Annika Langvad

Photo: www.marginmedia.dk

Yesterday a journalist asked me, what the best part about being a mountainbiker was. I didn’t hesitate to answer: “my everyday”. Right now I enjoy my time in Copenhagen training with the guys, combined with local races. This is pure reloading towards next year. It reminds me, what made me mountainbike in the first place.

The preparations this winter will pretty much be the same as last winter, going to La Santa, Lanzarote in january. For the moment the conditions for training outside in Denmark are just perfect, so there’s no place I’d rather be, than here

The World Cup in Val di Sole rounded up the Series with a tough race!

The second part of my season ( since the World Cup in USA in the middle of July ) has been quite challenging. I haven’t felt as fresh or strong as in the first part of the season. If I step back a little, it all makes sense; from march to july is quite a long time being on top all the races.

Well, the World Cup in Val di Sole could have been a good race, but I’m not happy with the way it went. From the beginning I managed to get along near the front. Then in the second lap my seatclamp suddenly broke and the saddle started spinning around. Luckely I wasn’t far away from the techzone, so it wouldn’t cost me that much time. After the repair, it felt like the entire field of riders had overtaken me, and I really had to start from scratch working my way back. I think it was most mentally, but I was just completely empty and had no energy at all. I only got through, thinking that a finishresult was better than a DNF ( Did Not Finish).

Do you believe that!? Only second participation in the Marathon World Championships and already I’ve achieved the best possible result – winning! The stepup was so fast, last year bronze, this year gold. Great results come from great stories..

After racing the national Time Trial I went on the very next morning to Italy to race the Marathon World Championships. My performance at the nationals told me, that I was ready for Italy. I arrived totally exhausted though, so as soon as we got to our hotel, I went straight to bed shutting off all light, noices and electronics, only thinking about sleeping! When I woke up in the late afternoon and got the bike together, I realised, that I was in the most beautiful surroundings in North Italy bordered by the mountains and the sun setting.

Getting ready for the race was quite easy, since it mostly demanded lots of rest. Sometimes the waiting time gets long for me, so I do my best trying to switch off my head and just reload.

A historic moment! For the first time (in my time as a mountainbiker) there was a UCI class 1 race held in Denmark! The place was the most flat part of the country, but the trails were the sweetest ever seen on Danish ground

Curvy, manbuild trails demanded for absolute full concentration for 1,5 hours, which made the race pretty hard. I would even dare to say, that most World Cup courses are easier, because they have sections, where you are allowed to rest mentally for a while and just let the legs do their work.

In Varde, there were no such sections! That made the race pretty hard for me, since I’m the kind of rider, who loves some nasty climbing, where I can make a difference.

Apfoss liga is the Danish National Liga, first round in the city of Smiles, Aarhus  ;o)

I really enjoy racing in Jutland, since I almost always combine it with some family visiting. This weekend I relaxed in Silkeborg, loading lots of sun, nice trails and new energy.

That was a tight fight! I took second place at the first round of the Bundesliga today. I’m happy about the result, knowing I was strong enough to take victory. Good start of the season though.

Standing at the startline, flashbacks crossed my mind. Just two years ago, the Bundesliga in Münsingen was my first ever international XCO race and I was so nervous! Today I was more calm, knowing that I now have the level to ride at the front, and that makes fun ;o) I was even considering repeating the same mantra as two years ago: “this will be cool, this will be cool!” But as soon, as the gun went off today, I focused more on the start of the race instead.

From the very start I felt able to place myself where I wanted, and ended up in the front group consisting of 4 riders. The team colleges Elisabeth Brandau and Sabine Spitz from Central Haibike and Klemencic from Felt X-bionic. Of course the team colleges rode tactically, but I was able to neutralize their attemps to get away. In fact I was feeling really great the first 3 or 4 laps (out of 6). Then I made a mistake in a very tight corner and crashed. The other girls put down the hammer and all the sudden I had to close a gap of 30 seconds! Phew! I made it! In the last lap Elisabeth Brandau and I got away and really had a tight fight to the finishline constantly passing each other. Unfortunately she just passed me in the last possible corner and I had to settle for second place.

