nine. But more bad luck struck before Klöser could even think about the sprint.
"Unfortunately, I think with 4km to go, I wiped out in like the last technical corner," said the rider who fronted up for the podium ceremonies and post-race interviews with a ripped shorts, a wound on one leg and a banged-up arm.
"I probably overinflated my tyre also a bit when when it got flat. But I mean that's racing, that's gravel. At the end of the day, you can only try."
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