Back in business ( photo: Kolding MTB )

I did a Danish race this sunday at the same time, the World Cup in Czech Republic was running. The race was a stress-free and easy test of my ribs, only three weeks after the accident. And what a relief and joy! I was able to race, with no pain or breathing troubles!.. This means I’m ready for the last World Cup in France before the end date of the Olympic Qualification.

Thanks to some solid training during the winter, my form has not vanished during my break from being in the game. Actually I felt fresher than normally and my heart race was easily hitting higher levels (which unfortunately doesn’t mean, that my poweroutput equally is higher. Then I’m sure, I would take three weeks off before every World CUp ) On the downside, the fatigue was setting in sooner in the race, but that didn’t make any influence on the result!

Enjoying the sweet trails ( photo: Kolding MTB)

The race was exiting in the way, that my / our goal was to collect as many UCI-points as possible. The ideal outcome being Rikke, Helle and me taking the three top positions and therefore score maximal points. The only obstacle was our yellow-blue neighbors (Sweden), who had send one of their female riders to mess up our plan. At this very moment, exactly Denmark, Sweden and Hungary are the countries fighting for the very last of the few spots at the Olympic Games!

Helle setting the pace ( Photo: Kolding MTB)

We had talked some tactics before the race, since swedish Åsa Erlandsson is a rider not to count out. Well, it was quite simple: my job would be letting my fellow countrymen, Helle and Rikke, get the greatest possible lead, before I would drop Åsa to claim the last spot on the podium.

One thing is planning, another thing is executing The start went absolutely perfect! We hit the narrow singletrack ( where overtaking was difficult ) with Rikke and Helle in first and second position, me in third with Åsa on my rearwheel. The 29′er-girls in front of me was working hard, doing their best, leaving me with a very grateful feeling. While the plan ran smoothly, all the sudden, Rikke dropped her chain and had to stop to put it back on! Oh no! Hit by bad luck. Åsa found her way around all of us and all the sudden the scenary had changed. Helle had got away in front, but now Åsa was chasing hard. I was able to overtake Åsa, doing my best to control the race. Helle had to see herself overtaken by Åsa, and from here, I realized, that there was nothing else to do, than making victory difficult for the eagerly fighting Åsa.

From here, the distance between us spread. I saw glimses of Åsa behind me and from my supporters I got information about how the race turned out. Rikke fighting hard after her accident with the chain, was the racer of the day, since she was able to absolutely bite her teeth to come back and overtake Åsa in the very last round to claim second position. What a race! Åsa took third, with Helle in fourth position!

Rikke crossing the finishline ( Photo: Michael Bech Knudsen)

All the sudden, the chances for a spot at the Olympic Games is closer than ever. In a week, I’ll let you know

When I broke my ribs during the Bundesliga race in Münsingen, I returned to Denmark to start recovering. What I’ve learned from last year is, that it makes absolutely no sense to push on full gas training and racing, when my body is not capable of it. Thanks to great support and treatments from doctors and physiotherapists from Team Danmark, my healing has run very well. For the first time, I’ve even got acupuncture treatments, which I can highly recommend. The the very best part of this process is, that I have made all the decisions myself, and have stuck to the strategy to prioritize the healing process and cutting everything else out. Especially cutting out the Heubach Bundesliga and events around the start of the Giro d’Italia in Denmark was pretty hard. On the upside, I’ve had more time with family, friends. At the end, it’s all about healing with love

My team have been completely supportive in my every decision, which I’m grateful for. A relaxed, confident and stress free environment means the world to me.

The last few days I’ve been on my mountainbike shredding some trails in the forest. Although feeling a bit rusty and less strong, it has been awesome. I think my companion made me forget all about possible rib pain.

Say my name, say my name

So, check this out. FUJI made me my very own framedesign with the rainbowstripes on it. Pretty sweet, I think  This season I’ll be reacing on the rainbow into space. Who knows, I might end up hitting the stars!

Postrace pictures. I was too tired to drag the bike into more inspiring surroundings. You’ll have to cope with the parking lot.