I got some good experiences from the race, which I rode in another way, than what I usually do ( not just hammering away from the start).

In a few days, we’ll be heading off to South Africa for the first round of the World Cup. I’m excited! Stay tuned ;o)

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Wearing my new Easton Rocket National Champion Jersey and racing my brand new Fuji MTB – it doesn’t get any betterYesterday’s race in Danish Vejle was an indicator, that performance is right where it should be for the moment and that I’m just counting the days until the next races in Münsingen ( the first round of the German Bundesliga) and the first World Cup in South Africa…!

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.. and I’m so looking forward to that! I really miss racing!

Today I did some physical testing, and I felt a little like the little guy above. No brain, just hard work!There’s still some weeks before the first real race of the season, which will be the first round of the German Bundesliga in Münsingen. Last year my race in Münsingen ended in the very first lap due to an unfixable mechanical problem. That won’t happen this year. A fews days after the race, we’ll be heading to South Africa for the first round of the World Cup!

Now, I’m just sparing up race-energy, wroom, wroom!

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Less than 24 hours after having raced a superb race on Cyprus I’m back to dentistry on my School in Copenhagen. My patient suffering from periodontitis not having any idea about, what performances I’m cabable of on a bike. He’s just happy with me taking care of his illness. I feel a little like Super(wo)man having two identities. Absolutely loving it!..

Almost three weeks flew by on the sunny island of Cyprus. I enjoyed the time there getting to know my new team and also getting a clue of my level this year so far. In the eyes of everybody else, I’ve stepped up since last year. In my own perspective, it’s difficult to feel the improvements, since I’m seeing things in my perspective 24-7. The only real difference I for sure feel, is the believe in the fact, that I have the skills and the gift to go all the way to the top.

The race yesterday was a tough one. The climbs getting even steeper and the descends loose grounded and filled with dust hidden rocks. Once again I felt symbiotic with my bike.

The race was a four-lap long adventure. The startloop was a nice stretchy one. The pace was set by girls in the front, and I followed along. As soon as we hit the first obstacle, my body eagered to get going and I pushed the pace. Looking over my shoulder, I saw that I easily got a small gap. Then I decided to just go ahead and see, what would happen. Well, I never got caught again...

The great thing about a nightmare is, that you wake up and as soon as you feel the bed, the sheets and your body, you know it was just a bad dream. Even though the creepy feeling still rely within your stomach, you feel the relief of knowing that the things, that just happened didn’t belong to the conscious part of the world. A few days ago I got trapped in a nightmare, which I unfortunately couldn’t wake up from.

As you might already know, I missed the start (and thereby the whole race) of the final race day at the three days long race this weekend at Cyprus. The first two stages of racing had been going extremely well, so that I could race the final day with a leading gap of approximately 5 minutes to second place. Knowing, that I was stronger than the other girls, the last race-day would be like putting icing on the cake.

The race was supposed to take place sunday at twelve o’clock, men and women racing at the same time. The day before the first day of the stage race the team-managers had been told, that they might would do two separate races instead, so that the women’s race would be held earlier on that sunday instead. That turned out to be the case, but nobody at our team was aware of that. So when we arrived at the race location around ten o’clock the women’s race was already running.

First I didn’t understand was was happening. I simply couldn’t get things making sense. The most surrealistic scenery was the moment I saw the leading girls racing by. As fast as I could, I got my clothes on and put my bike together, ready for racing. But why? There was no way, they would let me jump into the middle of the race!

Then my world fell apart. I let all the feelings go and cried like an insane.

…

The worst thing I know, is not having the control of the situation. And that was exactly what I didn’t have at that time.

