> In April 2021, Niemann relayed his life story to Chess Life magazine, a lengthy monologue with a very specific claim – both numerically and geographically – at the start of it. “I continued cycling upon my initial return to the States, finding myself ranked third for my age nationally,” Niemann says.
> So, was he the third-best cyclist of his age in the US?
> There’s nothing in the results on USA Cycling’s database that appears to support that statement. At the Northern California Nevada Cycling Association district track championships, he finished fifth of five riders, in all six races. In the Valley of the Sun Road Race, he finished sixth of eight on the general classification. In 24 races he started through the 2013 season, Niemann took no wins. Of his eight podium finishes, only two races had more than three riders.
Niemann is clearly talented. At bending the truth...
> That leads us to the end of Hans Niemann’s foray into cycling – his dalliance with the sport that is mostly remarkable for how unremarkable it is. And that’s fine. Kids start riding, and kids stop. Kids win races and kids don’t. Kids come up with brash stories on the playground. Sometimes kids are told they’re special at something, and some of them probably internalise it and let the lines between truth and fiction blur.
Actually that para jumped out at me too. But more for style. As a kid and late into my adult hood I really sucked at writing. The kind of suckiness where you are deluded about your prowess based on length of prose!
Then I found Roy Peter Clark's Writing Tools book. Full of snack sized tips that can be used independently. Heavy curtains lifted for me. I felt regret shame and optimism all at the same time.
Reason I bring this up is one technique that got stamped in my mind was variation in sentence length to build suspense and action. This article (this para in particular) to me seemed like a masterclass in that!
Iain Treloar, the author of this story, is a fantastic journalist and writer. If you're interested in reading more of his work, I recommend the following:
Yeah, it's quite a well written paragraph in terms of style. Really good story-telling. And it starts so innocent as well, building up something rather mundane with trivial short and repeating sentences. And then, bang, hints at an explanation of Niemanns behaviour with that of a spoilt brat.
> Is the cover picture another one of those AI images?
> CT STAFF
> It is! It was a pretty unconventional feature image I was searching for, so when it didn't exist, I figured I'd give The Future a go. Quite evocative, I reckon.
> So, was he the third-best cyclist of his age in the US?
> There’s nothing in the results on USA Cycling’s database that appears to support that statement. At the Northern California Nevada Cycling Association district track championships, he finished fifth of five riders, in all six races. In the Valley of the Sun Road Race, he finished sixth of eight on the general classification. In 24 races he started through the 2013 season, Niemann took no wins. Of his eight podium finishes, only two races had more than three riders.
Niemann is clearly talented. At bending the truth...