WEEK 11

WEEK 11 (Saturday 18.03.2006)

SUCCESSFUL TRAINING PERIOD IN ITALY.

[Translation: Crispen T.P. de Lange]

2 weeks of very effective training and competitions here in the north of Italy were concluded today with a fantastic race in the Liquigas Cup. On Monday, Kenneth and I will be leaving for Curacao for the first World Cup race of the season.

The race today was great, on the challenging race course here in the town of Maser, north of Treviso. My toughest competitors today were Annabella Stropparo from Italy, and Blaza Klemencic from Slovenia. We women also got to race a bit against the junior men cyclists, as we started only 30 seconds behind the male junior cyclists.

When it comes to training and exercise, this week had been somewhat slower-paced than the last weeks. Today it was important for me be in somewhat better shape than 14 days ago, in order to trim my highest gears with a view to taking part in the opening of the World Cup in just two weeks.

The race track today was dry and very quick after several days of sun. Optimal conditions for training acceleration and high speed. Long and reasonably steep climbs followed by fast descents made the track today a real hit with me. I felt very strong during the race, and was able to focus on exactly the things I needed to train for upcoming events.

This was my second victory here in Italy, and as always, it’s a great experience to win a race down here. Things were well organized, the spectators were enthusiastic, there was a really wonderful framework around the whole competition, and many of the big international teams were present. Kenneth and I can look back on two very good and well executed weeks of training with good help from our shoe sponsor, NorthWave, the organization behind today’s Liquigas Cup, and the clubs in “Pedale de Marka.”

During this last week we’ve been living in a hotel near to today’s race track, together with the professional team, Multivan Merida Biking Team. Today’s race was the first of the year for the team, and provided us with good results with Nina Göhl (GER) arriving on a good sixth place, and silver in the men’s class went to our Spaniard, Jose A. Hermida.

As I mentioned before, we’ve managed to train as planned. We’ve been lucky with the weather despite it being somewhat cold here. Apart from that, we’ve experienced many enjoyable meals together with friends, sponsors, local bike clubs and the organization.

On Thursday afternoon we were in the town of Padova and had a photo-shoot in a studio for our sponsor NorthWave, providing us with an exciting diversion to the every-day routine. The results of the photo shoot will be posted on my website before long. NorthWave is renowned for a somewhat different marketing strategy for their products...

Saturday evening has arrived here in Italy. I’m feeling a little weak after the race today, but that’s exactly how one should feel after an exciting day at the office. The comment of the day came from my team-mates, Jose and Ralph, after completing the race: “When we were junior racers, we always fought to beat the female riders. They always ended up far behind us. These days it’s the junior male riders who have to put up with this kind of thing, and even be beaten by the women.” Well, I can certainly confirm that the junior racers we left behind today weren’t happy about it, and that feels very good J

Next time you hear from us, it’ll be from a bungalow on the beach in the Caribbean. However, there probably won’t be time for much sunbathing or long lazy days on the sand-dunes for me, but even so a very exciting experience for both of us in a new place.

Cyclist’s hug from Gunn-Rita

Multivan Merida Biking Team