I have only just stepped off the train and rushed to my lap top to let you know that I'm all well and rosey. I have had the most amazing week of racing and training with the Australian Cycling Team. I was invited to be part of the Australian Composee team for what is regarded as the mountain bike version of the Tour de France. Oh my golly gosh was this an event that every mountain biker should enter or at least watch at some point in their life. It was run over 7 days with 6 races that were not as long as a typical cycling stage race in the Tour de France, but had their own very interesting challenges along the way. I will be sending a full detailed report soon on each stage, and all the adventures along the way.....and I promise to be including photos. I just wanted to let you know that our team won the mixed categorary, which desreves full YAYAYAYAYS, as I thought I had lost it for us after the first cross country race (stage 2) when I had a mechanical and simply struggled all the way round, leaving me 18 minutes behind the leading female Laurance Leboucher. However we all dug deep and to our surprise took the lead after the team performed brilliantly in the last two stages. National Aussie champ Dellys Starr had an awesome race yesterday to win the final stage and gain over 5 minutes on Leboucher to take the maiollet rose. To my surprise I finished second yesterday and managed to take third overall, which I was really pleased about.
The event attracted some of the best riders in the world including the world champion Christoph Sausser. Each stage was filled with interesting obstacles unlike any race I have ever entered in my life. Time trials were conducted in the middle of cities where steps, slippery cobble stones, hail, thunder and lightening and would you believe even pedestrians were the main obstacles for one to avoid. Every cross country race involved plenty of running, scrambling, and would you believe climbing with your bike up sheer muddy banks. I can't express to you how different this event is to anything I have ever done before and will definitely be back next year to race it again as it was the best week of training and racing I have ever experienced.
I will be back again soon with a report on each stage, but as I have only had two hours sleep I plan to type up my report tomorrow, so you will have to wait until then I'm afraid as my eyes are caving in.
Cheerios for now
KPxo
2 comments:
wow - sounds cool. I read a little bit about it on Sauser's blog too. Massive storms at the end of the races seemed to be the norm! Mel and I will have to head over to it next year :)
Well done!
Wow! I can only second Ryan, it really sounds amazing! Very well done!
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