It's true, he was once a god
in the eyes of the nation,
but I wasn't sure as hell
going to take advice
from my dad.

Especially not on girls. No,
I took her to Lombardy.
Because of my injury,
I was unable to ride.

This was very unfortunate timing,
as the profile really suited me
and the team was in perfect
position to fight for the
overall Pro Tour
Standings.

As we sat there, chatting in a nearby café,
I saw the race unfold on the television.
How I wish I had been there.
If only to stop Lombardi
from riding away
that easily!



She was pissed,
all right. I wasn't
really attentive, constantly
watching the television. Almost
screaming when I saw Lombardi won.

Even worse was when I saw
Goeminne finish second in the race,
and no FDJ rider anywhere close. Surely
this didn't mean... But it did. FDJ had lost
The Pro Tour Ranking to Castelli, and that on the final race.


A man makes mistakes
in his life. Quite a few, often.

I blamed all of this on her.
I couldn't ride Lombardy because
of this injury, which was her fault.

Oh boy, she didn't like to hear that!
She stormed out of there.
And I was left alone,
with regret.

But yet I knew I was right.
On some level...
Wasn't I?
No?

"Welcome to South Africa for the 2035 Promotion Race!"
Arguably the biggest race of the season. The winner took his team to the PT.
Canon - Trek and Russia Standard already got their tickets punched.

Who was going to join them?



The 8 teams that finished 3rd through 10th in the CT Standings were invited.
As was I to be apart of the 6-man HTC-Highroad squad. My role was simple.
It was a flat route so I was to use my TT prowess to help in the lead-out.



A breakaway of three got away early into the day. They were:
Michael Hart (NZ), Eric Rethen (Fortum) and Jason Ross (HTC).
With a teammate up the road, I could relax and enjoy the countryside.

All eyes were on Ricola - RTS Cycling to do the pacemaking because
they had one of the strongest sprinters in the field, Jack Thornton.
The Points winner at Tirreno-Adriatico and 2 stage wins at Tour of America.



But, Ricola didn't have the firepower to maintain the breakaway.
It's Rethen who made a move for the line with roughly 4.5kms to go.
Hart and Ross got caught off guard and were locked into a stalemate.



Ross finally took the initiative to go after Rethen. Hart jumps on his wheel.
But by then it was too late...



Rethen promotes Fortum Cycling to the Pro Tour!
Well deserved considering they did finish 3rd in the CT standings.
Tour of America Winner Marshall Frk was moving on up.

There was nothing I could have done differently that day.
It just wasn't meant to be. Not my fault and the team tried.
I thought my season was over. I couldn't have been more wrong.

I needed my head
clear for what was about
to come now. I would race
in the World Championships.

A great chance to show the world
that Thibault Vergnaud means business.

189km in cold Russia. A flat-ish circuit,
but with a relative steep and short climb.
I had half a decent chance to make something of this.



Since we had me and Licina, as well as Feyette,
one of the better sprinters, we took control
of the race fairly soon. It was ours to
lose or to win, we thought.



We received help from
someone we never would've
expected to help us, ever. It was
an American who helped in the relay
to control the breakaway. An American?
Helping France?



Well, of course, the American had
his job of bringing his sprinter
to the front and keep him
there. Once he did that,
he dropped out.

But that mattered little.
We were approaching
the very last
laps of this
race.

Me and Licina pulled hard, either to break
away on our own, or to bring
Fayette to a sprint.



And it would be a sprint.
The climb didn't prove
long enough to
make a real
difference.

Russia conquered on home soil
with Morein, Fayette took
silver. But, to me, more
importantly: I took 8th
and stayed ahead
of Licina.



It had been a tough race,
and we didn't get the
gold medal we
so wanted.

But in the end,
this race would be a
major turning point for me.

I glanced up the time board. +6'37... 49th Place.
Not bad. I did my job. A successful World Champ RR.

It was peaceful at the finish line. The reporters had already relocated to the
podium to get their final pictures so they could go publish their stories.
All those left lining the road were family, friends and team members.

I had no intentions of sticking around to chat. I had no reason too.
My family couldn't afford to be here and I really didn't have many fans.
I just wanted to hop on the team bus and then catch a flight to America.

But, what a pleasant surprise when I spotted a familiar face in the crowd.



