After my short break, the European Championships in Chies d' Alpago/I will be my first race. I arrive with mixed feelings. The last trainings went very well and my body and I seem to be fit. Nevertheless, after all the bad luck and problems in the first half of the season, I lack any self-confidence. I try to look forward to the race and the time with the national team. I'm fine with the track. A mountain route with some steep climbs. I finish 9th! I'm satisfied because I feel that I'm on the right track to build on my performance.
Now there is no more time. The two overseas World Cups in Canada and the USA are already on the agenda for the coming weekends.
For me, the journey begins on Tuesday from home to Paris. The team headquarters is only a few kilometers away from CDG Airport. I will stay one night there before our flight to Quebec on Wednesday! Our staff has already packed the material and our bikes in advance and is already flying to Montreal on Tuesday to prepare everything for us riders!
After all the hardships of the journey from the European Championships from Chies d'Alpago/Belluno via Freiburg to Paris, the journey seems very long to me. Our flight departs at 11:30am. With a time difference of -6 hours, we land in Quebec at around 13 p.m. Passport control. Baggage pick-up. Two of our mechanics are already waiting for us and take us to the accommodation with the rental cars. The journey takes another 1,5 hours! Finally arrived at our apartments. We're all pretty wrecked. It's already evening in Europe and we all feel the need to go to bed now. Of course, that wouldn't be a good way to get into the rhythm. Due to the short-term arrival there is no time for a reasonable adjustment! The body has to get used to the time zone and the climate as quickly as possible. We'll have a bite to eat and I'll walk to the track with my teammates. Just to get an impression of the very demanding and technical course, to get some exercise and to stay awake!
Afterwards we get a massage from our two physios. This promotes regeneration and elimination of toxins from the muscles. Dinner. I'm so tired I'm not hungry! It's also night in our time zone! We stay up until 21:30pm. After that I fall like a stone into my bed. I get up at 7:30 am and feel surprisingly good. Breakfast and then it's off to the first route training on my BH-Bike Ultimate. It's Thursday and my main training day for the upcoming competition. I'm a bit nervous about how I'll handle the track and how my body will react. My legs feel great and I can handle the track very well. Strength and concentration are there. I get a good flow and really enjoy my bike. I can also cope with the heat and high humidity. Wow what a good workout. After 3 hours I am back at our accommodation. shower and food. Massage. In the evening we cook together. Altogether we are 6 drivers, 3 mechanics, 2 physios and our two team bosses. It's not exactly easy to cook for 14 people and so it will be a challenge every time!
I don't sleep well the next night. Hello jet lag!!! I haven't felt particularly good all Friday. It's my recovery day with a short ride on the road. I can't really enjoy the day. The excitement for the upcoming World Cup is there. I'm here to have a good race!
Saturday morning. Today is the preload day. After the rain showers on Friday, the track with its many steep stone sections has become very slippery. Still, I'm fine with it. After a starting lap & a regular lap with a "cooldown" on the road, I'm done with the training after 1,5 hours. I am "Race Ready"! Final bike check by the mechanics. When it comes to tyres, I use our new Michelin prototypes.
Short lunch. I try to relax with good music. The tension and anticipation of the race are there. Good feeling! I realize that I'm on the right track to get my performance back! Short massage. Dinner. Sleep.
sunday morning "Raceday" and my birthday. With start number 30, I'm in the starting box after the warm-up phase. The "callup" will start in a few minutes. The tension is huge at the starting line! It's nervous and hectic. Elbow to elbow waiting for the starting gun. Then this one falls. “Race is on”!!! On the tarred road in the first climb I try to make up positions, because with the 30 I don't have a good starting position! As always, the battles for positions are very aggressive! A fall in front of me, I can just dodge it. I try to close the gap to the front as soon as possible! That costs energy. The first climb on the regular lap is so steep and narrow that only about the first 15 riders can handle it on their bikes. Behind traffic jam and running! That takes time! Damn! I stay calm and focused. I feel my body is strong! During the race I make up one place after the other. Unfortunately, the small handicap that my left pedal doesn't really fix creeps in. That's not entirely without risk on this very technical track. In some places I have to jump off the bike for a moment. I finish 13th happily. One of our two physios welcomes me there. Short refreshment and then we go to the team tent. Freshen up.
Move. Short exit. I know that today there would have been more. But I don't want to think about the handicap, instead I want to keep the good feeling. I'm just relieved to feel like I'm back in the running! With 9th place at the European Championships and today's result, I have achieved the B standard for the Olympic qualification. I'm already looking forward to the upcoming World Cup in Windham / USA. My goal is to be back in the top 5-10 in the World Cup!
In the evening, my team surprises me with a small birthday party. I'm really happy about it and enjoying the evening. I fall asleep tired and happy. Tomorrow we begin our onward journey to Windham. The trip is planned in two stages. On Monday morning we go on the bike for an hour to free our legs. Then we pack up and the journey begins. In Quebec we make a short stop for lunch. Then off to Montreal for an overnight stay. The journey takes longer than planned. We arrive in the evening and go straight to dinner with a short walk. Sleep. And then it's off to Windham the next day. From Montreal it is just less than 1 hour to the Canada-USA border. The controls are very strict there. After the first passport control we have to leave our rental cars. These are checked with sniffer dogs and we go into the main building.