Frontal

Cockpit

Fully equipped with Shimano XTR for gearshifting and breaking. Easy pedalling thanks to Rotor crank with oval chainblades

Since the race in Aarhus, I’ve spend some time in Jutland including a few days in wonderful Slettestrand

The Kronborg Family invited me to join them and showed me, why mountainbiking in Slettestrand is boosting riding motivation. Fast, smooth, dry trails. 20 km of wellprepared joy. Take a look yourself – I GoPro’ed some of the sections..

I caught the opportunity to put in some quality training time, which included some sharpening of cornering technique and polishing my race speed due to a small race. Many Norwegian mountainbikers also stayed at Slettestrand, so for sure the race was no “walk in the park”. My power only lasted for the first couple of rounds and I knew, time was ready for recovery  Now my eyes are set on the World Cup in Houffalize in a week’s time.

(Rumors say, that the new Pump Track in Slettestrand will be ready any mimute, so add that to your list of reasons to go..)

Ascending ( photo: Jesper FK, Aarhus 1900 mtb)

Amazing how scenario changes; one day finding myself in South Africa, then relaxing in Norway with some alpine skiing, a few days in Copenhagen, then Silkeborg and Slettestrand in the Northern part of Denmark. In between all this, I rode the Danish C2 race in Aarhus, enjoying racing on home turf for the first time since last year.

The race in Denmark was the first round of the SRAM liga ( national league in Denmark ) and people from both Norway and Sweden had found their way to Aarhus. In the female category though, only Danish women participated. For the Olympic qualification this was very conveniently, since the UCI-points would all add to our account.

Rikke Kornvig sprinting away ( Photo: Jesper FK, Aarhus 1900 mtb)

The start of the race was tough, since Rikke eagerly jumped away full power. I caught her wheel and followed up her starting speed, when we hit the trails. Looking over my shoulder, I wondered just how close this race was going to be?.. Being in the lead, I gave it my best, riding as fast as my power allowed. Some men passed me, but I couldn’t follow their speed. Instead I enjoyed the course, which was superfast and at the same time pretty tecnical with lots of loose ground cornering and steep ascends and descends, – all in perfectly dry conditions!

Outbalacing oxygen deficit ( photo: Mikael Bech Knudsen)

I ended up winning with in front of Helle Bachmann and Rikke Kornvig. In the upcoming worldcup in Houffalize Rikke will also be riding So follow our adventures in Belgium..

Descending towards the lake ( Photo: Mikael Bech Knudsen)

Oakley are now supporting me with their delicious sunglasses and accessories, which I’m absolutely thrilled about!

The Oakley glasses have always belong to my favorites, since they have it all: top-quality, perfect fitting and a great look. I’m proud to present my view for the season. Besides sunglasses Oakley have provided me with bags, which make my many hours tumbling around at the airports so much easier!

Photoshoot ( photo: Andreas Gilgen)

Annika: ”How did we end up here, with the bike?”

Tatjana: “I have absolutely no idea!.. At least we’re the rockets”

Photo: Andreas Gilgen

Photo: Andreas Gilgen

Photo: Andreas Gilgen

Take a close look… at the bike

Some stretching to welcome the sun. Photo: Andreas Gilgen

The second round of the Sunshine Cup has finished. Leaving me with many impressions. For the olympic qualification this race had quite some importance, since a lot of the important UCI-points was thrown into the pot. On the points-side, I achieved the best possible result since I walked away with the overall victory

The race itself was a 3-day event: a time-trial on the first day, then a 40 km point-to-point race and finally a xco race ( the format, that we normally race in WorldCups etc.) The sum of time spend each day, would count in the final overall classification.

Pacing. Photo: Andreas Gilgen

On the timetrial it was just all-out for approximately 20 minutes. I felt good for the first half, then I felt my power really lowering and suffered myself through the last part and ended up having the third best time for the day.

