The result took many by surprise, not least because Charles had fractured his arm a few short weeks ago and was not sure he would make it to Paris. “We didn’t really see this coming this week,” admitted nation cup winner Andy Austin, commentating on the BBC. “We thought the Germans were invincible. Harry Charles, I’ve got to give him some special praise. How he got down the combination today I don’t know. We expect it from the two older hands but Harry was brilliant.”
The man himself was pretty speechless, too. Charles’s was the only completely clear round with Maher and Brash both picking up minor time faults. “It’s going to take days or weeks to sink in,” he admitted. “That was probably the best round of my life, definitely the biggest moment of my career. I did good and that’s the best Romeo has ever jumped.”
In the stands, Charles’s school friends held up a big flag with Romeo’s name on it. Charles smiled. “They booked this trip a year in advance so when I broke my arm they were worried they wouldn’t get refunded on the AirBNB.”
Shakespeare could not have written a better script. Romeo and Jefferson, a play in two acts.
Charles Snr was there, of course. Twelve years on, though, he let his son take centre stage, leading Jefferson away after the initial celebrations had died down. “He just told me to enjoy it,” Harry Charles said later. “It’s pretty cool to ride with both my heroes, two guys I’ve looked up to my entire life. My inner younger self is freaking out a bit.”