Honestly I’ve found it very diffucult to say anything positive about the race and that’s the reason for this late update. During the race I hit the baluster of a bridge against my hand and broke a finger. I didn’t know it was broken and just continued, focused on my race. I for sure did have some problems holding the handlebar when the course got too bumpy because of the pain, but kind of didn’t pay attention to it. I found it very difficult to maintain good riding during the race and I don’t think it was because of the finger solely. The whole night and morning before the race it had rained cats and dogs and the fact that I chose not to ride a difficult rocky section, which was extremely steep and slippery, made me feel like a bad mountainbiker. I now know, that was very silly, since only few women actually rode this section. It was just because during training I rode that part with no difficulties at all..

After the race I put some ice on my hand and didn’t have great pain. It wasn’t until the evening, when my hand started swelling, that we went to the hospital for some x-rays. Here the doctor told me, that he didn’t know, whether it needed surgery or not and that left me in total despair until my arrival in Denmark monday morning, where I went straight from the airport to the hospital to get new x-rays. After 4 hours of waiting I was finally told, that surgery wasn’t necessary and just then my mind started to work again with the relief! The day was only saved by flowers from my boyfriend

Exhausted and jetlagget I have tried to find the daily routines again with lots of work at my studium. Today I was so absentminded, that I missed a lesson. Simply forgot to go there.. Hmm – that’s unlike me!..

I feel very frustrated right now, as I’m supposed to prepare for the road world championships at the end of september. I’ve decided to skip training this week, because it only makes me more frustrated not being able to train properly. Friday I’m going to see a doctor again and hopefully it’ll be more clear, if it will be okay to train and how.

I will work on some good vibes until my next post

Keep your slippers on and hold your nail brush and potato peeler in your right hand till then…

Less than 24 hours to go and I’m really excited!The toughest part about this world championship is the waiting. We’ve been here in Mont Sainte Anne, Canada since monday and now I just want to get started with the race. I’ve spent the days training a little, relaxing, eating, watching a lot of DVD’s (I’m really hooked on O.C. and Prison Break – it’s really great mind escaping! Prison Break might be a little too creepy just before bedtime. It sometimes make me nervous about turning the light off )

I was really looking forward to see the course when arriving in Canada, since it should be pretty technical. I must say, I was positively surprised with my first impressions, since the course didn’t cost me any problems. Maybe I’ve just improved my skills or maybe I just have got more confidence, which makes me ride better.

The whole week it has been extremely hot! Together with the high air humidity it feels like 40 degrees C. Last night it rained a lot and today it was a cooler, which my body really liked! I’ve come to learn, that I loose some of my power, when the weather is too hot! I’m more into the scandinavian weather.

Tomorrow they’ve predicted rain as well, so we’ll see about that. The rain during last night only made the track better, since it had gone extremely worn from all the rides! I went training with norwegian Gunn-Rita Dahle and got a few tips for the course. After today I feel like I’m going to top mentally and physically tomorrow! If you want to follow me live saturday, tune in on www.freecaster.tv at 17 o’clock C.E.T.

Enjoy free goods, awesome fall weather and well shaved legs

Enjoying the track (photo: Jens Thomasberg)

Lately I’ve been feeling tired and I’ve been lacking this extra level you need for racing, but this sunday I finally felt like racing in the “zone” and that was awesome! So good, so good!

I guess my latest results haven’t been showing the fact, that my racemode has been a little absent. Well, when it all comes down to it, results are just numbers on a piece of paper ( No, nowadays more correctly pixels on a screen). What really matters for me is still the feeling of the race and what goes through my head while racing (yes, this talk about feelings is maybe very girlish, but I am a girl, so I can’t help it;). I totally loove, when the kick of racing makes me forget everything about pain in the legs.

powering away (photo: Jens Thomasberg)

This sunday the 4th round of the Danish Shimanoliga was held in Frederiksværk on the most awesome track, which just got even better from the extreme masses of rain, that fell during the night. The traction was perfect!

