
Winning the first round of the 2016 World Cup in Cairns
Hello Dear Readers, thanks for dropping by.
I’m finally starting to see straight again after moving my post-race corpus + luggage from one side of the Globe to the other. But the super draining travel was well worth the World Cup win, that I carried with me home. In fact, I wouldn’t mind travelling three times around the Globe in exchange for the experience of winning a World Cup.
To take the win in Cairns and with that also my second World Cup victory was absolutely amazing. Actually, I felt really awful all week and never expected a race like the one I delivered. The contrast between how I felt all week and how I felt on race day is probably one of the biggest contrasts I’ve ever experienced. Or at least that my (admittedly) short term memory lets me remember. I didn’t feel well the week in Cairns. The jetlag and the humid heat drained me a lot and left me with only little energy to tackle my own pressure of wanting to perform. I struggled to relax, since my mind was constantly dealing with the upcoming race and at times I was doubting how on earth I would even get through the race. In fact, I was wearing myself up from those thoughts.
There was a few sections on the race course, where I didn’t feel comfortable and I spend a lot of energy on worrying about those spots. I managed to crash on some rocks in training, mostly because the nerves made my body all stiff and I would go way too hard on the brakes. Not the ideal way to ride. Despite that, I found a way to get around on the course. The conflict within me would be, that I had an idea about how people expected me to ride to course and if I didn’t ride the course in exactly that way, I would be nothing but a failure. I didn’t believe, that what I already possessed was good enough. I would focus too much on my weaknesses and not give my strengths any credit. As the perfectionist, that I am, I would always seek to improve in all areas.
After a conversation with my boyfriend the day before the race, it got very clear to me, that I was worrying way too much about what I thought other people thought about me. After a week of being drained by that, I saw no other way than to tell myself, that I once and for all needed to get out of that mindset. I’m still surprised about how efficient I managed to swap to another mindset and instead saying; “now I ride this course my way and I don’t give a f*** about what people say”. I guess, it was just very liberating to get rid of the mental burden. In the training the day before the race, I could finally ride free and found a great feeling on the course. I finally gained some self confidence and the rush from that I took with me all the way to sunday’s race. The devastating nerves turned into pure excitement.
The rest is history.
I played my cards well, big time. I rode feeling calm, free, focused and strong. Exactly what you need to take a World Cup victory. I am super motivated to take that feeling with me to the upcoming races. I am aware that it’s not always an easy task, but the greater the challenge the bigger the reward.
Congrats Annika!!!
May I ask why you have changed for GREEN Esi grips?? For any particular reason or just to be different?
Anway: KEEP RIDING LIKE YOU DO! You’re an inspiration!
My mechanic Jumanji put them on. He says green is the colour of hope 😉
True!!! 🙂
Congrats for the victory in Abstadt!
Your story is a powerful one. Thank you for sharing the struggle. Your efforts in the mind and on the course are inspirational!