Going Swiss
After World Champs in South Africa I got to spend another 2
days with team Canada taking in all-you-can-eat Sushi on the Indian Ocean in
Durban, riding through Sugar cane fields and monkey havens with Maghs, David
and Dan and of course the Tiger-Tiger Worlds after party.
Sushi sandwich
From there it was on to another adventure in Solothurn,
Switzerland. When I first raced World
Cups in 2007, Sandra Walter and I stayed with her aunt and uncle in Bern for
several weeks, loading up their Golf every weekend to head to the races. There I also met the Schneitter’s. Nathalie was one of Sandra’s teammates and
her family welcomed myself and other visiting Canadians into their home. They became my #1 cheering squad in Europe.
Below Sepp, Prisca, nathalie and Sonya
Sushi sandwich
So it was back to my roots for a week with Nathalie and her
family, speaking a mixture of English, French and hand gestures. The weather was fantastic, great for rivers
swims in the Aare, good rides and beautiful views of the Alps. The Schneitter’s gave me a home away from
home to make my 1month on the road fly by.
After a week of sun and 30 degrees some donner and blitz (my
sparse Swiss German) lit up the sky and the rain started falling just in time
for the Swiss cup Sunday. The organizers
put on a great event in Langendorf, only a 10 minute pedal from Nathalie’s
house. Rooty singletrack and fast roads
to climb made it a fun and challenging course.
3 of the top 15 women from Worlds were able to make the race
and I had a chance to redeem myself from the weekend before and more
importantly prove to myself that Worlds was a bad day, not a representation of
my current form.
I had planned/hoped to stay in the group of Ester Suss, Kathrin
Stirneman and Nathalie for a couple laps and practice my group riding
skills….but then I thought “attacking and leading would be more fun” so I tried
that instead. I felt great and opened a
gap, which Ester Suss was able to close.
For the rest of the race we rode together. She wanted to lead and I was content to gain
confidence sitting on and ensuring I was there until the end of the race.
Following has its advantages and disadvantages. I got a draft, but was not able to make use
of my faster singletrack speed. This was
the perfect race for me to gain confidence and try following rather than
leading so I stuck to that plan. On lap
4 of 6 I made a mistake on a climb and Ester got away, but I was NOT going to
give up. I chased her down and was
surprised at how quickly I could bring her in on a climb when I stood up and
hammered…she had just climbed her way to a 3rd place at Worlds. We did another lap together and then I tried
to use my climbing speed to get away on the final lap. I was initially successful, but soon she
was back on my wheel and able to sprint around me to lead the woods…exactly
what I needed to do in order to get an advantage. I chased her to the finish, but again made a
mistake on a rooty climb and was not able to make up the lost time before the
finish line.
I was happy to claim second in a strong field with Kathrin
finishing 3rd and Nathalie fourth.
With a fun and confidence inspiring race behind me and a relaxing week
with friends I was ready for World Cup finals.
Thanks Prisca, Eddy and Nathalie!!!!
Taking the tram up for a fun "recovery ride" down
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