Fingerprint, photo, stamp in the passport..! After about 45 minutes we're done. That was amazingly quick! Depending on that, you have to calculate 1-2 hours for this entry check. YES we are in the US. The journey continues on the endless highways through the green nature of the USA. We see countless trucks and I enjoy the ride. time for regeneration.
In the afternoon we reach Windham. Our team rented an entire house. Windham Chalet. 100m from the start line - perfect location. I really like not staying in a hotel. We cook and live together, which creates a good team atmosphere and it's just more familiar! Today is no training for me. Tired from the two days of travel, I gather my energy for tomorrow's training on the track. I'm already looking forward to it. This night I sleep badly, again another bed and another environment! Doesn't matter.
Breakfast and then it's off to the first distance training session. I like the course very much. A long climb with some very unrhythmic sections. The downhill is very fast. Dry, loose ground over stone passages, roots and meadow passages. Everything very rough! An exhausting and physically very hard course. I am happy. Thanks to the results at the European Championships and the last World Cup in Mont Sainte Anne, I have regained my lost self-confidence. I know that I can be among the best on the mountain if everything goes the right way! I do 5 laps. I leave the track with a good feeling and stretch my legs on the road. Today I was on the track with my BH Ultimate Bike and the new Michelin Prototype 2.1 tires. The tire is perfect for this track and my choice for the race has already been made. Due to the very rough surface, it is important to have a good tire volume in order to be able to drive with less air pressure. All the more important with a hardtail. The prototype has very good rolling resistance and side profile. I'll need that on the loose ground in the corners! After training, I pass my feedback on to our mechanics.
After that we'll go to the coffee shop together here in Windham. Bikers and staff from other teams can be found there around the clock! No relaxation for me. Our two physios start the treatment at 15 p.m. Since we are 6 riders, each physio has 3 riders per day. I enjoy the massage. Just very professional to get a daily treatment. In the afternoon I relax with good music. The tension for the upcoming World Cup is already there. I've set myself the goal of the top 8. Again, I'm not having a very good night. Another track training today including a fast lap! My legs feel very good. I'm ready for the race! The rest of the day is pretty much the same as the day before. Friday is my rest day. An hour on the road to relax your legs. The physio from the national team accompanies me. Relax. coffee time relax.
Saturday Pre-Race Day. Today it's all about preparing the body for tomorrow's race. I take a close look at the start loop and then I go on the regular lap. I've done enough laps on the course the past few days and I feel "ready to race"! I'm excited for tomorrow's race! The last bike check by the mechanics and the last treatment by the physios! Now it's time for me to go to the starting line! I listen to music almost all afternoon.
RACE DAY! Breakfast, as usual, is oatmeal with banana, green tea, and coffee! At 10:15 a.m. my warm-up phase begins. An hour before the start. I feel good and full of anticipation! At 11 a.m. we are called to the start box. The callup can begin. With starting number 29, I still don't have a starting position. Doesn't matter! The last few seconds until the starting gun we stand tightly packed, elbow to elbow! My body trembles with excitement. 1 start loop & 6 laps! Then the starting gun is fired. I clicked into my pedal quickly, but was held up a bit by the front riders in my rather rear position. Then the gap. I'm going full throttle. I'm making up one position after the other and I'm quickly among the top 15. The dust means you have very little visibility. After the start loop I start the first regular lap in position 12. Good. Right at the start I made up more positions on the mountain. An unbelievably high tempo is struck. Race is on!
I'm trying to find my rhythm and place myself at position 7/6! Some riders start to have problems with the very high speed. I increase my pace and suddenly we're together at the highest point of the course from places 2-6! Now each of us is at the limit. what a fight I'm in the running. Lose a little in the descents. But I have enormous pressure on my KMC chain on the mountain! 12 seconds in 2nd place. View of the competition ahead. I fight, try my best. Last lap, the bell rings! Position 6 and a few seconds to position 5! I want the podium. I attack without hesitation and give it ALL. Meter by meter I'm making up time and fighting for this podium position. At the limit we go downhill. I concentrate as best I can on the line, in the intermediate passages I give as much pressure as I can and what my body has left. Then the last little uphill to the finish. I can't believe it: YEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSS Podium!
Goose flesh. Exhaustion. feelings of happiness. Tears. I'm done. Lay down on the floor and just enjoy the moment! After all the bad luck & problems at the beginning of the season, I'm on cloud nine! I need some time to get my emotional chaos under control. One of our two physios is by my side. I can finally get up. I hug him and I still can't believe it. I have to go straight to the podium tent. There we have a few minutes to freshen up, change clothes and do some cleaning before we are called onto the podium. I enjoy every second of these moments. I stand on the podium with goosebumps. What a race! Maybe I'm the happiest driver today! Thanks to my amazing team BH-Sr Suntour-KMC, my coach Robert Pintaric and to EVERYONE who believes in me and has my back! Thanks to the results of the European Championships and the World Cup in MSA, I have fulfilled the B standard for the Olympic qualification for Germany and with my 7th place today, the A standard and at the same time the best result so far for the women's qualification!
I wish so much to play my third games in Rio and I will fight for that.
Monday morning. The vehicles are packed. We make our way to Montreal to the airport. Flight to Paris. Drive home Fribourg. HOME!
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