In the point-to-point race a group of 5 girls including me got away at the front, mostly the girls who also rounded the top 5 at the time-trial the day before. The speed was kept high and all the sudden Tereza Hurikova found herself with a flat tire, which forced her to stop and fix her wheel. The rest of us had to find the winner among us on a 7 km steep and tecnical uphill followed by a just as long downhill, with another steep uphill before the finish. I knew, that one could benefit a lot from leading into the singletrail, but I didn’t make it to the front. Instead I settled with the rearwheel view of the two German riders Adelheid Morath and Sabine Spitz. Fortunately I found some chances to pass them both on the uphill, and rode as fast as I could, in order to have the greatest time margin for the following xco race. At the finish, I’d managed to put a gap of some minutes to the following riders, but I also knew, that to grab the overall victory, I still had to put in some work the next day.

Descending. Photo: Andreas Gilgen

The last day arose, and I was relaxed and excited at the startline. When the gun went off, I made a stellar start sitting in second position behind Tereza. On the first singletrack section Adelheid got into second position between Tereza and me. Slowly Tereza pulled away, leaving me frustrated stucked in traffic. When I was able to pass, I started the hunting for the lead. I pushed it to the limit, which resulted in me making stupid mistakes, resulting in crashes. I told myself to slow down and focus on keeping my overall victory. All the sudden, I was told, that Terezas gap was only 30 seconds (due to another flat tyre for her), and that turned out the be crucial for me. I really focused to ride as steadily as possible even though I felt fatigue setting in. Sabine attacked on a climb, but I didn’t really care about her ride. I knew, that it was safer just to keep my own rythm.

On the chase. Photo: Andreas Gilgen

So, at the end, I ended up third in the xco race and just grapped the overall victory with a minute to Tereza with Spitz in third! Goal achieved!

The weekend costed a lot of energy! I have learned a lot, fortunately! There’s still room for improvement in many ways!

Overall podium: Adelheid Morath, Tereza Hurikova, Annika Langvad, Sabine Spitz, Katrin Leumann. Phoyo: Andreas Gilgen

My teamsupport was great. My setup was with heavier tyres with more airpressure than normal. That made the bike a little heavier and riding sligthly more slippery. On the other side, I made it through with no defects and that’s where I won this weekend’s stage-race. Without flat tyres, I think Tereza would have won

A little posing for the camera (Photo: Bob Foy)

Then I’m about to pack my suitcase and move out of the pleasant warm temperatures and back to cold Denmark. I’ve had a great time based at Club La Santa, but it will be great to get some home-feeling before taking off for Cyprus, where the first races of the season will be (the Sunshine Cup).

My training here has been a combination of miles on the road and some racemiles on the mountainbike. I took part of the 4 day Stage Race at Club La Santa, for adding some fun and intensity on the bike. I had a great race and the competition was really hard this year. With Sally Bigham and Adelheid Morath there was not much chance for slowing down the pace. We ended up racing really close and was it not for me escaping early on stage 2 and 4, there woulnd’t have been much of a chance for an overall win. The extreme wind and the fact that we raced along with the men certainly was decisive.

In Denmark, I will focus on recovering and being careful not catching a cold due to the low temperatures. Actually I haven’t seen any snow this winter yet, so I look forward to that yeee!

Photo: Bob Foy

2011 is past and a new season is on it’s way. Soon I’ll be training under warmer conditions, and the first milestone will be my training camp on Lanzarote. First I’ll do some roadmiles with the national U23 roadteam, then I’ll join a friend of mine on Fuerteventura ( the neighbor island ) and finally go back to Lanzarote to spend some time on the mountainbike with a 4 day stage race. Man, looking forward to this, is almost the only thing getting my through this cold and wet danish winterweather!

And to do some follow up on my last post, I didn’t win the award. The danish Tour de France star, Lars Bak, ran away with the hearts of many danish cyclingfans for his work pulling the field through France. And that’s what counts, when the award is deciced by the public. Not many people knows, what’s going on in the mountainbikeworld. Well, well, never mind ( I can still go shopping without being recognized, and that is a peaceful life).

A funny story is, that Lars and I actually origin from the same town, Silkeborg. Back in 2004 I was working at a café, where Lars came by now and then. I actually think, he dated one of my kolleagues oh, yeah, sweet memories