Photo: Jake Orness

The World Championships are over, and so is the pacing-myself too! For three weeks I’ve been pushing on with a wornout mind and body with 2 broken ribs. The last couple of races have been like digging a hole under me deeper and deeper! Now, I’m changing strategy and pulling the plug to recover so I can start climbing towards the surface again before it’s too late

Since the WorldCup podium in Windham, where I finished third, my wheels haven’t been rolling properly. Preparations were supposed to get me ready for the World Championships and the last races of the season. Maybe things ( and results) would have gone in a different direction, if it wasn’t for a crash three weeks ago, where I smashed my ribs. Fact is, that I’ve been denying pain with painkillers, frustation and lack of selfconfidence and focus.

I hope, this episode has tought me a few things. I know, that this decline is unavoidable as an athlete ( as well as in life in general ). I don’t know, if I’m done racing this season. I know, it will take 3 – 5 weeks before the hurting ribs start fading. I prioritize my healing for the moment.

And for the World Championships – I just wasn’t able to race. After the first lap, my body was screaming – no, no, no, what are you doing?!?.. I was not riding, it felt like crawling along very stiff and cramped.

For the winner of the race, Catharine Pendrel, my deepest respect! No one deserved the rainbow jersey more. I will be joining next season

After the World Cup I went train tripping through the Alpes. 8 hours, up to 40 degrees Celcius in the train, 4 bags ( including a 35 kg bikebag) and 3 connecting shifts made the trip less relaxing than I had imagined. Sunday evening I was picked up in Martigny by my boyfriend, who had arrived in Geneva.

We have had a nice week with training, checking out the course and relaxing. The weather has been great and very hot, but this morning I was woken up by a fresh breeze to see the mountains covered in light snow. Maybe I should have brought my skies to

After racing the national Time Trial I went on the very next morning to Italy to race the Marathon World Championships. My performance at the nationals told me, that I was ready for Italy. I arrived totally exhausted though, so as soon as we got to our hotel, I went straight to bed shutting off all light, noices and electronics, only thinking about sleeping! When I woke up in the late afternoon and got the bike together, I realised, that I was in the most beautiful surroundings in North Italy bordered by the mountains and the sun setting.

Getting ready for the race was quite easy, since it mostly demanded lots of rest. Sometimes the waiting time gets long for me, so I do my best trying to switch off my head and just reload.

Sunday morning I was ready to race! We arrived at Montebelluna and I went for a quick spin to get the body going. When the gun went off, I felt confident and focused on the race. I didn’t know the track (98,3 km), but I knew, that marathons demand endurance and a well planned race. Best of all, I knew, that I was strong and that my support would be great. Things couldn’t go all that wrong!

The way I did the race, was to take it step-by-step. That meant knowing when the next feed- / tech zone would appear. My supporters, Michael Borup and Lasse Spliid, would be at every zone (6 or 7) handing me bottles and energy and ready to change a wheel if necessary. My race cockpit consisted of my Garmin computer and a simple piece of paper showing the distances between the zones. At the first feedzone it was so hectic, that I missed the bottle Michael handed me. Oh no! The very next second, he yelled at Lasse, who stood at the end of the zone, handing me a spare bottle, phew!..

The field was cut into two already on the first long climb. The first 10 or 20 kilometer was ridden pretty fast, then the pace settled down to a steady one from here. I kept in mind eating and drinking to load well. The atmosphere in a marathon race is so much different from a XCO race ( short distance, 1,5 hours), because you just can’t race as fast for more than 4 hours.

The field got smaller along the race, since the pace slowly started raising. When we reached the second last feedzone, I think we were 5 riders at the front. From here only the favorits for the podium were left. At the very last feedzone, the group was already streched well out because of the pace. After leaving the feed zone and hitting the last 15 kilometers, only Sabine Spitz and I were left at the front. I knew, that three nasty climbs were left, and just then, I decided to attack! My body awoke by the thrill and then I just worked as hard as I could. It was amazing! I tried not to think too much about, that I was actually on my was to gold. All the time, I was followed by motorcycles with cameras 20 cm from my face and the noice from the helicopter above my head was so loud, that I almost blew me away. The last 5 km to goal was almost all downhill. All the sudden I emerged from the forest and rode the last kilometers into the city of Montebelluna. The sign along the course counted down. With 500 meters to go, the road was heavily lined with people and once again I got goosebumps all over.

Crossing the finishline was unbelieveable and amazing!

There’s no way, I could have ridden the race any better or have had better support along the course, Thank you!

