Home sweet home

I've been back at home for just over a week and it's been so nice to catch up with friends and ride our local trails: Puddletown forest and Wareham forest. It's been a long season so far and I've been feeling both physically and mentally tired for the last few weeks. I've had a reasonably light training load this week and last week, so I should be ready and fully focussed for more high load training next week. 

Last weekend I substituted my normal interval session with a local XC race, pushing myself hard when I'm mentally tired is so much easier when I'm racing other people on fun trails. The Southern XCs are a really well organised series that deliver great courses, and this one was no exception with lots of nice twisty forest singletrails, short power climbs, bomb holes, roots and drops. Whoop :D Two trips over the bars within the first 10 minutes led me to believe that I was possibly a little too enthusiastic! Thankfully the girls behind were all very civilised, waiting for me to pick myself up off the trail before passing through ;) 

Jo Muden (left) and Natasha Barry (right)

A highlight of the race was having the opportunity to chase down the masters men who set off a few minutes ahead of the ladies. I was particularly hoping to be able to catch and overtake the boys from RideBike, but Stu King retired from the race just before I had the pleasure and Jon Hayes was too fast, finishing 30 seconds ahead of me. I'll get you next time Stu and Jon ;) It was also really cool to have the Vet men from RideBike cheering us all on and giving value time gap information. Driving home afterwards and then heading off to our local tandoori restaurant finished the day off perfectly. 

Although it was a little odd for a race to be over in an hour and a half, I loved it. So with my 3^rd XC under my belt I’m heading off to tackle the National XC Championships in North Yorkshire on Sunday. It’ll be great to catch up with everyone from the UK race scene :)

Kitzalp Bike Marathon, Kirchberg, Austria

The day after the World Marathon Champs we drove from Montebelluna, Italy to Kirchberg, Austria - well I say 'we', but I just chilled out in the passenger seat while Dave drove ;) We were sad to leave Montebelluna and the lovely singletrails but it was really nice to be in the Austrian mountains.

The next day we went for a gentle ride in the valley; however my legs were still tired from the World Champs and I found it tough even to just spin! We got a map of the marathon course from the very helpful guys at the Bike Academy so the next day we rode the first climb to the top of the Guggenkogele at 1750 metres. The majority of the climb had a nice gradient and my legs felt good; the last part however kicked up very steeply on grass and it was a real battle to keep the pedals turning! At the top the view of the valley below and the neighbouring mountains was really breathtaking. Fortunately I'd made it up a long time before Dave so I was able to spend time admiring the view and watching him push his bike up ;) The descent back down was fast and fun, and included some steep, loose singletrails. 

The following day the sunshine gave way to rain and the temperature dropped from over 30 to less than 10 degrees; we ordered hot chocolate rather than ice cream that day at the cafe! The clouds were low and the tops of the mountains were hidden, they stayed hidden until the day before the race. Thankfully there was no rain on race day but it was cold; I used arm warmers and a gillet - sunscreen was not necessary! 

During the race I felt strong on the first climb, reaching the top with a lead of more than 3 minutes ahead of Jane Nussli. On the second climb however I felt awful and I started to get blurred vision, which spooked me. The next steep, rocky singletrail descent was fairly technical and I had trouble seeing where I was going! My vision returned to normal on the next climb, but my legs felt heavy. On a steep hike-a-bike section I could see that Jane had closed the gap to less than a minute. I had to dig really deep for the next 3 hours to maintain my lead. It was tough and I was relieved and very tired when I crossed the finish line after nearly 6 hours of racing.

It was a really successful day for Topeak-Ergon Racing Team: Alban Lakata won the men’s race and Robert Mennen finished in 2nd place. Two wins and a second place in the first round of the UCI Marathon Series, it couldn't be better :D

Sally Bigham (GBr)        5:48:05

Jane Nussli (Sui)           0:02:00

Elena Giacomuzzi (Ita)  0:12:50

The 2011-2012 UCI World Marathon Series

The recent re-launch of the UCI World Marathon Series has brought about some changes in my race schedule this year. Here is a copy of the UCI press release:

The new UCI MTB Marathon Series 2011-2012 commences the week after the 2011 UCI MTB Marathon World Championships (June 26th 2011, Montello, Italy) and runs until two weeks prior to the 2012 UCI MTB World Championships (October 7th 2012, Ornans, France).


The following events are confirmed as counting for the 2011-2012 UCI MTB Marathon Series during 2011:

1. 3rd July 2011: KitzAlpbike Festival, Kirchberg, Austria
2. 20th August 2011: Grand Raid, Verbier-Nendaz-Hérémence-Evolène-Grimentz, Switzerland
3. 18th September 2011: Adamello Bike, Ponte Di Legno, Italy
4. 2nd October 2011: Extrême Sur Loue, Ornans, France

The remaining rounds to be held in 2012 will be confirmed after 2012 UCI MTB International Calendar applications close on July 29th 2011. Those events will be submitted to the next UCI Management Committee in September.

So, on Sunday at 8.00am I'll be lining up to race the Kitzalp marathon; with 4400 metres of climbing over 95kms it's going to be tough!

World Marathon Champs - race report

Two days prior to the World Marathon Champs I was starting to feel really strong, which was a huge relief after feeling so tired for so long after the European Marathon Champs. The day before the race I went out for an hour spin and did a few short intervals, my legs felt amazing and my bike seemed to be floating up the climbs. I was ready to give it my all.

