On lap five of the elite men's race at the UCI Cyclocross World Championships, seconds before eventual winner Tom Pidcock of Great Britain arrived, the diminutive man in the red Costa Rican jersey was flagged down by race officials and pulled from the race before being lapped.

While most riders were disappointed to be forced to leave cyclocross' biggest race so early, 38-year-old Felipe Nystrom was the exact opposite. When he learned that he would be awarded the official standings, he let out a squeal of delight and radiated pure joy as he left the course in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

His official rank was the lowest, but Nystrom didn't care; nine years earlier, he had spiraled into drug and alcohol addiction, living on the streets of Costa Rica and making desperate suicide attempts.

He overcame much adversity to get to the starting line and made history as Costa Rica's first World Championship competitor.

"It was amazing," he said. I wanted to run five laps and I did."

Nystrom, 38, was the only Latin American to compete in the race, and he and Mexicans Isaac Del Toro and Carlos Garcia, who competed in the under-23 race, were the only competitors from the Americas outside Canada and the United States.

"I am truly honored to be on the starting line with such talented athletes in an event that is not a Costa Rican tradition.

"Regardless of the result, I am the first Costa Rican to compete in the (cyclocross) World Championships and the only Latin American to make history. Hopefully, at some point, there will be (young) kids who know that this is possible and actually excel at it, and in five or ten years, there will be more riders from Latin America."

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Nyström gave an extensive and personal interview (open in new tab) on the Bike Portland podcast in December, when he was raising funds to go to Belgium for the World Cup. He discussed his troubled childhood, revealing that he was traumatized by physical and sexual abuse and bullying from his peers

Nine years ago, he was living on the streets of Costa Rica and "after my last suicide attempt, I promised myself that if I was alive the next day I would do something I would do something."

He was a member of the Costa Rican National Guard and a member of the National Guard.

"When the paramedics brought me back that night, something was different," Nystrom explained to Cyclingnews.

He feared that if he remained in Costa Rica, he would fall back into addiction and depression.

"After getting treatment, I moved to the U.S. to get a fresh start, but I didn't really know how to make friends like normal people.

So he turned to sports. He played soccer as a kid and had dreams of road racing. When he found a steady job as a medical interpreter in Portland, he turned to sports as a way to meet people.

He tried triathlon, but after finding the swim in Oregon waters too cold, he took up road racing and fell in love with the sport so fast that he climbed from beginner category 5 to category 1 elite in one season. 2019 Costa Rica National Road Championships.

Cyclocross is a new sport for Nyström, which explains his modest assessment of his skills, but he is persistent in his quest to qualify for the world championships.

"A year ago I found out that the World Championships were going to be held in Fayetteville, and since I wasn't going to be invited to the road national team, I figured this was a way to represent my country."

Six World Cup and Pan American Championships later, he finally achieved his goal. Even if he came in last place, the fact that he technically finished the race is a personal victory, a legacy he can pass on to his son, and a lesson in determination.

These free helplines provide 24-hour assistance to people who are suicidal. In the UK, contact Samaritans.org or call 116 123. In the U.S., call 800-273-TALK (800-273-8255) orhttps://yourlifecounts.org/find-helpで最寄りのホットラインを検索する。

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