South African track star Jean Spies is now ranked second in the world for the 1km time-trial, also known as the Kilo, according to the latest UCI rankings.
“Second in the world, wow,” said Spies.
“It has come as a nice surprise, especially considering how difficult the year has been.”
The 29-year-old admitted that he loved to hate and hated to love this race against the clock.
Jean Spies is now ranked second in the world for the 1km time-trial. Photo: Drew Kaplin Photography
“I do agree that it is one of my strongest events,” said Spies, who is also now ranked 15th and 28th in the keirin and sprint respectively.
These results were a boost after a difficult start to the season due to having his bicycle stolen, crashing, and undergoing surgery all within a few weeks of each other.
The privately funded athlete managed to raise enough money for a new bicycle and headed off to the USA, Ireland and Italy to compete.
His top result was third place in the 1km TT in America, just 0.2 seconds behind world record holder Francois Pervis.
Spies, who won the keirin at this year’s national track champs, will now focus on the world cup season that starts in November.
“I’m lucky to have enough points right now to qualify for the world cups.
“This means I can do a focused three-month training block in preparation for them.”
