As I am preparing for Xterra World Champs my coach told me to race at the Dirndltalrace. There were 2 different Events, the Small and the Classic. We decided to race the Small Event with 21km and 900hm and add a brick-session run afterwards. Both Small and Classic course started the race at 12:30, the only difference was, that the Classic had to do 2 loops of the Small course. There were many riders on the startline and the pace was very high from the beginning.
I was not sure who was going for the longer race and who raced the small one. So I stayed with the front group, we could work together pretty well. We were 4 riders working together trying to catch the leader who put a decent gap on all of us on the first long climb.
The weather conditions were better than expected, but it had still only 10 degrees outside, I had to race with a wind breaker vest. The trails were a bit wet and the grass was slippery, patience was important as there were a few very tight corners on the course.
I got into a nice racing rhythm and could focus on myself perfectly. I played my downhill skills well and managed to always put a little "comfy-gap" in between us, so the uphills were not too stressful.
As we came back to the finish area there was one last climb with about 200hm, I pushed from 5th place to 2nd until the last downhill. I crossed the finish line in 2nd, but what I didn't realize was that the one in front of me went for the 2nd loop. After an hour and 3 minutes in the saddle I won the Small course and went for my brick-run session. 20' race pace to finish the day. What a cool experience.
Also my teammates from Nora Racing Team had a good day and we could take a couple of medals back home.
Fotos: Martin Bihounek