A most excellent morning was spent on the ‘cross bike today. On the schedule was a one hour recovery ride. I chose to return to the race course to ride a couple of easy laps and practice some of the key sections.

After a bit of sleep-in (8:00) and a tasty breakfast at the hotel, we hopped in the RV and made a stop off at the massive shopping plaza by our hotel. The largest Tesco I’ve ever seen along with a bunch of shops and restaurants. Had a bit of a wander around and got some Czech Kroners. By this time the frost had burned off and the sun was out. Time to ride!

Just as I was getting my bike sorted out, my friends Nikoline and Jacob rolled up. We had a good chat and then Nikoline and I set off for a couple of laps. It was good to ride with someone else and talk about the course, race lines and just chat. (Nikoline and Jacob lived with myself and Marc last winter in Blauberg, so we know one another well.) Got in a couple of laps and then Nikoline set off for a road ride. I stayed at the course and practiced the key sections – working on the steep climb, the fast downhill and the climb after the stairs. I’m feeling fairly comfortable with all three. Tomorrow I’ll try the descent without braking… Turns out there are 23 steps in the stair run-up! Yes, it is long and the steps are enormous.

I got in some road riding as well, just to shake out the legs and clear my brain a bit. Discovered some excellent bicycle paths by the course and was treated to some wonderful view of the city. Quick lunch in the RV and it was back to the hotel for a shower.

We spent the afternoon being tourists in Plzen. We explored the old town square taking numerous photos and poking in some shops. I was careful to not do too much walking. This meant we spent some time sitting in two very nice cafes. The second one was excellent – Orient Cafe (best hot chocolate of my life!). Then we hooked up with Nikoline and Jacob for supper (Happy Birthday Jacob!).

Tomorrow is the “real” pre-ride day. The fly-over (bridge) was not finished today so I’ll get to give this a whirl on Saturday and get in a few more laps of the course. Then it is the usual number pick-up, parking pass pick-up and back to the hotel to chill out and relax. Looking forward to the race on Sunday. My dad tells me the Sunday forecast calls for rain… But I won’t think about this until Sunday morning…

So all in all, I’m feeling good. I’m still a bit stressed about getting the UCI points I need on Sunday. But as my dad pointed out, if I don’t get them on Sunday it only means the next few races are that much more important and it doesn’t mean that I won’t qualify for the World Champs. Really, the best possible outcome is to get the points I need on Sunday, but if I don’t – it is not the end of the world. Rather just changes the emphasis of the next few races.

I really like the course. The grass is super bumpy. The descent is fun. The stairs are wicked (but stairs always are). There are some challenging twists and turns. Really a lot of variety. The trick will be to continue to accelerate and and not get bogged down in a gear (I think). I’ve been watching the video from last year’s race and really paying attention to where and how the top riders attack the course.

Hard to believe that in two days I’ll have raced two World Cups and that in two weeks I’ll be getting ready for the Canadian National Cyclo-Cross Championships and then a mere five days after this race I’ll be racing in Niel, Belgium on Nov. 11. Guess time really does fly!

Got in a great two hour road ride this morning in Nurnberg, Germany. I set off for the town of Brunn again. This time I completed the rolling climbs and enjoyed the descent into town. A picturesque German town with a very nice walking, riding, and horseback riding park. All in all, an excellent ride.

Then it was a quick shower (as my dad cleaned my bike!) and we were on the road to Plzen, Czech Republic. Luc, his daughter Kelly and friend Karin also stayed in the same campsite as us last night. We had a good visit with them and then we split up as they were onto Prague.

The drive to Plzen was pretty smooth. Basically no traffic on the highway so we made it in good time. Had some major headaches getting to the campsite – the GPS kept on trying to send us through a 2 meter high tunnel (the RV is 3.3 meters high)… We ended up parking and walking the 800 meters to the campsite only to discover it was closed…. After some consultation with Marc (he had the Internet connection), we decided to stay at the Ibis Hotel.

Got out to the race course for my second ride of the day. Did about five laps of the course, with some extra time spent on the key sections. Well, the stair run-up is wicked. Very long and the stairs are massive. Right after the stairs there is a steep climb. The descent is long and pretty much wide open – it curves a bit but there is nothing crazy on it. On the far side of the course there is another steep climb, a flat bit and another steep climb. Rest of the course features very bumpy grass, false flats and some slight rises that can suck the speed and power. Oh and there is the curb…. After the start/finish stretch, there is a curb that you have to “hop”. Sigh. I can’t “hop” curbs – I’ve struggled with learning this skill for many years now. Hoping the curb is sandbagged on Sunday. If not, well, I’ll figure it out….

