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| The view from our window - well when it isnt raining |
Katie’s Race 3rd U23
Today was much better! Ok still not perfect but this is why I am here, to learn and gain the experience to race at a top level by the time worlds rolls round. Form is there, well the best form I have had in my life and to think this is only the start with mainly just endurance training under our belts and the last week of racing. The race start was terrible, my gears skipped and I nursed them back on only to find myself dead last hanging on the back! Not at all enjoyable :(. I had to wait to the climb to redeem this awful start and tried my hardest to snag onto the back of a group just making it on to one Samara Sheppard fellow NZer was charging on the front of. I locked into the single track and was pretty loose and getting more trouble from my gears. Costing me heaps of places. The next 6 laps I worked my way through getting a person every now which was great but still was getting more enjoyable times from the gears. On the final pinch on the last lap I had the joy of this again and was passed by another U23 rider and try as I might I couldn’t get back past before the finish and finished 11th, and 3rd U23 1 spot out of the money. So as I said not perfect but getting there!
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| womens U23 podium 2 kiwis up there :) |
After my race the Bergamont Swiss team manager came to congratulate me proceeding to say if we need any help to come and see them, if I hadn’t needed to dart off to the feed zone for Sam and Carl I would have had my bike straight there to get the love it is needing but will have plenty of time this week to sort it and it is just great to know that they will be there to help us out!
It’s not only the racing which is great here the whole atmosphere is and we can focus everything into training and getting in some great sessions. Only problem is currently I am having problems with my favourite tooth, the one from 2009 Worlds it is not pleasant my guess is its infected a bit but maybe the infection has spread to the gum which is causing incredible pain in my mouth. I have been trying to escape it from the past 2 days and turns out only now after the race Carl decided to mention he had bonjela! Yus a bit of relief! Hope it can get better on its own as well do not feel like a trip to the dentist!!! Also with all this time on my hands I managed to do a pretty good assignment and finish one of my level 7 papers A+ :) I could handle more of this action! Train study and race...
Katie
Carls Race - 11th elite men
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| Carl rolling to the start at call up |
Best start ever, into the 1st climb was going good inside the top 10 then some chump saw me going around him and swerved and took me out, I didn’t go down but ran a few meters with my back wheel well over my head thinking I was about to eat it. Once I got going again I had lost my good start and I was going all animal trying to get back around everyone, passing a good 20 riders by 100 meters from the top then had a good 5 go back around me into the 1st down as I had blown my ass already.
A few laps of recovery and really taking it easy on my front 1.8 mud tire that I smoked into a rock and didn’t really like the feel of how much air was left in it... turned out the track had dried out lots and I was just slogging a mud tire around with me but it was still go in some spots.
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| Only snap I managed in the race on his last lap - nearly home to 11th |
Every lap up the hill (it was a 136 vert meter climb maybe a Km long) I was making a lot of ground on a group of 7 riders soon as I got on the back they attacked and it split again 3 going off the front with Ozy Paul Van Da Plog pushing that group along nicely, Coming onto the last lap I was boosting and I was in 14th but I wasn’t done just yet hitting the climb in the big ring with Pascal Shmitz ( A swiss guy that was in Nelson this year, and we are staying with him the week) I don’t remember if I sat down the hole way up, catching and passing 1 rider at a time... I couldn’t even see any on the other guys so I was kinda settling for 13th but chewing on my stem with my boost on, I past a few more guys. Finishing up in 11th place, picking up some coin and some UCI Points. Supper stoked with that, kind of a few dumb ass decisions along the way but shit happens when you are racing
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| This is carl with his prize money - note to every one Carl thinks female bikers do not know how to wear there bike clothing properly and points out any female with and arm warmer down, helmet on a lean short leg flick up (thats me!) and anything but here is proof that CARL JONES has a lil curl out the front of his helmet not so tidy now!!! :) |
:) Carl
the link below takes you to the results in English :)
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| the boys relaxing after the race |
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