"Zooey! What are you doing here?" I was quite amazed to see my sister considering I didn't recall telling her I was even racing at the RR WCs.
"Um, here to cheer you on silly. Congrats." She gave me a big hug.

Behind her I could see a man approaching, I released from the hug.
He looked familiar. A cyclist. Then I saw the flag on his kit. An enemy.
We exchanged eye contact as he walked up right next to Zooey.

"Oh hey there... Joseph this is my friend Thibault," my sister said.
He put his left arm around Zooey and held out his right to shake my hand.
Who does this Frenchman think he is!?! So, that's why Zooey was here.

We briefly talked before I made the excuse to put my equipment away.
I couldn't believe her. But, I trusted her. Perhaps he was harmless.
After putting my stuff away I walked back to say my goodbyes.



Yeah sure... just "friends". Zooey had reignited The War.
She had sparked a new battle: Thibault vs. Joseph.

It is best to keep one’s own state intact;
to crush the enemy’s state is only second best.

~ Quote by Sun Tzu, The Art of War



On the bike there was no competition. Thibault was clearly superior.
But provide an ambitious man with the motivation to achieve his best;
It was only a matter of time before Joseph was breathing down his neck.

It had been a strange winter.
But I was happy to be back on the bike.
The French National Championships of 2036
offered me the perfect profile to take the jersey!



On the last climb of the day,
three of us were still competing for
the win of the day. Licina, Augustin and me.



Licina made his move about a kilometer
from the top of the climb. I didn't
have the legs to react straight
away, but did manage
to drop Augustin just
before going into
the descent.



With the finish line
down there. It was all or nothing
in the downhill. We all took a lot of
risks, but I came too late. Licina was gone.



I had to watch my biggest rival
become French National
Champion.



Not the best day of my life.

A week after the World RR Championship, HTC - Highroad re-signed me.
It was just another 1-year deal but I got a raise and a bonus for my efforts.
I spent the entire offseason training with the team. I didn't want a vacation.

I still felt fresh since I joined the team mid-season in 2035.
But, by the time the American TT National Championship rolled around
I could start to feel my body breaking down. I was nearing my limit.



However, I couldn't pass up the opportunity and let my team down.
They had high hopes after my performance in the Tour of America.
Plus it was my job to show off their new jersey to the supporters.



I gave it my all, but it was pretty obvious I wasn't in form.
HTC DS David Tanner noticed me struggling right away.
He shut me down for 2 months following the race.



Simon Tyrone blazed the course with relative ease.
The SpiderTech rider retained his TT title for another season.
I finished 6th out of 19. Exactly a half minute down to Tyrone.

After the National
Championships, there wasn't a
lot of time to soak about the lost chance.

Amstel Gold Race was next.
A group of 15 broke away quite
early in the race. I was one of them.



With 100 km left to go, our lead was about 5
minutes and a half. It looked like
we weren't going to make it.



Since there was nothing
much to lose anyway,
I went onto the
attack!



After riding alone for over 20 km,
and just getting hope of
actually pulling this off
I got caught. 18 km
left to the finish
line.



13 km from the finish.
I get dropped.

Gave it a shot.
Our team leader,
Bordeax, did finish 4th,
so the day wasn't a total waste.

Although I couldn't find a bull named Fumanchu.
Gotta love the classic country music. Brings me back to my roots.
I spent my brief two month break in Colorado. Just me and mother nature.

And I actually did go skydiving. It was quite an experience.



Let's just say I never did that again. But, I'm glad I did it.
It really helped me open up my mind to see the bigger picture.
After my delayed offseason of relaxing and light training, I felt rejuvenated.

I was no longer focussed on Zooey hanging out with a Frenchman.
Or Travis being locked up in prison. Or things I couldn't control in general.
It was all a waste of time and putting me off the path I wanted to be on.

But what was that path? My objective? I thought about it day after day.
On the last night before I had to pack up my bags and head back
I sat down and took the time to write out five career goals.

1. Promote to the Pro Tour.
2. Win the World TT Championship.
3. Win the Tour de France.
4. Win the Velo d'Or.
5. Leave a Lasting Legacy.

At the time, yes they were just words on a piece of paper.
But, how do you achieve anything in life without setting goals?