.. in so little time!
Welcome to Austrian Mountain climbing
Since my last post, I’ve had a pretty tight scedule. First I had an exam at my study, from which I went straight to the airport to get to the World Cup in Val di Sole. Straight from Val di Sole back to Denmark, where I spent the 3 days I had before the Time Trial Danish Championship searching for a car with great help from my father. Then Time Trial Championship and off to Berne the next morning for European Championship. Well, I’ll stop here, otherwise you’ll get just as exhausted as I was at this point.
The short version is, that I ended up catching a cold around the day of Time Trial Championship, which forced me to not race the European Championship. Instead I focused on recovering for the Marathon World Championship the next weekend. To this very mixed up party was then added the fact that my luggage never showed up on arrival in Berne, so there I stood, pretty cold and pretty dressed off! ( Literally spoken..)
A lot of good things also happened during this time:
Inspecting the Motor
If you wonder what to look for when buying a Seat Altea, I’m the one to ask!.. Now Thomas and I are able to get around a whole lot easier thanks to this machine.
Podium Time Trial
Despite not feeling on top, I was able to win the Danish Championship of Time Trial for the third time.
Regensberg Zürich
.. and I got to relax a little in Zürich before the Marathon World Championship.
At the Marathon World Championship in Kirchberg, Austria, I had the best setup with the Specialized Racing Team. The team made sure, that my bike was working perfectly and one of the soigneurs, Christine, helped me with some acupuncture sessions, to get me in the best conditions for the race.
The race itself was extremely tough with the most altitude meters I’ve ever ridden in a marathon race. The course pretty much consisted of three mountain climbs, spicing the 85km up with 3700 vertical meters. Already on the first climb, Gunn-Rita (eventually winner) set the pace with Blaza on her wheel with a little gap to me in third place. I soon felt, that I had to set my own pace, in order to get the most out of my body on the day. The field was immediately strung out, since everybody rode with what they had on the climb. I continued to just keep pushing the best I could and keeping my mind clear. The last section towards the finishline was a 20 minutes long tecnical and muddy descent. Just before entering this section, I was encouraged by the team staff, that 4th place was not far away in front of me. So, I gave it all on the descent, overtaking Blaza and finally crossing the finishline in 4th place. I am very pleased with the result, since I felt far away from my best.
Now, I’m back in Denmark. This time not straight on to packing my suitcase again. It’s time to relax a little before the last half of the season, which will kick off with the World Cup in Andorra.
Lent jersey, number earned last year
Bike before bedtime
Impressions from the course in Kirchberg
Impressions from the course in Kirchberg
