Sunday June 26
RACE REPORT FROM
WORLD CUP
The World Cup race at Mont-Sainte-Anne
in
Sunday evening has arrived here in Mont-Sainte-Anne. The place is probably best
known for its popular skiing facilities, and is situated a short hour’s drive
from
Kenneth and I have focused on restitution and recuperation all week in order to
gather as much energy as possible before the five World Cup races of the season.
I had two really tough weeks of training at high altitudes at
On Friday evening we experienced a change in the weather which really let us
know the meaning of extreme humidity. So when we all lined up for the race on
Saturday morning at 11:00, the sun was extremely hot, a good 30 degrees
centigrade, combined with very high humidity. Usually I don’t react badly to hot
weather, so I didn’t expect to have any problems on the race yesterday.
During my warm-up, which I usually do on rollers for 45 minutes in all, I felt
fine and my body felt all geared up, ready to race. The women were to ride five
laps, each
During the second lap I increased my lead by a few more seconds, but Premont
turned out to be very strong today and refused to let go. I had a few places on
the course where I counted seconds back to her while she caught up others in
previous parts of the round. At the most I had a good 30 seconds’ lead back to
Premont, which is not a comfortable distance at all, especially not in this kind
of technically demanding and tough race circuit which they have at
Mont-Sainte-Anne.
When the fourth round was half finished I still had a lead of about 30 seconds,
but then suddenly everything said stop. It felt as if my legs had absolutely no
energy left in them at all, my skin was covered in goose-bumps, and my arms
started shaking. My water bottle and energy gel were frantically emptied in the
hopes of getting a bit of feeling back into my legs, but this time nothing would
work. I hardly noticed Marie Helen passing me on the last hilltop of the fourth
lap, and at the next check-point I was a good 30 seconds behind her.
The fifth and last lap was extremely long for Miss Dahle yesterday. I didn’t
know how I was going to get up all those steep climbs that still remained, much
less how I was going to stay on my bike through all those technical and
demanding descents. Gratefully there were long distances back to our closest
competitors, so luckily no other fit women caught up with me. The last lap
included a few extra spills and knocks, as my entire body just felt completely
powerless, and my eyesight was blurred too. I crossed the finish line almost 3
minutes behind Premont.
I was placed on a chair at the finish-line, drank copious quantities of water
and energy drink, my cuts and scrapes were cleaned, my arms and legs were washed
for me, and I talked to countless reporters all at the same time. The
noise-level from the thousands of people who had come to see Premont (who lives
in this area) race, was deafening, and they naturally welcomed their hero with
loud acclamation.
After a while I regained some energy in my legs, and managed to change into a
clean and dry uniform. After that came the ceremony, and all that that entails.
I was naturally very pleased to have managed to crawl my way to the finish-line
and be number two again. I still keep the combined lead in the World Cup, and
will once again stand on the starting line in
Kenneth and I have gone through the race and evaluated the good and not so good
happenings, as we always do. It was somewhat unusual this time, because I never
usually go completely empty. In other words, a totally new situation for the
both of us, and we’ve looked at various possible reasons for what went wrong
yesterday. A second place isn’t a bad result at all, and yesterday the strongest
woman won.
Today we’ve been out cycling for a few hours together, and Lene and I have both
had a great massage from Kenneth this afternoon. It’s very important to get the
circulation properly running again for a quicker restitution, thinking of next
weekend. We’re now as good as all packed up and ready for a new trip, and we’re
looking forward to seeing new places. We have a long travel ahead of us, but
with time we’ve gradually learned that a travel day is something one takes in
one’s stride, and we don’t bother to exert extra energy if things don’t go
exactly as planned. On Tuesday evening we’ll arrive at Navigante in
We really hope that things are going well with all you people who love to cycle,
and that your motivation is at an all-time high. If you feel you lack that
essential spark, take a break and think through what you’re missing in your
exercise set-up. The trio from
TRAINING STINT OF THE WEEK: Today Lene, Kenneth and I had a relaxing two-hour
cycle ride during which we stopped for a lovely Coke-break in gorgeous sunshine
at the halfway mark, followed by a great cruise back to our little hideaway here
at Mont-Sainte-Anne.
DINNER OF THE WEEK: Lene and I have been cooks together this whole week here,
and we’ve had tasty dinners in the living room every evening. Mostly we’ve eaten
salmon, trout, chicken and sole, and it’s really tasted fantastic. Maybe we’ve
all smelt somewhat strongly of garlic each day, but so be it………..
WEEKLY ADVICE: Tomorrow we’re off travelling again and our water bottles are
standing at the ready….but a good drink of water should be within reach at any
time, no matter what your daily program may be. Water is good for your
circulation, your mood, your energy level, your metabolism, your wellbeing, and
your rosy cheeks.
Cyclist’s greetings from Gunn-Rita
Multivan Merida Biking Team