Ashton Lambie, the giant killer

A few lines from a chat that I had a while back with Ashton Lambie, shortly after he became the first cyclist ever to ride 4.000 meters on the track in under 4 minutes. He is one interesting and independent underdog of a character, and one with a serious passion for riding - and riding very fast.

The picture has mo relevance to the story, but it’s nice anyway ;)

ST; In 2020 you came up against Filippo Ganna in the World Championship individual pursuit final. When you know what he’s doing in the grand tours, how intimidating is that for you?

AL; It’s insane! I remember lining up against him in Berlin (2020 final) and thinking “what in the F&&*k am I doing here. I mean, I’m living in a trailer and training in a barn. This guy is the cream of the crop, the quintessential European pro. 

He’s insanely good, and even to be mentioned in the same sentence as this guy – it’s crazy. It’s hard not to get a little bit of imposter syndrome at times. 

It’s awesome, and he’s also a really nice guy. We challenge each other a lot, and it’s a really great time to be in the sport. People talk about the Obree and Boardman era, although I don’t want to talk about the rivalry, because I like him. He’s a really nice dude. It’s fun, and it’s crazy.

ST; The whole Boardman and Obree saga was amazing, with them being to totally different approach and funding levels. 

There’s often been a kind of romanticism around pursuiting and the giant killers – much like with you and Ganna?

AL; Everyone loves an underdog, and I think that’s a big part of things; like the Huub Wattabike team setup, that was a compelling underdog story for people. 

This little rag-tag team being in there, it’s still a bit like that for me. Down in Mexico I was lucky to even have a mechanic, and people were asking why didn’t I even have a soigneur – I didn’t even think about, I just don’t know how that could have even happened (on the budget).