WEEK 35 (September 6, 2005).
[Translation: Crispen T.P. de Lange]
ANOTHER FANTASTIC GOLD AT THE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

We experienced a terrific day of World Championships at Livigno on Sunday. I was deeply moved when I received yet another World Championship gold and heard the Norwegian national anthem being played way up in the Italian Alps. We managed to win the main event of the year, and I’m very proud and honoured to be allowed to wear the rainbow jersey for yet another season.

First of all Kenneth and I would like to congratulate all our sponsors and partners with the latest World Championship gold. You are all very important for the success that we’ve experienced this year, and we hope you’re all as happy as we are. We are proud of what we’ve achieved together with our pro team, Multivan Merida Biking Team, and our personal sponsors, and we’re very happy that we’ll be working together for many years to come.

I am now sitting on an airplane which will take us to Manchester, and from there to Glasgow. We’re fetching a rental car at the airport and driving to Fort William (Scotland) where the World Cup finals are to be held on this coming Saturday. The rest of the pro team will arrive on Thursday. We could have gone home for a short visit too, but it would have meant another day of travelling, and that’s a lot at the end of a long and very busy season.

It’s Tuesday morning and the delight of having won is still very much present in me, and probably will be for a while to come. It takes time to digest such an incredible day as we experienced in the World Championship city of Livigno on Sunday. Hundreds of things happen from the time one gets up until bed-time. Most of the experiences, happenings and impressions are laid aside until later, gradually processing them all in the days that follow.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 11

And now it’s Sunday morning over here, and we’re sitting in the lounge at Heathrow Airport in London. We unfortunately didn’t manage to get the same suite that we’ve enjoyed on our previous visits to Scotland. We had a long trip on Tuesday with many hours of delay, both leaving Zurich and in Manchester. We arrived around 19:30 and managed to fit in a jogging trip for an hour, plus 45 minutes of massage and a simple dinner before going to bed.

It’s just so wonderful to be sitting here, feeling the peace and quiet sink down over my entire body, both within and without. Yesterday we had the World Cup Finals at Fort William, and it ended up being a wonderful grand finale to yet another great season for both of us. Now it’s soon holiday and relaxation for us, and we really need it.

We’ve had a tough time of it this last week. We both felt physically and mentally drained after the World Championships last weekend. It was a totally natural reaction after so many weeks of focusing exclusively on the day of the big race. But through this week we’ve done everything we could to push each other and back each other up, both physically and mentally, in order to be as recharged and ready as possible before yesterday’s challenge.

TOP SHAPE, AS PLANNED

I was in top shape for the World Championships, and top shape doesn’t disappear over night, a fact that was amply proven to me at Fort William. We’ve verged on the extreme when focusing hard on restitution and rest, rest, rest. Restitution, massage every day, early nights, correct nutrition at the correct times of the day, and lots of positive encouragement of each other. Focusing on everything that’s positive really works wonders when one is completely worn out.

And so we got to experience yet another day of jubilation yesterday with the sixth World Cup victory of the season. We received the trophy, and Multivan Merida Biking Team won the team trophy. In addition, my team-mates, Irina Kalentyeva and Nina Ghöl, got 3^rd and 5^th place, so there were 3 Merida women on the podium yesterday. The men on the team also had great success, and Ralph Näf won his first World Cup race, Jose Antonio Hermida came in on a 4^th place, while young Moritz Milatz came in on 18^th place. Multivan Merida Biking Team won the combined team trophy for the third time running.

This fantastic day in Scotland got even better with a Norwegian victory in the World Cup in 4-Cross, when Leiv Ove Nordmark won. Lene Byberg did a very good race too and fought for a position amongst the top 10, but unfortunately got technical problems towards the end and simply had to terminate her race. In other words, Norwegian mountain-biking really rocks these days!

Now we’re soon going to fly home to Stavanger and the sunny coast where relaxation at our home await us for the rest of today and tomorrow. Kenneth will be travelling to Trondheim for a course for 3 days this week while I have to do some work with our sponsors, plus a marathon race in the Czech Republic this coming Saturday. In other words, there’s no holiday for us quite yet, but my shoulders will slowly and surely lower themselves through the coming days, leaving a lovely and relaxed feeling. We have so much to look forward to in the coming weeks!

You’ll soon be hearing from me again, only then the focus will be quite different from what it’s been in the past months. Have a wonderful day, and keep looking for the possibilities which exist right now.

Cyclist’s hugs from Gunn-Rita.