I decided to go full speed from the beginning, since this could be a good chance to practice start speed, which I think I have to improve. The women’s field started 1 minute after the junior men and 2 minutes after the elite men. So catching the guys in front of me was my great motivation. After a lactate saturated start, my body awoke and obeyed my demands for maintaining speed. Great! Let’s go..! I knew, that we only had to do four laps on the 5,8km course and that made me go in the very high end of race speed. I felt great on the climbs and was able to keep on pushing.

After finishing, I was happy with my effort and much later in the evening, when I was supposed to sleep, my body was still in race mode and not able to sleep. Then you know, that you have given it all!

Now I am preparing for the last important races of the season. Next thursday we are going to the U.S. and Canada for the last world cup and the world championships. At the end of september I am going to Melbourne to do the World Championships on the road. That means that right now I am shifting between my mountainbike, my timetrial bike and road racer for training. Some girls trouble their minds in the morning, what shoes to wear, I just have to choose between my bikes

Maybe I know, why my mind was so determined for racing this weekend. On friday, I went out with some great people wearing my magic heels and that kind of reset mind!.. keep ‘em coming

The Danish Marathon Championships 2009 on homeground in Silkeborg

Last year I won the Danish Marathon Championship, but since then I haven’t been doing any marathons at all. This year I’ve been focusing solely on the olympic distance (XCO), which is the distance where the fast riders compete and the distance for Olympic Games, World Cups, the German Bundesliga etc. The ride time for Marathons are 3 – 4,5 hours, where XCO races are 1,5 – 2 hours. Only few riders are Marathon Specialists and when XCO riders participate in Marathons, they often end up winning. The womens field do so present a bunch of XCO riders: starters list. The current Marathon World Champion Sabine Spitz didn’t do the last world cup in Val di Sole, so I guess her legs are ready to defend the stribes.

Well, I guess I just have to rely on my form and see what happens. This time I have the two Danish Nørgaard Sisters by my side. It’s going to be great not being the only danish girl in the field.

I certainly hope for a top 10 result, maybe even a top 5. So far I’ve been winning all the Marathons I’ve been doing, so according to statistics, sunday is going to be a good day

Danish Champion 2010 (Foto: René Delauran Mølgaard Andersen)

Luckily I don’t have to change my wardrobe this year. I’ll keep on riding in the red/white jersey for another year I for sure knew, that the jersey would be mine this year, if I just did a great race without any mechanical issues. That being my mainfocus I started my race, flying up the looong startclimb, beginning my chase for the male riders in front of me, motivated by the competition.

Unfortunately the women’s field was so small, that it was almost silly that this race was ranked as a national championship. For me it ment, that I spared a lot af mental race-energy, that I’m sure will pay off later on this season with many great races to come ( World Championship MTB XCO, World Championship MTB XCM and the World Championships on the road – Yes, I’m going to defend the danish colours in Australia at the beginning of october, mainfocus on the TimeTrial, but also doing the roadrace!)

The racecourse in Blåbjerg was was one of the greatest danish courses, that I’ve been riding for a long time. It was pretty technical and tough too and demanded concentration for maintaining speed. I was back on my DT swiss carbon rims, that I couldn’t use in Israel last week due to the many rocks, which calls for the heavier tubeless setup. My DT swiss carbon rims are the best pair of wheels, that I’ve ever been riding. They are light and very stiff, and I rarely have the feeling of bad legs, while riding them. That’s why I only use them for competitions – otherwise they’ll loose their magic!

Without the pressure from my competitors I rode the course feeling relaxed in the bikehandling and strong in the easy parts. After 1h30m of riding I crossed the finishline with a margin of 15minutes to second place. 

Crossing the finishline!.. Forgot what I'm pointing at (Photo: Kristina Møller)

Thanks for all the cheering at the race. It completely felt like racing at a the German Bundesliga or a WorldCup climbing up the tough Rævebjerg!

