cyclingnews.com talks with Mari Holden

Mari's magic year

December 4, 2000

Mari Holden - Click for a larger image.
US gold medalist Mari Holden smiles on the podium after the elite women's Individual time trial.
Photo ©: AFP Photo/Patrick Kovarik

By Gerard Knapp

With a prime spot in a leading Italian team for 2001, the USA's Mari Holden reflects on a stand-out year.

A gold medal ride in the individual time trial (ITT) at this year's World Road Championships in Brittany, France, capped off a perfectly-planned season for the USA's leading female rider, Mari Holden.

Although it could be said that some of her main rivals were not present in Plouay, that really only serves to reinforce the quality of her year. To win races, you need to actually be there on the day, and the riders who can turn in a gold medal performance three weeks after the pressure of the Sydney Olympics show their true stamina and focus.

In fact, it will take another three years for any rider to repeat her feat of 2000, as Holden was the only American rider to secure medals in both the Sydney Olympics (silver in the ITT) and the gold at the world's in Brittany. Following the ITT in Sydney Holden returned to her home in Colorado both excited by the silver medal in her bag, but also feeling from what she described as "terrible jetlag".

"It was definitely more difficult with all the pressure leading up to Sydney," Holden said of her preparation for the olympics "and we actually left (Sydney) the morning of the closing ceremony. We were really disappointed to leave early and at that time, I was still indecisive (about attending the world's). "Before the Olympics I didn't even want to go to France as there was a lot of stress - I finally decided I would go and I'm so glad I did."

Holden denied the aging French champion Jeanne Longo her 12th world championship title in front of her cocorico home crowd. But at 41, Longo was just getting too old to dominate on a top level. Mari completed the 24.5km course in 33.14.62 at an average speed of 44.21 km/h, finishing 3.71 seconds ahead of Longo, with Lithuanian Rasa Polikeviciute third at 46.91 seconds.

When Holden arrived in Brittany, "I was so messed up from going to Sydney, and then home, and then to Europe". The constant changes in time zones in the two weeks had taken their toll so Holden deliberately "took it easy" while at home. "I have a few favourite rides at home and that was kind of relaxing, so I just did a little bit of training." Holden only had two days to adjust to European time before the ITT and did a few hard efforts only the day before her event. After her experiences with jetlag, she found that it is better to do a race within a few days of arriving in the new time zone, rather than spending over week to adjust, as she finds that performances can suffer until a full re-adjustment is completed.

Planning for Sydney

Her training plan for the year was mapped out by boyfriend and personal coach Dean Golich, recently named one of the USA Cycling Coaches of the Year (he shared the award with Bryan Miller). The principal aim for the year was the Olympic Games and Holden saved her best for the latter half of the season.
Mari Holden - Click for a larger image.
USA's Mari Holden races her way to win the gold medal in the elite women's Individual time trial championships
Photo ©: AFP Photo/Joel Saget

"I wasn't riding too hard in the middle of the year and May was a bit of a break. There were the Olympic trials and then I was sick in June, but I wanted to have some good races and hard training for the rest of the summer." Most of the training was at home in Colorado Springs, which is at 6000' altitude and "perfect for training. It's not too high so you're not losing power - it's a good balance." Holden's training at her mountain country home usually involves "heading out east - it's flat".

"But it depends on the races. If it's the HP (Hewlett Packard Womens' Challenge), then I'll do more mountains." Holden can easily find good roads to turn in 15 minute power efforts and uses the SRM training cranks, which she described as "one of the best" means of monitoring performance away from the race environment.

Her racing schedule with the Timex team this year started with the first World Cup race in Canberra, Australia, and also included the Thuringen tour in Germany, half of the Grand Boucle (women's Tour de France) and the Killington stage races in the US. But the focus was always on Sydney.

Fun in the snow


At the time cyclingnews.com spoke with Holden, she was relaxing in Wyoming at Golich's parent's house and was planning to "start training and get back into the weight room". She will also be riding her mountain bike during the northern winter which includes some snow riding with friend and leading MTB rider, Alison Dunlap (also coached by Golich). "We do some riding in the snow and it's a lot of fun, although she (Dunlap) usually has to wait for me at the bottom of the hills."

Holden's year was notable for its singular focus and relative good fortune, as although she got food poisoning twice and became sick mid-year, "I didn't crash much in terms of getting hurt". In fact, Holden was involved in a crash in the wet conditions of the Olympics road race, which was held prior to the ITT and could have ruined her chances. Instead, it was a case of bad luck piled on top of mechanical problems.

