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).

A week before the race I crashed in training and landed on a hidden trunk in the grass. I didn’t avoid with my hands, so my ribs absorbed the entire crash, there was a nasty sound and a lot of pain. I kind of neglected the fact, that it affects my physical performance, due to difficulties to sleep and train. It was my own decision to race in Val di Sole, honestly, I didn’t even consider not racing, since I consulted people who told me, that there really wasn’t any cure for a broken rib, other than taking care of the pain.

So, for now, I’m staying here in Champéry, preparing for the World Championships. I just take one day at a time and see how it goes. Today we went for a spin and a lap on the course. The course is really fun, and I guess it’s mountainbiking in it’s pure sense with lots of roots and rocks. It will be interesting to race on it!

I enjoy the breathtaking landscape here in Wallis / Valais, which gives me flashbacks to 6 or 7 years ago, when I spend my time here with a friend being a ski bum working at a pub just a few valleys away in Leukerbad. I can really recomment going there to visit the Chinchilla Rest’o'Bar, they have more then 80 different whiskeys. Not even mentioning the level of partying during the Fastnacht! Furthermore Leukerbads offers lots of relaxing thermal baths and a ski resort.

Well, back then I didn’t know that I would be racing mountainbike World Cups right now. Life’s a funny thing