Today was about playing safe with the sole aim of securing our overall race win. We checked the weather forecast last night and low temperatures (only 1 degree in the morning!) and rain were forecast, this combined with the height gain during the stage meant that we knew we would be in for a cold day!
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| A warmer day on a previous stage!!! |
We both took extra clothes including leg warmers, waterproof jackets, neoprene overshoes and thick winter gloves. We know from experience that rain can often mean snow on high ground.
We set off really slowly and we were in last position (out of the ladies teams) at the beginning of the first climb. After the first feedzone at 19km we started to warm up and picked up the pace and in doing so we gradually started to pass the other teams. Once we reached the top at 1300 metres we were in second place. The climb up to the top was really beautiful especially when it snowed; the white snow flakes and the pink almond tree blossom looked lovely.
Even with all of our extra clothes we were still cold on the descents. There were many people wearing just shorts and jerseys – they must have been frozen! The leading mixed team (Cait Elliot and Josh Ibett) were having a great ride today and it was a real shame to see them puncture on the descent from the top, fortunately however they didn’t lose much time and they won the stage taking the overall race win.  |
We both had good luck again today and we’re super happy to have secured our overall race win. Wahooooo!!!!!!! During 23hours and 4 minutes of riding over 6 days we’ve had no mechanical problems. A HUGE thank you to Dave, who has been unbelievably good to us and has made sure our equipment has been working perfectly!!!!! Thank you so much. The three of us have made a great team :D
Hey Sally, that's an absolutely great ride and finish, way to go. Barry said you were doing well when I saw him earlier today (went to pick up the little package Dave left-thanks Dave) and to check you out on the Blog(truth is Dave also reminded me a few days back) and look what I find, you winning the race. Congrats to you, your team mate and of course can't forget the super mechanic.
ReplyDeleteLync
Hey Lync,
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for your nice comment. We all had so much fun out there and the three of us worked really well together. It's strange to be home and we're both missing Kristine!!!!
I hope that you're having fun riding and finding new trials. It'd be great to come and ride with you again soon,
Have fun,
Sal ;)
Well done! Great write up, I've enjoyed following your posts. Me and my girlfriend wanted to ride this race, but we couldn't make the dates work out. We're sad to have missed a great race, especially after reading your excellent blog. But it's definitely on the list for next year :)
ReplyDeleteRaymond
Hi Raymond,
ReplyDeleteGlad you've enjoyed my blog :) It's a shame that you couldn't go this year but I'm sure you'll love it if you get to do it next year. It was a great course with stacks of amazing trails (something hard to find in stage races) and the organisers did an excellent job.
Have fun and I hope to see you there next year!
Sal :)
Fantastic result, well done!! been following your progress through the race via your blog and it sounds like you had a great time as well as bagging a race win! Hope to see you win at Etna and the Dolomiti this year, 2 events i love racing in (albeit at a much slower pace!)
ReplyDeleteHi Greg,
ReplyDeleteThanks :D It truly was a lot of fun and sharing it all with a race partner made it really special. That's great that you'll be at Etna and Dolomiti, make sure you come and say hello!!!
Happy riding,
Sal :)