After the first incident, Holden discovered that her chain had bent but only after a series of unsuccessful wheel changes and continual chasing. She then opted for a bike change which promptly got a flat tyre and after another change and more chasing, she decided to save herself for the ITT.

Holden thought the Olympics road race would be more animated and aggressive. "The second half didn't turn out the way I thought it would. A big factor is that the teams are so small - with only three riders you're so limited in your tactics." Holden also thought it was a case of teams "putting all their eggs in the one basket", in that they were controlling the race for their sprinters and in doing so, allowing Leontien Van Moorsel to sit back and watch as her team-mates covered everything. "It worked out well for her," Holden said of Van Moorsel's race, "but if there was serious break, she might have made it."

In Plouay for the World's and the race order was reversed, so Holden could enter the ITT with no fear
Mari Holden - down under
Mari Holden - down under
Photo: © Cyclingnews
of crashing in a wet road race. A few days later and Holden and the whole USA team were involved in a first-lap crash in the road race which put a one and a half minute gap to the race leaders and at that point - with a gold medal in the bag - she decided it wasn't worth a pointless chase on a miserable day.

Bella Italia

Next year Mari Holden will be racing for the highly ranked Team Alfa Lum, which is based in San Marino (a principality within Italy). Holden will be joining a team that includes major tour winner Joane Somarriba (Esp) and former world champion Edita Pucinskaite (Lit), as well as Daniela Veronesi (Ita), Fany Lecourtois (Fra). "I think we will be second in the UCI points coming into the start of the 2001 season," Holden said. "It's going to be a good team next year for the big tours."

After her season this year with Timex, which has merged with Saturn to produce arguably the leading womens' road squad, Holden will certainly bolster Alfa Lum's firepower for stage wins and the World Cup races. Holden will also be aiming to ride in support of Somarriba, who this year became only the second rider to win both the Grande Boucle Feminine and the Giro d'Italia Femminile (Pucinskaite came second in the Grande Boucle).

"The racing in Europe is so good and for me it worked out really well - I love racing in Italy." Next year, Holden has singled out the World's and is also aiming for the Hewlett Packard Womens' Challenge, while riding in support of Somarriba in the major tours. Despite riding for a European team, Holden plans to be "not spending a huge amount of time over there, maybe six weeks", preferring to train in Colorado.

Earlier this year womens' road racing was rocked by the suspension of former multiple Grand Boucle winner Fabiana Luperini, confirming what many had privately suspected about the disgraced Italian champion. However, Holden does let the drugs issue cloud her motivation or love of the sport, even if it is during a particularly bad climb and a group of European riders seemingly fly off the front.

An attitude that it is only possible to win major tours by using drugs does not carry with Holden, as it can also affect her focus and self-belief. "It's hard to say - I don't know who's on drugs or who's not on drugs. I don't like to dwell on it and I really don't like to think about these things during races. "I guess you could say I take the naïve approach and say to myself 'I have as a good a chance (in this race) as anyone else'. "If you think like that (always suspecting other riders) then what's the point in racing? And I love cycling so I don't want to get too jaded. I prefer to think I can go out there and have a good day and do everything I can to win."

Holden also pointed to the cost issue, in terms of what the drugs cost and rider incomes. "A woman who's doing really well will earn maybe US$30-40,000 per year and it just isn't worth it for that kind of money. "I know I wouldn't want that risk to my health, and I wouldn't do anything that would jeopardise my children," she said of life after cycling.

Other plans


With her proven power on the flat, it is perhaps surprising that Holden has not raced on the velodrome, given that many of her rivals in the ITT use their ability in both forms of racing, even if some restrict it to just the timed events like the Individual Pursuit or hour records. "I've never done any track racing - I haven't had the time. Coming into the sport later in life I just haven't had the chance. I'd like to work on it in the future and maybe for the next Olympics I could train for it, but I'd still like to be racing on the road."

Holden's year also had its sacrifices, as she was forced to leave before the big party in Sydney and not celebrate with the other competitors. She admits her socialising "was kind of pitiful. I didn't party at all after the Olympics. The day of the time trial we just had some dinner and then walked around Darling Harbour. We didn't feel like doing anything else."

Holden had left the party early for a reason and on October 3 she decided that she would in fact go to France as part of the US team. With more jetlag and re-adjusting to follow, Holden arrived in France feeling a little flat and out of sync.

"Winning the gold medal made up for a lot of things."

Related stories
2000 World Championships ITT report

2000 Olympics womens' Time Trial

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