Ketchum cyclist Richard Feldman tinkered with his training regimen and is now proudly wearing the winning rainbow jersey once again.
For the fifth time in 10 years, Feldman has won the UCI (International Cycling Union) Masters Time Trial 20-kilometer (12.4-mile) race for his age class at St. Johann, Austria, east of Kitzbuehel.
Durance/Colnago rider Feldman, 41, burned the out-and-back course on smooth pavement Aug. 25 with a time of 24 minutes and 43.44 seconds.
On a slightly cooler and breezy day he won the Men's 40-44 gold medal and trophy by 13.1 seconds over the second-place finisher and 19.89 seconds over the third-place rider.
It was his fastest time ever on the 20-kilometer course at St. Johann in Tirol, a town of 8,700 at 2,165 feet elevation. And it was Feldman's first victory in five years, though he has five wins, four silvers and one bronze on his résumé.
There were points during a downhill portion of the course that Feldman ripped it at 44 miles per hour. His average speed was over 30 mph. To put his ride in perspective, imagine riding the bike path from Hailey to Ketchum in 24 minutes.
St. Johann has been an August trip for Feldman for 10 consecutive years, since he became the first American to win the UCI World Masters Time Trial crown in his first attempt on the course in 2001.
He also won three straight years from 2003-05. He had a flat tire in 2006 and still rode home for second place.
Feldman placed second in the Men's 35-39 class in 2007-08, then was "blown out by an unbelievable time," in 2009 for third place, he said. Talking about his 2006-09 world efforts, he said, "For the last four years I haven't had good results."
So, with the help of training partner Will Northrup and the inspiration of his neighbor Andy Jones-Wilkins, a world-class ultra-marathoner, Feldman incorporated more long distance running into his cross-training for the 2010 season.
"I've always used running because one of my sports is cyclocross, and you need running for that. I just took it to another level this year," Feldman said.
Feldman placed 25th overall and third in his 40-44 age class at the 13.1-mile Race to Robie Creek April 17, and he was fifth overall in the 16.5-mile Backcountry Run July 17 north of Ketchum with a 2.04:57 time.
"The biggest thing was taking my old training plan and throwing it out the window and revamping it. The running slightly contributed to my fastest world time in the 10 years. It kept me off my bike and super fresh. If anything, I think I trained less," he said.
Feldman, a 1987 Community School and 1991 Middlebury College graduate, has operated Durance Cycleworks in Ketchum for 15 years. His list of honors is lengthy, including this year's USA Cycling Masters Time Trial championship.
He is also proud of the supporters and fellow riders who file in and out of his Durance shop. Despite Thursday's rain downpour, Feldman and a coterie of 20-25 cycling enthusiasts met at the shop for the annual Durance team photo.
Feldman spent 12 days in Europe framed around his participation in the UCI Worlds, and much of that information is passed along to the Durance devotees. He trained for two days in France, spent four days in Austria including the UCI race and climbed the steep mountains in the Dolomites.
"It helps me as a coach and store owner to be able to talk knowledgeably about where I've been," he said. Winning the rainbow jersey emblematic of a UCI world title was icing on the cake of his August expedition.
He said, "You wear the rainbow jersey until the next world championships. It's a very special honor. So are the trophy and gold medal you also get."
Next up for Feldman is the U.S. Grand Prix of Cyclocross, an autumn series of eight races in four cities starting Sept. 25-26 at Madison, Wisc. and proceeding to Louisville, Ky. and Fort Collins, Colo. before the national finals at Portland, Ore.
But Wednesday night Feldman was just a proud father, staying home with his slightly-under-the-weather son Alex, 12. His daughter Katie, 14, was scoring her first-ever varsity goal for The Community School girls' soccer team coached by her mother Kelly Feldman.
"I wish I could have been there for Katie's goal," said Feldman, who marveled about how his children have grown in the past decade. "I remember when Alex was just a baby on my lap when I won for the first time at Leadville (in 1998, Feldman's first of two straight Leadville 100-mile mountain bike overall men's victories)."
Richard Feldman stops for a moment in Ketchum during June. Photo by Willy Cook
