After the Val Di Sole World Cup, we made our way to Milan, Italy to board a plane for Barcelona. After a long travel day and a couple days in Andorra to train and reset before the circus of World Cup racing began, I got out on some beautiful rides over famous mountain passes and Andorran towns. I was excited to get on yet another new course for me, and discovered the track rooty, rocky, steep, and slippery from the evening rains. I was in love by the first lap, with climbs as steep as you’ve ever seen and long natural rocky and rooty descents. Again, U23 women raced at 8:30am Sunday morning. Despite the week day rain, the weekend turned out to be hot and sunny and the course dried out completely, leaving Sunday’s forecast to be hot and dusty! Luckily an 8:30 am start meant cooler temperatures, but I still found myself in the start box wishing for my ice vest as the morning sun began to beat down on us. I rolled up to the start happy, grateful, and excited to be there. I was called up to the line 19th in third row, my farthest WC call up yet. The start was straight and slightly uphill followed by an almost immediate 90 degree turn up the first steep climb. All of a sudden we had 1 minute till our start, then 30 seconds, 15…and the gun fired. I found my pedal, eyes focused, smooth, doing my best to avoid wheels and bars as the circus unraveled. The tape turned and our field was bunched up all across the track making it hard for me to move up. I fought my way to the top where it turned into a fun flowy dual slalom section. We were painfully slow down that as traffic backed up and every rider made their way down in single file. Up the next climb I dug deep pushing myself to the front of the slow group I was with and wanting to be first into the long technical descent that was just ahead. I also was fully aware we were racing at 6000 feet, and pacing was crucial. I worked to find the balance between pushing to where I wanted to be and not going too deep. But again I found myself behind a group of riders as we crested the climb and, crosseyed from the effort, I found myself at the back of the group. The descent was long with barely any passing places. I was frustrated as again we crept down the trail at a snails pace. Finally, the course turned and opened up onto one of the steepest and longest climbs. I pushed hard, happy to feel my legs burning with the good feeling and able to make passes. After the first lap I was riding with two others, and knew the top ten was in a large group close in front of us. I wanted to bridge to that group but knew I was already pushing hard and didn’t want to dig myself into a hole I couldn't recover from at that altitude. Lap after lap I was feeling the intensity of the altitude, but the feeling was familiar as I remembered training high intensity at altitude in Durango. That group in front of us slowly spread out and I battled back and forth with 16th for most of the race with riders close in front and close behind. 18th, 19th, then 17th, I forced myself not to care, knowing the race was far from over and my position didn't matter.
With two laps to go I held nothing back, battling relentlessly on each climb and staying razor focused on the descents. Every second mattered. A small gap grew with the rider I was with on the climb, which I closed on the descent, but then she opened it back up on the next climb. For the rest of that lap it was just about staying smooth and squeezing every last drop of energy I had left in me. I finished in 17th, really really happy to have felt more like myself, put down a fight, and checked off all my goals. World Cup racing is a different animal, and every race is a different kind of battle. I’ve gained a lot of really good experience this trip and am just grateful to have had this opportunity and hungry for more.
5 Comments
Just over a month after getting off a plane from the Czech Republic I found myself back at the airport, waiting for a flight to Munich for the 4th and 5th rounds of World Cups. Arriving in Val Di Sole, Italy on Tuesday night, I felt relaxed and immediately found myself settling into my own routines. With just a small group of XC riders with the US, it was low key and relaxed, making rest and focus easier. I was excited to get on course, a new country, and a new track. The course was made of long steep climbs followed by short sweet natural descents and some man made rock gardens. After a couple days of scoping lines I felt recovered and more than ready to get on the start line after weeks of preparation and anticipation. The U23 women started bright and early at 8:30 am on Sunday morning. My alarm sounded at 5:30am and very soon after I found myself on the start line, called to the line 30th in the fourth row. The gun went off and I found my pedal, fighting forward as the chaos unraveled. The start loop was hectic as it spread out on a flat fire road for the first minute before making a sharp right hand turn straight up. I rode my way up on the right side as far as I could before dismounting and running with the rest of the field. I bridged up to a group of riders and was finding flow on my lines and pushing on the climbs. We were racing four laps, ending up to be much shorter than usual. As the race unraveled I found myself more or less staying in the same place, feeling strong, but lacking the extra kick for a late race surge. I battled back and fourth with a group for most of the race, riding steady but not quite having the legs to fight where I wanted to. World Cup races are unlike any other, and I was happy to have a smooth race, crossing the line in 25th, with another WC start under my belt, and building on my experience. With the first race down, and some time to refocus and settle into my normal pace over here, I’m feeling ready for another exciting fight this weekend in Vallnord, Andorra.
After a hard weekend in Albstadt, I think we were all biting at the bit for some redemption in Nove Mesto. The travel legs were gone and I was settling into the rhythm in the Czech Republic. The sun was out all week and excitement for the weekend was building. Course recon and spins across the rolling hills and dark dense Czech forests filled the days leading up to the race. The course started in a stadium on fast pavement and quickly wound its way into the trees, ascending up unforgiving climbs and descents with sprawling roots and rocks covering dry loam. Saturday morning: short spin through the flowers with Kelsey. 12:45 Saturday: Kelsey and I roll over to the venue, meeting the edge of the woods with the buzzing sounds of the loudspeaker and 30,000 spectators making their way into the stands. The air is humid and hot but big clouds hang above us teasing for rain. No rain. Warm up. Kelsey and I move to the start boxes. The buzzing of the rollers is drowned out and I focus. The stadium is now full of spectators and Czech flags. I’ve never seen half as many spectators at a bike race before. Rolling up to the line fifth row, I tried to get comfortable cramped between riders, bars and wheels centimeters apart from everyone else. 30 seconds…15 seconds… the heart beat pounds through the loud speaker and all I felt was ready and excited. For anyone who’s never been on the start line of a World Cup, it’s probably one of the coolest things ever. 15 seconds… everyone pushes forward and we’re now in a tight clump of bikes. The gun sounds and I find my pedal and fight forward avoiding a crash on the tarmac. We were racing 5 laps plus a start loop, so pretty much 6 laps as the start loop was 3/4 the length of a lap. I find myself far back, in a cloud of dust as the chaos unravels and riders sprint up every possible line trying to move forward.
I felt good and refocused going into the first lap. Stayed smooth, clean, and kept moving up. Every lap was smoother and the heat was becoming more intense. I focused. Stuck to my lines on the descents and moved up as much as possible on the climbs. After a messy race in Albstadt I wanted more than anything to have a clean race and leave absolutely everything I had out there. Lap after lap the heat got more intense and the course was beginning to take a toll. Going into the fourth lap I made an attack into the top twenty and pulled in a group of riders in front of me. With one lap to go I start to feel my legs cramp and did everything I could to make the feeling subside. I crossed the line in 18th, completely empty, and proud. |
AuthorSavilia Blunk, 20 | XCO MTB racer for Liv Racing Archives
March 2020
Categories |