Alberta’s Alana Heise secures bronze medal at UCI masters cyclocross worlds

Alberta’s Alana Heise (Terrascape Racing) earned the bronze medal at the UCI masters cyclocross world championships held on Jan. 4 and 5 in Gossau, Switzerland.

“I couldn’t have done it without the support of my husband, Jeff Neilson, who is my coach and decided to pit for me rather than race himself, who also convinced me to take a second bike to Europe,” Heise said.

“Also, to my teammate Ray who lent me wheels for all the big races, my ‘cross-fanatic Terrascape teammates and friends who are happy to watch any Belgian race, and who also obsess over carbon layups, grams, watts per kilogram, tire pressures and the suppleness of tubular casings. And thanks to the overwhelming support and excitement from the Alberta cycling community.”

Germany’s Manja Wall (RSV Bruchhausen-Vilsen/Schmo) won the women’s 40-49 title by 1:33 minutes ahead of runner up from Britain Pepe Phillips (VC Darmstadt) and an additional 16 seconds to Heise.

The women competed in wet and muddy conditions on a 2.5-km circuit that included sections of grass, gravel and pavement. “I was happy with my race given where I was at and my level of experience,” Heise said. “I didn’t leave anything on the course. I didn’t know what to expect in terms of the level of competition and I was happy to be in the mix with the other women. Even with such a small field, three of us were close enough to have to fight it out on course, which was fantastic.”

Heise’s main focus is mountain biking but she picked up cyclocross four years ago for fun and as a way to stay in shape.  This year, she competed in the local midweek cyclocross series, several skills training sessions and competed in the Alberta cyclocross championships in November. “My team was so great in setting up race simulations and group sessions to keep us all motivated,” she said.

Racing in Gossau was Heise’s first world championships experience, made even more memorable because some of her family members live within driving distance of the race course. “My sister lives three hours away from Gossau, so the opportunity for a surprise family visit, and racing at masters worlds wearing the Canadian jersey was too special to pass up,” she said.

The UCI elite cyclocross world championships will be held on Feb. 1 and 2 in Hoogerheide, Netherlands.