Enjoy icecreams, beachsand in your bed and post-race heavy legs

- Annika

Yesterday the team relay was thrown off at the race track. At the team relay the nations compete as a four-member team, each member doing one lap. The team must consists of a male, a female, an under 23 rider and a male junior. Klaus Nielsen was starting our race highly motivated by standing on the startline shoulder to shoulder with very strong starting riders from the other nations. Klaus did an excellent ride and passed the pace on to our U23 rider, Kenneth Hansen, who also put all his effort into throwing off some good speed before returning and making the shift to me. I pushed my force into the pedals, but found it a little difficult to really find a good rythm. Jonas Pedersen finished our game and managed to overtake some riders just before crossing the finishline. We finished 8 overall, which could have been better. I guess, more was expected from us, but hey, that’s the way it goes some times.

Today the junior riders are racing, Jonas Pedersen and Magnus Cort representing Denmark. Right now, I’m relaxing and will go watch the last bit of their race before going training on the course. I will cross my  fingers and hope they’ll do a great race!

The course is dry, dusty with lots of rocks and slippery, sandy turns. It has some really challeging sections and today I’m going to do some more practice out there. Friday will be race day, so keep your fingers crossed and watch out for another race report

Danish Champion Time Trial (Foto: Frank Rud Jensen)

Report later… for now the picture says it all I’m happy, relaxing at my parents in Silkeborg, preparing for tomorrows race – and eating strawberries and barbeque in just a second

Last year I crossed the finishline in German Albstadt with goosebumps all over my body, adrenaline rush in my ears, sneaking cramps in my legs and arms raised high finishing 4th. It was only my third race in the Bundesliga and at the same time my first podium spot. I cheered like a winner, because I felt like one. I was filled with joy and confidence and started to realize, that I had the potential to go all the way to the top. I soon accentuated this with a victory in Wetter shortly after.

This year I was lucky to start in the frontline due to my victory in the last round of the Bundesliga in Heubach. At my side were standing strong riders like Lisi Osl and Sabine Spitz, who last year battled for victory. I expected this years race to repeat that scenary, not yet knowing my part af the play – only hoping for a leading role. 

The conditions this year was slightly tougher with lots of rain, mud and slippery downhills. I didn’t have the opportunity to train on the course with all the mud, because the rain just started pouring down that very morning. Still I was very excited to race and felt strong and focused as the gun went off!

After crossing a large open space the course went in to a brutal uphill, which soon tore the field apart. Just what I like At the front Anja Gradl and Elisabeth Brandau set the pace and at my back wheel Sabine Spitz and Lisi Osl were riding strongly. Anja suffered from a mechanical problem at the highest point of the course and had to let go. Soon Sabine and Lisi showed their experience and got a gap at the end of the downhill just before going into the second lap with me chasing in third position. At the end of the second lap Lisi suffered from a flat tire and I passed her at the tecnical zone, where she changed her wheel. At the killer uphill she once again showed her strong climbing skills and soon cathed up with me. I forced myself to stick to her wheel, but soon felt like exploding if continuing in her pace. I had to let go and focused on my own pace instead.

All the sudden I sensed Elisabeth Brandau ( who just won Trans Germany last week) from behind gaining in on me and she managed to catch my wheel in the uphill. In the following downhill I was able to once again get a gap on her. Now the rain was really pouring down and a few of the downhills were as slippery as inclined dancefloors cowered with soap! Still don’t know what dance floors are doing in the forest I managed to get through and on the very last round I pushed the hardest I could in the uphills and mud surfed my way down. The two girls up front I couldn’t catch, but I managed to get a good gap on Elisabeth Brandau and placed a solid third!

I am very pleased with my podium spot and hopefully next year I can once again take one or two steps up the podium!

After this round of the Bundesliga I’m leading the overall series and hopefully I can keep this lead after the last round in Saalhausen at the end of september.

Right now I am preparing for the European Championships in Israel at the beginning of July. Before that I will do the National Championships on the road. Even though I will be training a lot while doing the road races I know I will do well there too.