As predicted, the start of the race was slow. Ideally I would have liked it to be a fast consistent pace from the start, just as it was at the Euros, but it soon became apparent that the pace would be moderate until the last 30kms.

Everything was going perfectly to plan until I punctured my rear tyre on a fast rocky descent after approximately 20kms. Fortunately, there was a technical zone in a few kms and the pace was low. I was able to ride smoothly and keep my position near the front until I got another rear wheel. I lost about a minute, but I made up the time quickly and soon regained my position in the front group.

After approximately 30kms we were told that the leading girl was 1 minute ahead. Huh?!! That simply wasn’t possible I thought! I was certain that we were the leading group and that we would’ve seen if another rider had made a break. Esther Suss, Sabine Spitz and Gunn-Rita all looked as puzzled as I did for a while. At 40kms we were told that the anonymous Swiss rider had a pulled out another minute on us! Gunn-Rita joked with me that perhaps it was Esther in disguise!

As I passed through the feedzone at 40kms I was relieved to get some cold water to pour over my head! I was still riding at or near the front and I was feeling strong and getting ready for the attacks to begin. Not long after passing through the feedzone I noticed that I was losing air in my front tyre. This was bad, very bad! The attacks started and as I stood out of the saddle to climb I could hear and feel my tyre starting to roll. I had to take the singletrail descents carefully and the corners even more carefully to stop my tyre rolling off the wheel.

At the next tech zone at 60kms, I was 20 seconds behind Esther, Annika Langvad, Sabine, and Elisabeth Brandau, and 10 seconds behind Pia Sundstedt. I stopped to get a new wheel, loosing 2 minutes and three places – Gunn-Rita, Blaza Klemencic and Pua Mata passed through ahead of me. I now had to fight hard to make up time and places. I was able to pass Pua and Blaza on the next climb and not too long later I passed Gunn-Rita. At the 80km mark I was 3 minutes down on the lead group and 2 minutes down on Pia. Over the last 20kms I was riding alone and tried to make up some time but it wasn’t possible.

I had mixed emotions at the finish line: I was surprised to finish in 6th position despite all of the problems, but at the same time I felt frustrated. I’m trying to rid my mind of the ‘what ifs’ and to focus on the many positives.

It transpired that the mystery Swiss rider who led the race for 65kms had taken a wrong turn early in the race and unwittingly found herself leading the race! Whoops!

A beautiful ride today in Kirchberg, Austria, has helped me to clear my head and I’m now looking forward to the Kitzalp marathon on Sunday, this is the first race in the new 2011/2012 UCI Marathon Series.

1 Annika Langvad (Denmark) 4:20:33
2 Sabine Spitz (Germany) +0:01:56
3 Esther Süss (Switzerland) +0:03:23
4 Pia Sundstedt (Finland) +0:05:32
5 Elisabeth Brandau (Germany) +0:05:34
6 Sally Bigham (Great Britain) +0:08:53
7 Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjaa (Norway) +0:11:15
8 Monique Pua Mata (United States Of America) +0:11:51
9 Birgit Söllner (Germany) +0:13:05
10 Nina Gaessler (Germany) +0:16:32

World Marathon Championships

Luck wasn't on my side today - two flat tyres and two wheels changes - but on a positive note I felt really strong and my legs did a good job. I finished in 6th position. Next year will be better! I'll write a full report soon, but first I'm going to eat and chill out :D

World Marathon Champs: rested and ready :)

It took me a long time - a lot longer than I thought - to recover from the European Marathon Champs, partly because I think I still had the Trans Germany in my legs. I felt completely empty for 3 days after the Euros and my legs felt heavy and tired until just a few days ago. I love riding my bike and training, but some days the thought of riding made me want to curl up in bed and go back to sleep! I listened to my body, talked to my coach and backed off by reducing the quantity of my training. Over the last two weeks I've had lots of easy recovery rides, a few intervals sessions and lots of sleep! I'm now feeling refreshed both mentally and physically and I'm looking forward to a really hard race on Sunday - a good thing because it's going to be tough in terms of the course, the heat and the competition!

I've ridden the course when it's dry and fast, but also when it's muddy and slippery and it’s great fun whatever the conditions. I’ve had an easy ride today and I’ll ride for up to an hour tomorrow, but other than that I’ve got my feet up, so I can’t wait to get out there on Sunday! Fingers crossed for good luck and fast, strong legs :D

World Marathon Championships, Montebelluna, Italy: Preview

The World Marathon Championships will be held next Sunday in Montebelluna, Italy. The women's course (98.3km with 2290 metres of vertical ascent) was used for the European Championships last year, so I already know what it is like to race here. The first 25kms and the last 25kms are really good fun and include lots of flowy, forest single trails :D The constant ups and downs of the last 30kms are especially challenging, and breaks at the front of the field will be made here (if they haven't already).

The start list shows that the women's race will be hotly contested with Esther Suss (World Marathon Champ 2010), Sabine Spitz (World Marathon Champ 2009), Gunn-Rita Dhale Flesjaa (World Marathon Champ 2008), Annika Langvad (Bronze 2010), and Pia Sundstedt (Bronze 2008) just to name a few!