How Amber Neben Reclaimed Her National Champion Title at 42 Years Old
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Over the weekend, for the first time ever, a pro woman won the US Pro Road Championships for a second time. Her first win came 14 years ago. At 42, Amber Neben has racked up two Olympic Games, two individual world championships (one in 2016), one team world championship, and now, four national championships. This weekend in Knoxville, Tennessee, she not only won the individual time trial on Saturday, she soloed to the road race win on Sunday.
After a long weekend of racing, Neben, who also coaches on the side when she's not working with her Dare to Be project, which helps get special needs kids onto adaptive bikes, chatted with Bicycling about her road to glory—and how you can excel at time trials and stay competitive in cycling. (If you're looking to kick your own training game up a few notches, check out Maximum Overload.)
Bicycling: Are you still on cloud nine right now?
Amber Neben: Honestly, yes. I'm still a little in shock, but it's starting to settle in.
Bicycling: First, you won the time trial on Saturday. Was that an expectation for you?
Neben: I never make assumptions like that. There are too many talented, strong riders in the U.S. You can't take winning for granted, and normally, I prefer a course with a little more rhythm and this one was choppy. I think that made it more competitive for other women. But the time trial was my big target for the season and I knew I was in peak form. But I never assume anything. You still have to ride the race.
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Bicycling: Time trials are tricky. How do you stay focused?
Neben: It's the race of truth for a reason. It's just you and the clock. It starts in training. Work through targeted intervals and time period, focus on staying in the moment during training. Hopefully on race day, you've had enough practice. That and the magnitude of the event make it easier to focus. But having a point of reference, something to tell yourself, thinking about something like cadence or power — anything you can come back to when you catch yourself drifting can help. It's easy to mentally drift, but it's about catching yourself quickly.
Bicycling: Do you have any race day mantras?
Neben: Nothing like what you're thinking of, but I'm always in a place of prayer. Focusing on getting myself out of the way and letting His strength flow though me, and keeping my head and my heart in that place the whole race.
Bicycling: Going into Sunday's road race, did you have more confidence?
Neben: The road race course, on paper, looked like it was going to be a sprint. It was a sprinter's course, there wasn't a lot of selection or attrition from the course. For me, the time trial was my big target, I wanted to have some fun in the road race with my team, Velo Concept. I had no pressure, but I had good form, so I wanted to take a risk at some point.
Bicycling: So what made you decide to attack then?
Neben: I was trying to read the race, and it got to a point where we absorbed everyone but Emily, who was still off the front. I was just watching, and then there was a moment where I didn't think, just reacted. I knew it was my chance. When I went, I committed. It was all or nothing.
Bicycling: How incredible does it feel to reclaim that title from 2003?
Neben: I was so young back then. This is special. What's more special is going from point A to Z with this journey. The obstacles, the challenges, and persevering through. So much happened along the way, and to still be strong enough to win is crazy cool. And my husband was there, my coach was there, my best friend was there: to share it with them was great. There's so much more to racing than just the results. The results get forgotten so quickly, but the rest is the journey that lasts forever.
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Bicycling: Do you think you're appreciating it more this time around?
Neben: I think so. You appreciate it in a different way, with the perspective of a season of life, of being a bike racer for so many years. I'm going to enjoy it.
Bicycling: So many women winning and placing well in these races are older than the traditional norm. Why do you think that is?
Neben: It's an endurance sport, so over the years, your body gets stronger with endurance capacity. And I think you get wiser. You learn how to take care of your body better. You learn to eat better, to rest better. The biggest thing is figuring out how good and important resting is. When you're young, you're scared of resting. Resting is so vital to getting stronger and staying healthy though. And mentally, the riders still doing well just enjoy being on the bike and doing the work.
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