Green. Yellow. Black. Red. Blue.
Locals adorned the sidewalk and the outside wall of Corsa Cycles with the colours of the Union Cycliste Internationale.听
Also, unbeknownst to the owner of a silver Toyota pickup parked outside the building, her father had painted those colours on the doors of her vehicle.
鈥淚t鈥檚 acrylic paint, so if she doesn鈥檛 like it, she can take it off,鈥� Richard said with a chuckle.
But it鈥檚 fair to say his daughter will probably enjoy the new look on her truck, as those colours are a badge of honour reserved only for world champion cyclists.
And now this was the badge of honour that was being given to 麻豆社国产rider Miranda Miller.
Locals flooded the parking lot of Corsa Cycles to await Miller鈥檚 return the Monday after she was crowned the gold medalist in the elite women鈥檚 world downhill division at the 2017 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Cairns, Australia.
Miller was led blindfolded out of a friend鈥檚 vehicle.
When she took off the blackened ski goggles that covered her eyes, bottle corks were popped and she was promptly hosed down with champagne.
鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty cool 鈥� lots of people here,鈥� said Miller during the slight pause between hugs from friends and family. 鈥淢akes me feel pretty special.鈥�
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 think it was a first place run, but it all worked out,鈥� she continued, referring to her performance on the weekend. 鈥淵ou never know, right?鈥�
However, one thing that many people now know is that Miller has become the first Canadian world champion in the elite women鈥檚 downhill mountain biking division since 1990 鈥� the year she was born.
The victory in the elite category means she came out on top against full-time professional female racers over the age of 18.听
Footage of Miller鈥檚 run showed her swooping down the trail at speeds fast enough to kick her bike up in the air as she passed through bumps on the track.听
Towards the end, she started pedalling hard, leaving clouds of dust wafting in her wake as she crossed the finish line with a time of four minutes and 10.245 seconds, edging out her closest opponent by just under one-tenth of a second.
Nicole Myriam of France trailed with a silver and Hannah Tracy of Australia received bronze.
Whistles, cheers, and the ringing of cowbells pierced the air.
It was a big win for Canada 鈥� her gold medal performance made national news headlines, drawing the attention of The Canadian Press and the CBC.
鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty crazy, don鈥檛 think it sunk in, but yeah,鈥� said Miller immediately after the race in an interview posted online by Union Cycliste Internationale, the organization behind the event. 鈥淚 mean, I feel like I had some luck on my side and, you know, I鈥檒l take it. It鈥檚 pretty cool. I鈥檓 sure in a couple of days it鈥檒l feel a bit different.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 just really, really happy for Miranda,鈥� her mother, Tamsin Miller told The Chief. 鈥淪he has worked so hard for this. She has come back from so much.鈥�
Indeed, a small sample of the injuries Miranda has endured includes two broken arms, kidney failure and a broken tibia and fibula.
Her coach, Joel Harwood of Blueprint Athlete Development, said her victory was a long time coming.
鈥淪he鈥檚 deserving because she certainly has all the tools needed to win at the elite level,鈥� said Harwood. 鈥淭he fact it was world championship is just a bonus.鈥�
He called her the 鈥渋deal athlete to coach.鈥�
鈥淪he鈥檚 very hardworking and dedicated but she also is directly involved as an athlete,鈥� he continued. 鈥淪he enjoys feedback. She questions the reasoning behind the program, which actually makes things easier because then it鈥檚 more collaborative than top-down.鈥�
鈥淲hat I feel sets Miranda and all champions apart is their mindset, their will to succeed,鈥� he added.
As for the next step, Harwood said that he and Miller will continue to work on refining her skill set.
He sees another big victory for her in the future.
She鈥檚 skilled enough that she doesn鈥檛 necessarily need to be riding at her very best to get those victories, Harwood said.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think she necessarily felt she was on fire all weekend,鈥� Harwood said.
鈥淣ow she knows she can do it,鈥� he said.
鈥淚 think the next step in her career is to win another one.鈥澨�
