With ViskoTeepak being a global company, you hear of many talents, hobbies, and accomplishments that our coworkers participated in throughout the years. One thing that has recently become known is that ViskoTeepak has many enthusiastic cyclists on its roster. Some cycle to and from work, whereas others go as far as competing. One of our coworkers, Johan Nordlund, does just that.
Who is Johan Nordlund?
Johan Nordlund, a 43-year-old shift foreman, works the 3rd shift at ViskoTeepak Hanko by night, but by day he is a passionate cyclist. After years of training and dedication, Johan achieved one of his greatest accomplishments thus far - taking bronze in the Cycling World Championships in Trento, Italy! A victory like this is not something that can happen overnight. It takes many years of an iron will and a mentality of no pain, no gain.
Putting in the hours
Johan put in just about 550 hours of training in the past year, preparing for this moment. With constant practice throughout the years, Johan has been striving for improvement. In 2018, he took his first gold medal in the Finnish Championship. Since then, there have been so many podium placings it is hard to keep up.
In 2022, Johan set his target on the World Championship, which was to take place in September in Trento, Italy. For those who don’t know what this consists of, the UCI World Championships are an annual competition promoted by the Union Cycliste Internationale. Each year several different racing styles take place in countries nominated to host. To qualify for the World Championship, Johan had to participate in a road race in Tartu, Estonia, earlier this summer. To secure his spot, Johan got a breakaway 40 km before the finish line, resulting in a first-place victory, giving him the ticket to the front line in Trento.
A race to the finish
There was a road race and a tempo race, a tempo race being Johan’s specialty. A tempo race takes place over a predetermined distance where you are racing individuals against the clock, starting 30 seconds apart from one another. Johan took bronze in the tempo race. His time was 30 seconds after the winner, Lauren Derain from France, and just 7 seconds after the silver medalist, Paul Kennedy from Ireland.
A road race is quite different than a tempo race. The distance is longer at 130 km, while the tempo race is only 19 km. In a road race, the competitors also start together and cycle the remainder of the race together. These races usually consist of hilly geography, allowing your speeds to reach 90 km/hour on the downhills of the course.
Going for gold
Johan’s current target is set for the World Championship taking place in Scotland next year and Denmark in two years. Although both locations will consist of much flatter land, there will be much windier conditions that Johan will have to prepare himself for, but with the drive and determination of Johan Nordlund, anything is possible. Congratulations Johan; on this astounding victory!
