25 hours of travel later I met up with the rest of the US U23 and Elites at the Frankfurt airport and we drove the five hours to the small town of Albstadt, Germany. Two years prior I raced Albstadt as a Junior and I was excited to be back for my first World Cup as a U23. Thursday we met the course with rain showers throughout the day. The infamously brutal track started with straight up climbs, slick in the rain, followed by technical descents with rocks and roots, everything bathed in a good layer of gooey, slippery mud. After a couple days on track, the course was changing daily and nobody quite knew what to expect come Sunday’s race. We woke early Sunday morning for our 9am start. The time flew by. Breakfast, kit up, jump on the rollers. It was a chilly morning with clouds in the sky and ominous rain teasing. After a solid warm up I found myself in the start box, surrounded by 70 other women. …37…38… I was called up to the line fifth row. The heartbeat pounded through the loudspeaker…15 seconds…the gun blew and we were off. I started smooth. Found my legs immediately and was moving up on the start loop, past riders running up the slippery climbs and masses of tangled bikes. My eyes were up and I was making progress. Going into the first lap I was feeling strong and catching riders on the climb. Into the second descent I slid out after the drop and hit the ground pretty hard, knocking the wind out of me. I gathered myself, found my bike, and ran up the next climb. Straightening out my bike I brushed the crash off. The rest of the lap I refocused, skiing down the muddy descents and fighting up the climbs. On the final descent a rider behind crashed, ramming her bike into my derailleur. It wasn't until I was up the first climb of the second lap that my chain jammed and I spent painful seconds untwisting it as I watched groups of riders I’d just past, pass me back. That was a little bit how the rest of the race went, spending seconds untangling my chain and slipping and sliding through the slick forest. Rain started to fall and I dug deep trying to refocus and keep fighting. Starting to get the hang of my broken bike and the changing conditions on course I skied down the final descent. With one lap to go I was pulled. I was frustrated to not have been able to make progress and leave feeling like I had so much more to give. But reflecting on that day, I’m proud to have fought my fight and never have given up. I’m relieved to have my first World Cup start under my belt and more hungry than ever for another battle this weekend in Nove Mesto.
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AuthorSavilia Blunk, 20 | XCO MTB racer for Liv Racing Archives
March 2020
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