U23 World Champion Ashlin Barry has some decisions to make about the future: 'Have to see what the team and my coach decide'
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Follow us on GoogleAshlin Barry celebrated his 19th birthday on Friday, and what better gift could you give yourself than a world title? The American, riding for the Visma | Lease a Bike development team, rode solo to a magnificent victory in Montreal. Barry, the son of former Canadian cyclist Michael Barry and American cyclist Dede Desmet-Barry, shared his story after the race.
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Barry rode more than 120 kilometers on the breakaway, which his Dutch teammates said was a good choice: in the peloton, riders had to expend a lot of energy just to maintain their position. “To be honest, I just wanted to ride to the finish. I didn’t think I’d be strong enough to keep up with the strongest riders on the climbs.”
"If I could get to the front, I'd have some breathing room, and I'd still be able to keep up with the leaders later in the race. But once I was out there, I just went for it. I didn’t think it was possible until I reached the top of the final climb. I couldn’t believe it,” said a beaming Barry, who won in Montreal, where his father had ended his career in 2012.
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Ashlin Barry won the World Championships in cycling for U23 riders.
Ashlin Barry's press conference following the World Cycling Championships in Montreal
What does this victory here in Montreal mean to you?
'It means the world to me. My first memory of watching a cycling race was seeing my father race here. I was maybe five or six years old at the time. I didn’t really understand what it was all about back then, but as I started cycling more, I watched this race every year. I dreamed of one day racing on this course in front of a home crowd, so to say. To then win the World Championships here truly exceeds all my dreams.”
It’s not just your father who has fond memories of Montreal. Your mother won this race in 2002 and also finished first on Mont Royal back then. Did she share any insights with you about this particular edition of the course?
"Absolutely, both of my parents have ridden this course before and were able to give me some tips. But to be honest, it’s such a grueling, back-breaking race that all the advice in the world won’t necessarily save you; above all, you have to be mentally tough. In any case, it was great to be able to discuss that with them.”
Can you tell us how you handled the final laps after the gap widened?
"To be honest, I don't know exactly. As I rode away, I just tried to ride at my own pace, expecting that other riders would catch up to me. I tried not to push past my limit or go too hard, but I just kept pushing and eating and drinking as much as possible. I thought at some point I’d get caught or run out of steam, but somehow that never happened.”
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What does today's performance say about your future?
"It shows that I'm actually pretty good at riding uphill. People sometimes assume I’m not good at climbing, so maybe I’ve subconsciously internalized that a bit. But as I said yesterday or the day before, to be honest, I didn’t have very high expectations for this one-day race. To perform like this is just incredible."
You maintained your aerodynamic position the entire time during the final. What difference did that make?
"That makes a big difference—there's no doubt about it. I haven't done a whole lot of riding on my regular road bike, but over the past few months I've trained a lot on my time trial bike. I knew the time trial would be a big opportunity for me, so that’s where I focused my training. That definitely helped me stay efficient during the road race and conserve energy for the hills.”
You said beforehand that this would be an uncontrolled race. How did that change over the course of the day into a controlled race for you?
"Maybe I actually used the chaos to my advantage. It was a tough start with a lot of attacks, and I sensed there was an opportunity somewhere to break away and take the lead. I didn’t have a set plan in mind; at one point, I really thought the group behind us would pick up the pace and catch us quickly, but luckily I managed to stay ahead.
You've signed a multi-year contract with Visma | Lease a Bike that runs through 2029. Can you tell us a little about what lies ahead?
"I do indeed have a contract to join the Visma | Lease a Bike WorldTour team. On paper, I’m supposed to ride in the U23 category for another two years, so we’ll have to see what the team and my coach decide. I’m very confident about it. It would be really cool to race as a world champion or on the WorldTour and compete in the U23 races next year, but I’d also love to race on the WorldTour as early as next year.”
What kind of cyclist do you want to become?
"After today, I'm even less sure, haha. I've always preferred the classics—those are the races where I usually perform best. But today we also saw that I'm good at climbing and can handle the hilly sections."
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Tom van der Salm (27) comes from the charming town of Zeilberg (Deurne) in the Netherlands and has been working as editor-in-chief & journalist at IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, In de Leiderstrui, since 2019. He travels with the peloton from the Tour de France to the AlUla Tour and from the World Championships in Rwanda or Canada to the Zilvermeercross in Mol. In his spare time he enjoys playing football, mountain biking, running, walking with his Labrador/Stabyhoun, investing, holidays, (specialty) beers, reading, cooking and watching sports & documentaries!
Contact: [email protected]
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