Racing in America v. Europe

Cyclingnews caught up with British champion Roger Hammond during one of the rest days before the USPRO championship on Sunday, and the Discovery Channel rider had a few comments about Cyclingnews diarist John Lieswyn's take on the race in Trenton when asked what the differences are between racing styles of Europe and North America.

"It's completely different. In Europe, you go into a corner and nobody passes you in a corner. There are only one or two occasions late in the year where somebody comes underneath you in a corner. Here it feels like it's always the last corner of the race. It's ridiculous. They almost seem to do it to spite their own face. [In Trenton] this guy, one of your diarists, chopped into a gutter just so he could make up one place. Fair enough if it's the last corner, you expect it, but when you are five laps from the finish as we were, it is totally unnecessary. Then they get upset when you get upset about it, and what do you expect? Putting someone into a wall for what... one place with six to go?

"But we're in America and that's how they race here so we have to adapt to how they race. I had a good race [in Trenton] but I had to take my brain out, chopping people left, right and center in the last lap - I'm not proud of how I rode - if I rode like that in Europe they would hang me out to dry! You'd find yourself in a ditch for sure."

Let's just say I'm excited to go to Europe.