One thing is not finishing a race, because of a mechanical accident, a crash or something else. But not finishing a race because of such a thing, as missing the time of the start is just not acceptable.

Instead of watching the race, my teammate Tatjana, her boyfriend and me took our bikes and went for a relaxing ride in the beautiful mountains. Tatjana was just as frustrated as me, and it really helped having each other to share the experience. The further away we got, the more our mood raised.

This accident has taught me a lot. First of all, I know, that I have to check up on the most important things. Second, biking isn’t everything, even though it’s a great part of my life. I have to keep in mind, that I do it, because I enjoy every small step of it. Third, to forgive instead of blame and last, but not least, to look forward.

I know, that I was the strongest girl in the race and I know, that I would have won.

Next weekend the last race of the sunshine cup is running sunday. The time untill then, I will train and enjoy our stay and on race-day I’ll go out and kick some ass

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So, now I’m back at Cyprus doing my preparations for the season like last year. I really enjoy it!..For the first time I’m travelling with my new team (Easton Rockets). We stay at an appartment in Voroklini with plenty of space for hanging out, relaxing, cooking and just being ( there’s a nice terrace covering the whole roof, which makes the perfect atmosphere for breakfast). For the moment we are three riders (Tatjana, Lukas and me) and our Teammanager, Bernhard. Lukas was really unlucky during training the day before the race and had to go to the hospital for some stitches. Yesterday he was back on the bike and full motivated for racing the stagerace coming up this weekend. Tatjana and I have had a great time training together. It is SO great finally riding with another girl. We share many aspects of life, which just are different from the way guys think. It motivates both of us, and I look forward to share more racemoments with her.

After a nice week on the road, is it now time for some rocky riding on the Fuji. The bike was just put together the night before departure, so this is my first time on the new kit! I already love it..This weekend there was a race going on, held by Club La Santa. Mostly Spanish people and people, Danes and people from the other Canary Islands participated. The race was two stages ( saturday and sunday ) and was in all aspects a replay of last year’s race. This year I just didn’t push myself as hard as last year, I spare the race-mode for more important races, which there will be plenty of this year.

I did have a great time racing though. Saturday I ended up racing alone the last half of the race. Sunday I decided to stick with the group I rode with ( some spanish guys), and we had a great time working together in the heavy wind! When it came down to the finishline, we each rode our race. I crossed the finishline as the first lady both days and took the overall victory.

Ain’t she a beauty ! She is equipped with the new Shimano XTR, nice! I am running tubeless, which is the top here on the island, since the ground is filled with sharp lava rocks. The handlebar is almost 70 cm wide, I’m riding totally Kabush style and have a great time doing it. I’m excited to test the bike on the World Cup courses.

This week I’m training on the road on Lanzarote. Based on Club La Santa, I have great conditions for training, eating and resting easily. I’m training with the Danish U23 national team. Organized training on the road is new to me, but I like it.

From Saturday I’ll be riding my new FUJI mtb for the next week, and THAT I’m really looking forward to.

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Wilkommen Sonnenschein..In a few days I’ll be taking off to Club La Santa Lanzarote. This winter I’ve been spending way more time on the hometrainer, than ever before. In fact, I’ve never really been practicing training on the hometrainer. I must admit, that as soon as I broke down the wall of prejudices about that kind of training, I got hooked on it. It’s a pretty easy way to do some effective training. Because of the extreme low temperatures and impassable roads ( not even mentioning the state in the forests ) I’ve been combining outdoor freezing with some indoor sweating!

But now the first mental milestone of the year is getting closer: real outdoor training! I just added a picture, so you can see, what the evenings are like down there…

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On my FUJI cyclocross bike I rode my way to the national cyclocross title!This winter I’ve been doing a little Cyclocross racing to try something new and get some variation in my training. Cyclocross in fact is quite tecnical since you have no wide tires nor suspension on the bike. It reqiures skills such as cornering, being explosive and smooth ascending, descending and running uphill stairs with the bike on your shoulder.