She’s been breaking the norms and is gung-ho about it. She is Amber Neben, the cyclist from the US, who stands out not just for her age-defying victory, but also for her resilience.
“I think I just have it in me,” says 41-year old Neben, who on Tuesday overpowered Dutch Ellen van Dijk in the Women’s Elite Individual Time Trial event at the UCI Road World Championships in Doha.
Neben won in 36 minutes 37.04 seconds, six seconds ahead of Van Dijk, with Australian Katrin Garfoot finishing third with a time of 36:45.36.
The feat saw her become the second oldest women to win the event after France’s Jeannie Longo, who triumphed in 2001 at 42.

Determination counts, not age
“I think I am rare,” she says and quickly adds, “You saw Kristin Armstrong win at 43, I am 41. Really, it gets down to the mental side of it. Because it gets really difficult from the training aspect, just from the physical standpoint of doing the work every day, the mental side of things not going well all the time and it just gets harder if you get older. So if you can persevere and be resilient in that sense, you can keep doing it.”
“I have quite a passion to ride and I am very competitive as well. When you can win and when you have tasted it, you are willing to put the work in and go after it.”
Still, Neben feels that there is no particular age for taking up the sport.
“With the women, you are seeing, younger and younger riders getting started. I think cycling is a sport that takes time. You have to put years of work in, so those riders who are young and get into it earlier would have a better chance when they are in their mid-20s. But, you can do it at any age, that’s the neat thing about cycling, it doesn’t matter how old you are if you put the work in you can succeed.”
However, she stresses on being mentally tough as cycling is a gruelling sport where burnouts do happen. “Especially for women,” she says and offers an explanation. “You don’t have a lot of resources, we don’t make a lot of money. The reason we race if for the passion of it and burnout is a possibility that’s why you need to be mentally tough.”
So what sets her apart from the rest. “I would say it’s the resilience, that propels me against the young riders.” And Neben definitely has loads of that substance, after all, she has been battling odds from a very young age.

Battling the odds
Not many would know that Neben had survived a bout of spinal meningitis when she was a toddler of four. The illness was so severe that it left her in coma for three days. What was even worse was that the doctors had given up hope. “They had told my parents that I would not survive and that even if I did, I would have to endure brain damage and hearing loss.”
Neben, resilient that she is, not just survived, but went on to play soccer and took to sports in a major way, taking part in cross-country running at school.
In college, however, she was forced to give up that too as stress fractures cut short her running career. Undaunted, she concentrated on studies, obtained a master’s degree in biology. It was while she was pursuing her master’s that a top 10 finish at the national collegiate cycling championships, saw her take up the sport in a big way.
But in 2007, when it was time to bask in the glory of her wins, she was diagnosed with melanoma. The treatment was successful and the result made her battle-hardened and spiritual.
She came back on the track with greater determination and went on to win the Time Trial event at the UCI World Time Trial Championships in Varese, Italy.
No wonder, she owes it all to God. “My secret, honestly, is my God,” says Neben, and adds an impromptu line from the Holy Bible, “Christ’s strength is perfected my weakness.”

The book
No wonder, her book When Shmack Happens: The Making of a Spiritual Champion is a beacon of hope, not just for the professional athletes, but for anyone who is facing odds in life.
In fact, the book wouldn’t have seen the light had she not met with an accident.
“It came about after I had a really bad accident in 2013. I was racing a time trial at the Tour of California and I crashed into the side of a mountain. It was a really bad accident, there’s a video of it too.”
“But, at that point, you know, I had it in my heart to write my story down. There have been so many things that I have had to persevere through and I thought maybe by me telling my story I would be able to help so many other people. And I had time to do it as I couldn’t ride,” says Neben about the book. (Qatar Sports Press Committee)