Broken collarbone? No problem

Lachlan Stewart took his maiden victory on European soil this afternoon in the U17 boys. However the young rider’s story of just being in the bunch this afternoon is quite remarkable. Two and a half weeks ago Lachlan broke his collarbone in training at home in Victoria, Australia. It was just two days before he was due to fly to Europe with his X-Speed Racing teammates.

For most riders this would significantly derail their summer racing plans but Lachlan was determined to make the start line here in Assen, if possible. Despite having to miss out on a Belgium kermesse block with his teammates whilst they were staying at the Flandrien Hotel in Belgium, he managed to make the startline in Assen. Potentially benefitting from his enforced period of rest and recovery entering such a big race. Understandably when carrying both an injury whilst experiencing the big European bunches for the first time Lachlan had found it challenging in the bunch which generated the idea of a breakaway day.

Despite his young age Lachlan’s clearly has a mature head on young shoulders saying when asked how the first days had affected him. ‘It’s racing, you have to take it day by day’. His popularity in the peloton also showed by the amount of well done shouts during our interview from fellow racers. He went into the VAM-berg Omloop knowing if the opportunity came he would take it and go up the road. This came before the half way mark yet he managed to hold on and take the win. When asked about tomorrow’s time trial Lachlan replied: ‘I have to see how the legs are but I would like to do something big’.

So much of racing success comes down to positive environments and having the opportunity to learn and grow as a rider. This is something that X-speed Racing are clearly achieving by bringing over eight young Australian riders every year. Their positive environment showed in the high praise Lachlan has for his teammates; Jessica Potma (junior girls), Freya Miller, Madeline Pitt, Billie Russell, Charlotte Khorshid (U17 girls), Oscar Schoff, Cooper Dunlop and Campbell McDowell (u17 boys).

However sadly two years ago X-speed lost their coach Connor Lambert in a training accident on their European race trip aged just 25. Such a loss affected the team in a magnitude of ways with young riders and staff having to navigate significant grief. However Connor’s legacy lives on with X-speed racing here in Assen very much in his memory. Staff member Greg Reynolds bravely told us: ‘we still honour him every year, we have him on the shirt and we all miss him’.

Good luck to Lachlan and all his teammates for the rest of the week.