WEEK 13 (02.04.2006 Curacao)

FANTASTIC DAY ON MY TWO-WHEELER
[Translation: Crispen T.P. de Lange]

It was a wonderful experience to win the first World Cup race of the season yesterday. The hot weather, the extreme humidity, and the race-course itself reminded me a lot of the race in Athens during the Olympics. The entire world elite was gathered there and it was very tough day for most of us.

The happiest aspect of it all for Kenneth and me is to look back on the process that has led up to yesterday’s triumph. We’ve been at training-camp more or less non-stop since the first of January. What happened yesterday confirms that we’ve made very few mistakes in our preparations during the last months.

The whole of the women’s cycling world elite was there at the start, and I probably wasn’t the only one with an extra high adrenaline level in my veins and rather too many visits to the toilets beforehand. As usual, we started out hard and intense, with a certain amount of jostling along the lines in order to get as far forward as possible before the first single-track started, with masses of bends and turns and no possibility of passing anybody.

I managed to make a gap of a few seconds back to my closest competitor before the first single-track started, but could still hear them at my heels. After the first lap I had 14 seconds back to German Sabine Spitz, with Spanish Margarita Fullana in third place. Already that early in the race I felt my body boiling with heat, and I realized that this race would also be a struggle against the high temperature.

We did a short start loop and then 5 laps. I managed to drink a good 0,5 litres per round, each of which lasted 20 minutes. So in total I managed to drink almost 3 litres of liquid in 1 hour and 45 minutes. I should have drunken even more, because I felt I was running dry at times and was also experienced goose-bumps at regular intervals through the race. But there is a limit to how much one can actually manage to get down. During the final lap the liquid started coming up again, and when that happens, there’s little one can do to actually imbibe enough liquid, no matter how much one tries to guzzle!

Each round found me a few more seconds ahead of my closest competitors, but still so short a distance ahead that I had to reach incredibly deep to access the very last dregs of energy – which were luckily enough for me to win. It was an indescribable experience to win a new World Cup race and gain a grasp the first threads of the Leader Jersey. I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate our employer, Merida, the sponsor of the team, and our personal sponsors back in Norway, with the first victory of the season.

It was very nice to see that UCI is, for the first time in history, providing a Leader Jersey for women in the U-23 class, a so-called junior-jersey. This has always been the norm for the men in the same class. It is very important for the young talents in the women’s class to receive this well-earned token. It provides the young women with an exciting motivation factor. The first step towards the young women’s jersey was taken by German Adelheid Morath (1984).

On the organizational level, the World Cup arrangement here on this Caribbean island, Curacao, has been very good. Kenneth and I have been here for almost two weeks. We’ve seen part of the island and have enjoyed every single day here. We’ve already been invited back for a holiday in the autumn, so we’ll see what’s possible after the season is over.

The only thing I reacted against during yesterday’s first World Cup race of the season was that there were absolutely no anti-doping tests at all. I have never before taken part in a World Cup race where there were no such controls. I don’t know who is responsible for the lack of controls at yesterday’s race, but no matter what, it’s very unfortunate that there weren’t any.

Today a slow paced cycle ride awaits me, combined with various photo shoots on the beach, and a refreshing swim in the sea in the afternoon. Yesterday evening our little Merida family, Multivan Merida Biking Team, celebrated many good results for the team, with a tasty Mexican feast served on a long table out on the patio where we live. We’ll be flying on to USA and California early tomorrow morning. Next stop will be Monterey and Sea Otter Classic, a four-day off road stage race which will doubtlessly provide us with lots of excitement and great experiences.

I expect that next time I write to you all, I’ll be back in Stavanger on the sunny coast of Norway, celebrating Easter holiday at home…and without a backpack on my back and skis on my feet. We might rather indulge in some hot cocoa, oranges and KitKat on the veranda at Tjensvoll!

Cyclist’s greetings from

Gunn-Rita and Kenneth

Multivan Merida Biking Team