He managed just over 100 kilometres before Vladimir Kovacik was withdrawn from the race at the Road Cycling World Championships. The Slovak national team’s masseur was forced to compete in the 273.4-kilometre men’s race due to a staff shortage. “That’s every rider’s dream. And I’m just a masseur. It’s mad,” said Kovacik. “Our riders couldn’t make it because they’re injured or for other reasons. So I was our last resort.”
Two Slovaks were forced to withdraw due to injury, whilst a third was not given permission by his team. Had the federation failed to field a rider, this could have had consequences for Olympic qualification. The international governing body, the UCI, could have downgraded the national championships, meaning riders would only have been able to earn half as many points there towards Los Angeles 2028. Kovacik’s participation was therefore a mere formality.
The difficulty of shaving your legs
The 28-year-old had competed in his last race in 2017. In Montreal, he kept up with the peloton for just over 100 kilometres, before being withdrawn from the race by the jury – along with other riders who had fallen behind – as the race entered the gruelling final laps. “It’s the race of my life. I’m doing this for Slovak cycling,” said Kovacik before the race. On social media, the masseur was hailed as a “hero” and a “legend”.
As the registration deadline had passed, Slovakia had been unable to nominate another rider. “We decided that a few days ago,” said Kovacik, who was a little worried about his participation: “Form? I’m not in any sort of form. I train a bit, but just like an amateur.”
The carer also faced some very particular challenges. “The last time I pinned a race number on was nine years ago. It didn’t work straight away,” said Kovacik. “And I shaved my legs. That was difficult.”
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