These rainbowstribes came so much sooner, than I ever dared dreaming about. So maybe already now, I should say, that what I really dream about, are the XCO rainbow stripes

Before the race, I didn’t  dare to say out loud, that I aimed for a podium spot. The starter’s list was a mixture of names, some of which I knew, some I didn’t. Mentally I tried to place myself between the names and saw the possibility of a great result. I have never raced a marathon in a field consisting of women only. I have only tried doing marathons in fields consisting of both men and women, and here the women’s race are totally decided by the men’s race. If you get away as the only female rider with a group of men, your chance for victory are so much bigger.

A lot about this race was totally new to me. Come to think about it, I often do very well in situations and races, that are new to me. I think, it gives me an extra dose of concentration.

107km is a pretty long time to race and my greatest concern was actually, whether I was able to keep concentration the whole time. I had no idea at all, how the race was going to form. Would people attack from the start, should I go with them, should I focus on keeping my own speed and how would my body and legs be on this exact day?

Soon I was to get the answer, as the gun went off at 9 o’clock. The speed wasn’t as high as in a normal xc race, and it soon got clear to me, that the favorits weren’t riding on their own to victory from here. I just stayed with the front and saw what happened. Due to the easy pace, I had a lot of energy thinking about the race. I caught myself thinking, that this wasn’t any harder than any normal training round in the woods. Just accompanied but a lot more girls than usual. I forced myself to let that thought go, judging, that it might not be the smartest way to assess the race.

The field consisted of a large group of riders until somewhere in the middle of the race. All the sudden Sabine Spitz had a flat tire, and while she was changing wheel with her teammate Anja Gradl, the speed was suddenly raised. Soon I realised, that a gap had formed, and now we were roughly 7 riders in the lead. The speed kept high and on the next steep climb a natural selection had cut away riders, so that now only 3 riders were forming the front group: Blaza Klemencic, Esther Süss and me. We soon agreed, that it would benefit to work together with still 40 or 30 km to go.

On a steep rooty climb Esther pulled away and I couldn’t keep her speed with 20 km to go. Blaza also had to let go and soon the group was torn apart. From here I just rode my own race, getting glimses of Esther in the front. With 10 km to go, I realized, that Sabine Spitz was coming up from behind! She soon caught up with me and stayed on my wheel for a while. With 5 km to go, she pulled away. I wasn’t able to follow her pace.

Not knowing how far behind the closest rider behind me was, I just focused on keeping as high and as steady speed as possible. I for sure started to feel, that the race had been going on for a while now. On the climbs, the first stitches of cramps started to attack my upper legs, but I knew, that I soon would reach the finish line. With 500 meters to go, I knew, that nobody would catch up with me from behind and the last 100 meters I was just cheering and it felt sooo good

Spitz, Süss and me (photo: Ralf Schäuble)

I’m so excited, that the race went out the way it did! I have learned a lot and I think it confirms my position among the elite riders in the world.

This graph shows my heart rate during the race. You can clearly see, that the real race started after two hours.

Altitude profile: (nasty climbing especially in the last part of the race)

Thanks for all the greetings, it means the world

See you and enjoy blueberries..

Min første VM-optræden rakte til en 23. plads. Jeg er nu tilbage på dansk grund med masser af gode oplevelser og erfaringer rigere. Der var rigtig mange indtryk, der skulle fordøjes i løbet af ugen samtidig med at der var et cykelløb, der skulle køres. Tilbage sidder jeg med følelsen af, at det her game vil jeg gerne have mere af og til tops indenfor!

Vi ankom mandag efter en lang rejse og brugte ugen på at ryste jetlag af og træne på ruten. Ruten var en teknisk rundstrækning på tørt sandet underlag uden rødder, men til gengæld masser af klippestykker. Ruten var designet – alle sving og sten var placeret med henblik på en xc-rute. Rutens første halvdel indeholdte nogle tekniske stenpassager med stejle op- og nedkørsler, som jeg synes var temmelig svære. Sidste halvdel bestod mest af lange nedkørsler med burms, switchbacks og hop, som også krævede god teknik at køre hurtigt. Der var kun to grusvejsopkørsler, hvor der var mulighed for overhaling. Blev man fanget bag ryttere på singletracket, var der ikke andet at gøre end at vente til grusvejen med at overhale. Derfor var det helt essentielt at komme først ind på de snævre spor. Heldigvis var de lange grusvejsstigninger lige inden lige min kop te!

SRAM's stand blev hurtigt min gode ven - altid klar til at hjælpe!

 Jeg havde startplacering 36 i det 50 personer store felt – altså ret langt tilbage. Min startplacering er alene afgjort af min placering på verdensranglisten, der igen er bestemt af, hvor mange UCI-point, jeg i løbet af det sidste år har skrabet sammen i den tyske Bundesliga, DM og Shimanoligaen.

