After 4 Silver European Championship medals (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014) and one Silver World Championship medal (2013) there really was only one goal in Sigulda, Latvia last weekend: I wanted GOLD. Badly!
After training on the course - 80km with just 1300metres of climbing - it was clear that it'd be a high speed race with riders staying together in groups to avoid wasting energy riding alone in the wind on the long open sections. Staying together in the peloton and sprinting for the finish wasn't really how I wanted the race to pan out but I knew it would be risky to ride alone in front while the chasing group worked together behind me. But not being one to turn an opportunity down I made a break from the group after about 25km leaving only 55km to go alone! When I knew that my lead was gradually increasing my attention started to turn to not making any mistakes and avoiding punctures! Riding up the final climb, hearing the incredible support from the crowds and knowing that I'd finally broken the Silver Spell was awesome. European Champion. Finally!
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| © LenaXol 2016 |
Congratulations to Jennie Stenerhag (Sweden) and Katarina Sosna (Lithuania) for their Silver and Bronze medals both well deserved!
Here's a link to a nice video: https://www.facebook.com/ErgonBike/?fref=nf
Now I'm back in Austria for some quality time sleeping in the same bed and eating great food before the next big goal: World Championships in France on Sunday 26th June.
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