{"id":64249,"date":"2024-06-07T15:14:20","date_gmt":"2024-06-07T13:14:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=64249"},"modified":"2024-06-07T18:12:16","modified_gmt":"2024-06-07T16:12:16","slug":"captain-marvel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/2024\/06\/07\/captain-marvel\/","title":{"rendered":"Captain Marvel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Captain Marvel<\/span><\/h2>\n\n

Great Britain\u2019s 2023 national road champion Pfeiffer Georgi is one of the youngest road captains in the peloton. Here she explains this unique job and the pressures that go with it in the season\u2019s biggest race <\/em><\/p>\n\n

Words <\/strong>John Whitney Image <\/strong>Zac Williams\/SWpix <\/p>\n\n

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Just 23 years of age, Britain\u2019s Pfeiffer Georgi has quickly carved out an influential role in her sport, both as a contender in the one-day Spring Classics and as a lynchpin of her team, dsm-firmenich PostNL. Twice a British National Champion on the road, this Gloucestershire native turned around her fortunes in the spring at her beloved Paris-Roubaix with a place on the podium. \u201cI know it\u2019s not the win but for me it means a lot,\u201d she beamed on the finish line. That was followed up by 4th in Amstel Gold, losing out in a sprint to Marianne Vos. \u201cI felt good the whole spring, but it wasn\u2019t going well [with results],\u201d she tells <\/span>Cycling Plus <\/em>from her home in Andorra. \u201cIt just took that one result in Roubaix. Then in my eyes, it was a good spring.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n

We caught up with her in a season downtime between the Classics, in which she often shoulders team leadership and races for wins, and the summer stage races, where she assumes the road captain role, in support of Charlotte Kool in the sprints and Juliette Labous for the general classification. The captain job is primarily one of communication and decision-making \u2013 executing the plan of her sports directors on the road and making quick decisions when required. \u201cI was introduced to the role towards the end of the season a couple of years ago in some of the races. That was a bit scary, a bit nerve-wracking, because I\u2019m not naturally the one who speaks up. But I did it all last season, and have gained the experience of it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

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In action at Paris-Roubaix in April, her third consecutive top 10 placing there <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

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Young guns <\/strong><\/em><\/h4>\n\n

Though still just 23, Georgi\u2019s ability to influence her team-mates is certainly helped by the squad being one of the youngest on the Women\u2019s WorldTour. \u201cOur average age is 21 for a lot of races, so we\u2019re a very young team. I\u2019m quite young myself but this is my sixth year with the team so there\u2019s a lot of experience I can bring to the role, like keeping them calm in stressful moments. I don\u2019t get too overwhelmed when things are going wrong, which is a benefit.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

She\u2019s grateful to management for giving her the job and identifying that she\u2019d be right for it. Asked if being road captain has fast-forwarded her development as a rider, she says it has \u2013 and as a person to boot. \u201cTaking this role, it\u2019s not something I would have put myself up for, or usually think that it would suit me. I think it\u2019s made me more outgoing, made me more comfortable in voicing my opinion. I think that also comes over time through me growing with this team. When you\u2019re a first year and you\u2019re with girls who\u2019ve been pro for 10 years, it\u2019s natural that you don\u2019t want to speak up.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

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Georgi closes in on her first British national road title in 2021 in Lincoln <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

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Does she adapt her captaincy methods depending on who\u2019s leading the team in a race? \u201cThe basic structure and the way we work is the same each race, but because you\u2019ll have a different group of six girls each race, you need to get to know everyone individually. Some may need more help with their positioning, or perhaps some are more nervous. That\u2019s part of the role, to understand how best your team-mates work and how to get the best out of them.\u201d The team also has a motivational chant for the team bus that helps to get them hyped up before each race. Would she give Cycling Plus <\/em>a rendition? \u201cHaha, no \u2013 that\u2019ll stay a secret!\u201d <\/p>\n\n

Do team leadership and captaining come with different pressures? \u201cYeah, I think so. Sometimes there\u2019s even more pressure when you have to ride for someone else \u2013 their success is dependent on you. When you\u2019re riding for yourself, it\u2019s more you that you\u2019re letting down [if it doesn\u2019t go well].\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n

In between supporting Kool and Labous, there are some middle stages of this year\u2019s Tour de France Femmes that suit Georgi, the Classics player. Does she have her own objectives for August? \u201cI think the stage [4] that starts in Amstel [Valkenburg] and ends in Li\u00e8ge is a cool stage, the one that probably excites me most.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

Under pressure <\/strong><\/em><\/h4>\n\n

\u201cThe Tour is the Tour,\u201d is the most common refrain you\u2019ll hear from the men at the Tour de France, shorthand for the unique pressures and demands of the season\u2019s biggest race. After two editions of the Tour de France Femmes, does Georgi see this happening in the Tour de France Femmes? \u201cIn the first edition that started in Paris, you really sensed how big the event was. It was something the whole peloton had waited for for such a long time. The crowds, the coverage, the excitement leading up to it, everything was noticeably bigger. There\u2019s so much up for grabs at the race. Everyone wants to win the yellow jersey, which makes the racing extremely hard and nervous.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

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On the top step at the Classic Brugge-De Panne in 2023, her biggest win on tour <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

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She enjoys the different pressures of the Tour and Classics. \u201cI\u2019ve always liked with the Classics that it\u2019s just one day and that you have to mentally prepare for it and just let it all out and be done with it. Stage races are completely different, you get into this rhythm of breakfast, race, cool down, recovery, massage and sleep. The days go so fast. Maybe by day 4, you get to a certain level of tiredness and it stays at that level until the end of the race. At that point, it\u2019s about trying to motivate each other. People say to me, do you think the race should be three weeks [like the men\u2019s race]? I think maybe not yet. I can see it growing but it wouldn\u2019t make sense to go straight from one week to three.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

Georgi and the team are focused on the first stage of the race in Rotterdam and winning the first yellow jersey for their Dutch sprinter Charlotte Kool. \u201cThat\u2019s a really big goal\u2026 we\u2019re in the Netherlands, we\u2019re a Dutch team with Dutch sponsors.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

Then, at the end of the race, comes a summit finish at Alpe d\u2019Huez, one of pro cycling\u2019s most sacred locations. Forget climbing it in a race, Georgi has never even done it in training. It\u2019s sure to be another giant stride forward for this fast-developing Brit. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pfeiffer Georgi explains her unique job and the pressures that go with it in the season\u2019s biggest 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Georgi explains her unique job and the pressures that go with it in the season\u2019s biggest 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