29 years old and still learning!
Sometimes, when I pre-ride a race course, I like to try some lines really fast to find out what is my speed limit. My thinking is: I'd rather find out the limit in pre-ride when there are no consequences, than trying to go to fast in the race and crash out. Additionally, it sometimes gives me confidence to ride fast as it gives good feelings and makes me feel ready for the race.
In theory, this can make sense. However, this thinking might also be rooted in insecurity. And as much as that strategy has helped me in the past, it can also backfire...which is what happened at the Gavere World Cup on Dec. 26th. In short, I tried a descent really fast, lost control, went straight into the wooden pole of the barrier, and flipped over my bars.
In the moment, it didn't hurt too bad. My hamstring was hurting a bit and walking was hard, but I thought it was only because the hit was still fresh. I went on to do my warm up and was excited to race. I had a decent start and felt good, but as soon we hit the first running section, I instantly knew something was wrong. I tried to see if by warming up the pain would vanish, but it wasn't. I wasn't able to run and I felt like if I ran, I'd make things worse. Within a lap, I pulled out of the race.
David was telling me that a certain personality trait that we have can both be a strenght and hold us back at the same time. Sometimes, being fearless can be a strenght, but if you don't tame it, it can sometimes have consequences. In that particular scenario, I should have taken a minute to evaluate the demands of the race. Is this race going to be won by taking a risk on a descent? In that case, it wasn't. The course was so heavy and muddy and slow, that winning or losing a second in a descent made close to no difference. Lesson learned.
I then spent a few days on the mend, skipping some of the kerstperiod races.
We sat down with Trek Factory racer Madigan Munro to discuss her experience at the Gavere World Cup. She is a young but very mature racer and had a ton of interesting insights. You can listen to the episode my clicking the link below.
Happy new year!
I was able to ride with my injury so I didn't loose too much training, and although I had a brief period of being bummed out, I quickly switched my focus to the races in Baal and Herentals on the 1st and 3rd of January.
I had a good race in Baal at the GP Sven Nys! I was excited to be here and felt good. It was a heavy and super tough race, but physically and technically. We went for 55 minutes, which is a long race!
On the first lap, I battled for positions and was slowly making my way up into the top 6-10 after a chaotic start. Then, I crashed in a descent and lost contact with Clara and Zoe Backstedt, and got passed by a few people I had just managed to get in front of. I then passed those people again and had a god battle with Maddie Munro for a few laps. To be honest though, I don't have much else to say about the race! It was mostly a solo endeavour at that point...I couldn't see anyone in front and anyone behind, so I focused on doing each section as well as I could and push hard to create as much speed as possible.
I finished 9th, tired, but happy to be back racing and proud of my effort!
Back at it tomorrow!
Tomorrow, we go back again for another round in Herentals!
So today is all about recovering, doing an easy ride and getting our stuff ready for tomorrow.
Happy new years to all :)
Mia dog did not enjoy the Dutch tradition of going absolutely crazy with the fireworks! So she opted to stay home on New years day to catch up on her sleepy instead of coming to Baal.