ROUGH START TO THE WORLD CUP
[Translation: Crispen T. P. de Lange]

My very first World Cup race in eleven months was a tough confrontation with the mountain biking elite. The following day when I got up, my body felt as if it had been beaten up in a fight. Even so, my results from Houffalize the previous weekend were surprising and encouraging, as I came in as number 6. Today, in the German town of Offenburg, I quitted the race after the second round.

We’ve raced the World Cup here in Offenburg today and I’m lying in my bed resting, thinking about the next World Cup race in Madrid this coming Sunday. Because of a cold, and a body that has been feeling heavy and tired since the tough competition in Houffalize last weekend, we decided beforehand that I was only going to do two of the six rounds today. We’re taking no chances and are not gambling with my health these days.

Last weekend as I stood at the start in Belgium, I was filled with an amazing feeling of joy. Eleven months have passed since my last World Cup race, after the break due to sickness last year. The road back again has been long, and we’re still looking at a lot of hard work before we are able to compete at the highest level again. But the results from Houffalize confirmed that we have also been doing a lot of things correctly these past months.

It was simply fantastic to feel that old buzz of excitement and nerves which always accompany me when competing, both during my preparations and throughout the race itself. There were many positive aspects surrounding the race in Belgium, but I also realized where I’ve lost strength and ability due to my long and unwanted absence.

From start to finish in Houffalize, I was struggling with technical skills, both upwards and downwards, plus sheer power on the steepest climbs. I ended up falling several times (once right at Kenneth’s feet…, apparently quite a shock to my husband but nothing dramatic for me since it was one of many spills that day), and there was a lot of unnecessary stress through certain stretches, which resulted in an impressive array of coloured bruises all over my body.

I spent most of my time on Sunday and Monday in bed, as I was totally knocked out. The cold I woke up with on Tuesday didn’t exactly help matters either. I’ve been a bit unwell and weak all week, but all the riders on our team, except our Spaniard, Hermida, got sick after Houffalize. We find a measure of comfort in this solidarity between the team members, getting sick at the same time as each other. Real “team spirit” in both good and evil days J

I’ve done little and low-paced exercise all week in order to get well as fast as possible. Even so, we didn’t take any chances by completing the World Cup race here in Offenburg, Germany. We’ve decided to treat the first World Cup races this season as pure training. We have to take one step at a time, and we’re very aware of the danger of making serious mistakes if we aren’t sensible and work our way methodically and patiently forwards. We have a set plan for what we’re doing today and tomorrow, and we have to make adjustments if we’re to have any hope of re-capturing the world elite during the summer of 2008.

As I write, the male elite cyclists are crossing the finish line, and we’re crossing our fingers and toes for our boys on Multivan Merida Biking Team, hoping they’ve been able to fight for the top positions today. We’re soon going to pack up our Multivan and drive to Stuttgart Airport where we’ll be staying for a night before flying on to Madrid early tomorrow morning. Sunday in one week we’ll be doing World Cup race number 3 this season, so that’ll be fun.

We’ve been able to experience a bit of summer and sun these last days here in Germany, and it’s been lovely. We hope for a lot more “Spanish” sun during the coming weeks, as my “multicoloured” bruised legs and arms could do with a bit of tan. I hope you’re enjoying life and using your bike as often as possible. A little trip out on your two-wheeler is good for both body and soul. You’ll be hearing from us again in a week. 

Cyclist’s greetings from Gunn-Rita and Kenneth.