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.
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AuthorSavilia Blunk, 20 | XCO MTB racer for Liv Racing Archives
March 2020
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