See you out there

Holstebro diskede op med en lækkerbisken af en rute! Vestjysk fyrreskovsplantage med et utal af skrappe korte opkørsler, rødder og masser af sving. Virkelig en rute, der krævede god teknik, da man konstant skulle dreje og accelerere. Jeg var lidt spændt på, hvordan mine ben ville reagere efter at have ligget stille i næsten en uge og brutalt vækket med dansen rundt i stilletter et par dage inden. Fra tidligere ved jeg, at min krop plejer at blive friskere og stærkere af at holde pause, så jeg håbede på, at jeg også denne gang ville komme ud stærkere.

Alene tanken om at skulle køre løb i tørvejr gjorde at jeg glædede mig vildt til at komme ud og køre! Da startskuddet endelig lød, gav jeg den én over nakken og tænkte kun på at komme ud og have det sjovt på sporrene med fokus på at køre alle rutens aspekter med en teknisk lethed. Damefeltet blev sendt afsted 1 minut efter juniorerne, 2 min. efter herre B og 3 min efter herre A. Den store spredning gjorde, at der ikke var kø-dannelse på sporet. Omvendt kørte jeg den første tid lidt alene, kun pacet af tanken om, at der var ryttere længere fremme, der kunne hentes. Jeg kunne tydeligt mærke, at når der var ryttere omkring mig, var jeg i stand til at presse mig mere, end når jeg lå alene. Heldigvis var der også tilskuere på ruten, der kunne hjælpe med til at holde dampen oppe.

På tredje omgang ud af ialt fire, begyndte trætheden at melde sig og jeg havde svært ved at presse mig selv. Benene føltes ikke så stærke. På sidste omgang bed jeg virkelig tænderne sammen og fokuserede på at give den alt indtil målstregen. Det var en fed, fed fornemmelse et kunne køre over målstregen som vinder. Min klubkammerat Kristine Nørgaard kom ind på andenplads og det var fedt og imponerende at se, hvordan hun bare var ét stort smil. En lille detalje; Kristine kom direkte med nattoget fra Tyskland og et 4-dages etape løb. Jeg tager hatten af for at have overskud til at køre løb dagen derpå.

De danske løb har for mig både fordele og ulemper. Fordelene er, at jeg kan køre løb uden at bruge meget energi på at sætte mig op og være nervøs. Setup og mennesker er velkendte. Ulemperne er, at det kan være lidt en sovepude i forhold til forberedelser til international konkurrence, både hvad angår rutens sværhedsgrad og konkurrenceniveauet. Men sikkert er det, at jeg altid hygger mig til løbene.

Næste weekend tager jeg til Albstadt og kører Bundesligaløb. Her skal jeg nok få kam til mit hår. Topniveauet her er det samme som til WorldCups, men feltets størrelse mindre. Jeg glæder mig til at se, hvordan jeg oplever ruten denne gang, da det var første gang, jeg kørte på den sidste år, hvor jeg brugte en del energi på bare at være overvældet over ruten. Jeg havde dér en hårrejsende fantastisk oplevelse og fik min første podieplacering (4.plads) til en Bundesliga. Jeg er spændt på, hvordan det kommer til at gå i år.

Yip hee – hjulene ruller igen – hop på toget – vi ses

DM holdløb 2010 (foto: Troels Langvad )

En kold og stormfuld aften under en mørk og truende himmel kørte vi DM i holdløb på landevejen i min onkels baghave

I denne sæson supplerer jeg mountainbiketræningen med landevejskørsel på CK Odders damehold. I fredags kørte jeg så mit første officielle løb for holdet. Vi hev en sejr hjem og kan dermed kalde os for danske mestre i disciplinen det næste års tid. 

Landevejskørsel er helt anderledes end mountainbike og kræver koncentration på en helt anden måde. Jeg kan tydeligt mærke, at jeg har en god portion råstyrke og udholdenhed med fra mountainbiken, som jeg nemt kan omsætte til landevejen. Især på bakkerne har jeg virkelig fordel af at være vant til at angribe skovens bakker. 

Foto: Troels Langvad

Næste gang jeg skal køre for holdet bliver nok først til DM, som ligger d. 24. til 27. juni i Hobro og jeg skal ikke lægge skjul på, at jeg gerne vil hive endnu en DM-trøje hjem