Training at altitude, racing in mudditude

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Yet another victory celebration at Spa(Image credit: Tour of Japan)

Index to all entries

Now I'll make an attempt at a quick update of the past weeks, starting with the World Cup in Spa in Belgium which took place the weekend after Madrid. Kenneth and I travelled directly to Spa the day after the race in Spain and weren't quite prepared for the bucketing rain and seven degrees Centigrade temperatures in Belgium after really warm days in Madrid. It rained and poured all week right until the race day, Sunday morning, and all the riders were prepared for a real mud-bath both on and off their bikes.

The race course in Spa - Francorchamps goes partially on the Formula 1 race track, and is otherwise on tracks and dirt roads in the surrounding area. Because of all the mud, the track was shortened on the race day so we didn't have too many stretches of just running. Even so, we had a lot of jumping on and off our bikes during the race. It was very difficult to control one's riding though many muddy patches if one tried to stay on the bike.

These sorts of conditions often lead to many technical problems for riders, as it all takes its toll on all the equipment when it gets filled with mud and sand. My good Merida friend held up nicely from start to finish. I got a small lead quite early on in the race and quickly found my pace and thereby kept unnecessary mistakes to a minimum. My brake blocks also held up very well, despite everything. A few small adjustments to the brakes along the way is run-of-the-mill under the conditions we had at Spa.

After a rather cold and wet week in Belgium, we travelled onwards to Scotland and Fort William where a new World Cup race was being held the following weekend. My physical shape and strength in my legs improved steadily, weekend by weekend, during this period and I was already back in fighting fettle two days after Spa. Apart from the beginnings of a sore throat three days before the competition in Fort William, I knew that I was well and truly fighting fit.

The weather in Scotland was no better than what we'd had served up in Belgium, sour and bitterly cold with snow falling almost right down to the level of the race track. However, in contrast to the race course in Spa, the track in Scotland was able to handle wet conditions very well without getting ruined. There was only one short patch where one had to run next to the bike on every round, and pretty well everybody can handle that.

On the first round out from the start you first rode a few hundred metres on a flat gravel road before it started to climb, all the while on a broad gravel road. After about 10 minutes you reached the highest part of the track. From there the track headed down on very demanding trails with lots of stones and roots. After half of the first lap, I already had a lead of half a minute. In other words, I quickly affirmed that I had been in good shape these last days, despite my cold.

That good feeling of leading the pack was quickly wiped out when I had a puncture a good kilometre into the second round. I was carrying a new tube and an air cartridge in my pocket so I decided to change it myself. I was still much too far from the next technical zone where one may receive such help. Just as I had got the new tube in and was about to put the air cartridge in, the first riders started to pass me, and that wasn't much fun for me.

At least I got to see almost all of my competitors from behind for once, and really got a taste of what it's like to be chasing the leaders. My body and legs felt incredibly strong this day and I was full of energy all the way to the finish. It wasn't always easy to pass the riders that I caught up with, and I lost precious time in this way too. Even so, I was passing my competitors all the time, and ended the race with a fourth place.

The day after the race in Scotland I travelled home to Stavanger and Tjensvoll to take part in some important meetings with our sponsor KleppHus, and possible suppliers for our new house. There are still a few pieces missing before everything is in place before the building project starts, but we have set a goal of starting building work in the beginning of August. Since we're hardly ever home, progress is largely up to our manager, Roar, and our good sponsor KleppHus.

I had half a day at home in Stavanger and filled every last moment. I had to visit the doctor to check up my somewhat sick body (I couldn't swallow or speak) but was told in no uncertain terms that rest was the only medicine that was going to work. I flew back to Glasgow on Monday evening, and from there on to Denver and Boulder on Tuesday morning. Kenneth left a day earlier since we didn't have funds to pay for a new ticket for both of us.

This year we're living with some neighbours of our friend Mark, since he has sold his house and moved away. Our new host and hostess were Cari and Greg, and they have really provided us with everything we need of space, service and company. We had a very good tone right from the beginning, and in this family it was we who were holding back on the competition! Both of these people still take part in road races and track races up to many times a week, and all four of us are well guarded by a huge Rottweiler called Elka. She is very large and beautiful with a great personality. Apparently she's still a puppy, only one year old, but is already large as a horse.

The first week here was used for rest and slow training for me, since I was ill throughout my whole system, and it took some time to get rid of it. The second week has been packed with long trips, tough power stints on the bike, and good technical interval training. Today we've done intervals against each other up on Walker Range, which is 2300-2400 metres over sea level. Here we've been doing good technical training on steep hills on very demanding terrain.

Simply put, we've had many fantastic days of training which have been rounded off with barbecuing and dinners outside on the porch together with our new friends Cari, Greg and Elka. Kenneth exploded the lactate-meter today with a whopping 12.2 and that should really qualify for a prize! Tomorrow all five of us will be going up to our friends Mark and Karen who now live at 3000 metres above sea level in a small mountain village called Brackenridge.

Norwegian cross-country mountain bike racer Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå made an impressive comeback last year after sitting out much of the previous season due to illness. In 2008, she won the Madrid, Spain, round of the UCI World Cup and the UCI Marathon World Championships and finished 12th in the World Cup final standings.

Dahle Flesjå will take on a new challenge in 2009 when she gives birth to her first child, expected in late March. With the support of her husband Kenneth Flesjå and her family, she aims to return to competition within a few months after becoming a mother.

Don't count her out for the late season World Cups and World Championships races. She was World Champion in 2002, 2004, 2005, and 2006, plus Olympic champion in 2004. In 2003 to 2006, she dominated the sport, winning the World Cup overall.

Follow her exploits in 2009 on Cyclingnews as she takes on a new, joint role as mother and elite racer. Or, for more Gunn-Rita, see her personal website: www.gunnrita.com