Efter opvarmningen trillede jeg med Michael Borup (aka. den ene leder af den dynamiske-landsholdsleder-duo) op til startboksen. Det meste nervøsitet var blevet til spændt forventning! Her var alt at vinde og intet at tabe, – med mindre jeg udgik pga. en dum defekt. Jeg vidste, at en god start var altafgørende, da der ikke ville være overhalingsmuligheder, når vi først ramte singletracket. Derfor var det fuld skrue fra start, hvilket var lettere sagt end gjort i det tumult, der hurtigt opstod efter startskuddet. Op ad den lange grusvej, der udgjorde startloopet, kom der hurtigt trængsel og endda et massestyrt, der stoppede hele feltet på nær de ti forreste ryttere. Råben, masen og albuer uddeltes gavmildt – alle ville frem! Jeg fokuserede kun på mit eget løb og udnyttede de chancer, der bød sig for at komme frem. 

I feedzonen står flaskelangere og mekanikere klar!

Efter første omgang ligger jeg nr. 32, og efter 2. runde er jeg rykket frem som nr. 27. Jeg fandt en god rytme og rykkede stabilt frem til min endelige placering som nr. 23. Hver gang, jeg passerede feedzonen var der opmuntrende tilråb fra den dynamiske duo (hvoraf den anden halvdel er Kristian Skjødt). Forestil Jer to skrålende ranglede Bubbibjørne, der ivrigt hopper og ned – helt fantastisk! De andre landes hjælpere spurgte forundret, hvorfor de skældte os danske ryttere så meget ud. De forstod jo ikke, at tilråbene på det mærkelige kartoffelsprog ikke var eder og bandeord.

Ruten krævede ikke kun fysisk energi, men i særdeleshed meget energi på at holde koncentrationen. Et splitsekunds fejlvurdering kunne sætte en stopper for det hele. På opløbsstrækningen spurter jeg fra en australier, kommer i mål og er godt tilfreds med min indsats. Jeg havde måske håbet på at placere mig i top 20, men set i det store billede i forhold til mine konkurrenters erfaring er jeg sikker på, at mine store internationale resultater nok skal komme!

Efter mit løb kunne jeg sammen med Jonas Pedersen, der havde kørt to dage inden og blev nr. 27, se herrernes løb, hvor Klavs Nielsen desværre måtte udgå efter tredje omgang med en mekanisk defekt.

Hele løbet kan genses her på Freecaster.tv. Det er dybt imponerende, hvordan russiske Irina Kalentyeva kæmper sig tilbage i løbet efter en mekanisk defekt på første omgang for at hive sejren hjem foran norske Lene Byberg, der må se titlen smuldre væk med 13 sekunder!

Tilbage i Danmark skal jeg have overbevist min krop om, at den ikke skal vågne kl. 04.30, men tilbage til dagligdag kl. dansk tid.

Alt i alt var det en rigtig fed oplevelse og jeg glæder mig til at komme ud og bide skeer med de store i udlandet igen!

I kraft af gode mine gode resultater i sæsonen er det lykkedes at få billet fra Dansk Cykel Union til VM i Australien i starten af september ´09. Sammen med to andre danske ryttere, Klaus Nielsen og Jonas Pedersen, skal de rød/hvide farver forsvares!

Havde man for bare et år siden fortalt mig, at jeg ville komme til at køre både EM og VM i år, havde jeg nok ikke troet på dem. Ikke desto mindre er det nu blevet virkelighed!!

Det er svært at beskrive, hvordan det føles at befinde sig på en kurve, der bare fortsætter op, op, op.. Det er ikke noget, der ikke er set før, men derfor er det stadig lidt surrealistisk at stå midt i det og ubeskriveligt fedt! Samtidig er det også fedt at mærke den opbakning og interesse, der er i det danske mtb-miljø, når nogle danske farisærer drager udenlands med cyklen under armen.

Lige nu er det en uge siden DM og jeg har kun været på cyklen et par gange. Planen er at få kræfterne tilbage i kroppen og ikke mindst i psyken. Om et par dage tager jeg på ferie i Sydspanien med en veninde for at surfe. Det glæder jeg mig helt vildt til. Hvis ikke jeg skulle være mtb-rytter, er jeg sikker på, at jeg ville kunne gøre det godt med saltvandshår, laid-back attitude og voks på brættet (mon surfer-fyre også barberer ben??)

Efter Spanien glæder jeg mig til at komme op på cyklen og køre alt i stilling til VM.

Jeg har fundet en video fra Canberra, der viser lidt af den stemning og det terræn, der venter.