September 22, 2014 (Ponferrada, Spain) – Pedal caught up with Canada’s Dafné Théroux Izquierdo, the reigning 2014 national road and ITT junior women’s champion, following her ITT race today at the UCI Road World Championships in Ponferrada, Spain – results here.

What were your expectations coming into the ITT?
Dafné Théroux Izquierdo: I had quite higher expectations than my performance at the ITT today (33rd), because I had a really great TT season this year. I expected maybe a top 10 or at least 15, but this morning I wasn’t feeling great on the bike and I don’t think that I did the best that I could have done, so I’m sure disappointed with my result.

Were you able to train before the race?
DTI: We arrived in Spain on Friday, so I had the occasion to train in Spain a little bit before the race, including the official race recon on Saturday.

Did the sudden shift in the weather affect your plans?
DTI:I don’t think that the  rain really affected me a lot, because I’ve already done some races in the rain and I find that it’s just another factor that everybody has to deal with. For sure during the race I had to take the corners more slowly than usual.

You got off your warm-up bike earlier than the other riders before your  start – was there a problem with your bike?
DTI: I arrived at the startline early because I want to be sure that there’s no problem and if there is one, there is still time to fix it, and that’s what happened. We had to move the shifter on my bike but the mechanic could do it without any stress and that is why I was standing near the startline earlier, instead of waiting under the tent! But I had the time before to do my warm up.

Last year you did the road race at the Worlds, won both the Canadian road and ITT titles this year, and had recent success placing 19th at the Chrono Gatineau. How does this race compare?
DTI: Last year I did the road race at the Road World Championships, so I had already experienced racing with lots of countries but I was still impressed today because the ambiance was different for the time trial. My ride didn’t go as I hoped as I said earlier so it was different than at Gatineau, where I didn’t have any problems. It was also my first time competing in a UCI race with the seniors, so I was happy with my 19th place result.

What aspect of racing in time trials appeals to you?
DTI: My favourite part of a time trial is that you are alone. There aren’t as many factors as in a road race – you only can count on yourself. I also like that fact that the mental is a big part of the race: you always have to think about going faster… you can’t lose your focus and I think that this is one of my strengths.

Do you hope to race in the TTT in the future? What mental and physical adjustments will you need to make to race with a team?
DTI: Doing a TTT is a bit different but I think that I would still like to do it because it’s the same type of effort and the same ambiance. I think that the big difference would be that you are going all-out less often. But when you are in front you have to give more, because you know that after you will have some rest before your next turn.

You’re a triathlete as well – what aspects of competing in triathlons helps your time-trialing?
DTI: For sure racing triathlons has helped me in the time trial… the bike leg in a triathlon is similar to time-trialling on the bike so there are benefits.

What are your goals for next year…and will you train differently?
DTI: Next year it will be different because I will be in my first year senior. I don’t know yet what I’m going to do, where I will race and with which team, so I can’t really talk about any objectives yet except to be a better cyclist. At this point I don’t think that I will change my training.

Good luck in the road race and thanks for your time.
DTI: Thanks.