Legs felt good for the second ride of the day. I was careful not to go too hard on the course. Really just wanted to get a feel for it and get a solid picture of it in my mind. I’m going back tomorrow to do my ride on it. Looking forward to racing it – I think it is a course that suits me – power course.

Have to say my dad has been a rockstar – doing all the driving, putting up with my stress and fatigue, cleaning my bikes, remembering to keep the RV tidy and just generally agreeing to whatever I want! (I guess my mom has trained him well!)

Well, went to bed last night listening to the pouring rain. Woke up through-out the night to the pouring rain. Alarm went off at 7 a.m. and I heard what I thought was pouring rain. Honestly, I was dreading my ride. Cold and rain for two hours is not fun. But then I was greeted with a great surprise when I stepped out of the trusty RV…. The pouring rain I heard was simply the water dripping off the leaves onto the roof of the RV. Phew!

Anyway, I set off a little after 8 for a two hour ride that involved tempo intervals with 10 second accelerations every minute thrown in for some extra spice. Oh and the last minute of each interval was at VO2Max…. The trick was finding a stretch of road that would allow for 7 minutes of hard pedaling and a 5 minute recovery stretch (four times). I had no idea where to go so I just followed a bicycle path and eventually after a few left and right turns I found a sign for a town called Burn. This town was signed for cyclists and was 10 km away so I decided that I would be able to do my intervals along this route.

Well, I found actually the best road ever for doing this type of interval. Basically a very quiet road that had multiple rollers and short flat sections between. Not so steep that I dreaded riding it, just steep and long enough rollers to really get the heart rate and power numbers up. Basically I had did the interval up the hill, turn around, roll down, recover and repeat. An excellent work-out. One of those work-outs that really gets the body firing on all cylinders.

The perfect work-out I needed to see how deep I can go right now. I’m pleased to report that I think I’m back to my old self. I don’t have my SRM here so it is hard to know my exact power numbers but lets just say I was pretty wiped at the end of each interval and it was a different type of fatigue than I experience a few weeks ago.

This is encouraging for the weekend. I’ve been thinking a lot about the race in Aigle…. I have to admit that I didn’t go as hard as I could. I held back. I’m not sure if this was conscious or sub-conscious. But based on how I felt on Monday and Tuesday and on reflecting on my body sensations during the race – I could have and should have gone harder. I think I was afraid of blowing up/cracking/exploding – feeling like I have been feeling… Not good. But at least three days later I can recognize and admit this.

So where does this leave me? Well, with no choice but to go past my limits on Sunday and really dig deep. I have no choice. After some number crunching and chatting with Marc last night, we have determined that basically the race in Plzen, Czech Republic will determine if I qualify for the World Cyclo-Cross Championships…. There are 35 registered starters. I need to finish no worse than 30th…. In other words I need to have the race of my life. I need to have the start that we all know is in me. I need to ride as technically clean as possible (i.e. no brakes and smart lines). I need to really just pound the long straight sections and go as hard as I can at all times. If I do this, I have an excellent chance of getting the job done. If I do all this and I finish below the top 30, well at least I can say I gave it my all and I have no regrets.

So today during my work-out I was taking photographs of the body feelings I was experiencing and telling myself “remember this feeling – you need this on Sunday. Remember how much your legs ache right now – you need to feel this on Sunday.”

Am I stressed? Yes. Am I freaking out? Yes. Can I do it? Most definitely. As Marc said, “If you really want to race in St. Wendel then you’ll get the job done on Sunday. It all depends on how badly you want it.”

Some of you are probably wondering why I’m telling you all of this and really letting you know what I’m feeling and thinking. Well, I’ve always tried my best to be honest on this website. So this is no different. Quite literally, I have a job to do on Sunday. And I have to do my job to the best of my abilities. I want to race in the World Cyclo-Cross Championships in St. Wendel, Germany. So I have to do what needs to be done.

What if I don’t do it? Well, this is not an option. I’m not letting my brain go down this road. I have to face the race with confidence, convinced that I can do it. I need to have a good start (like the start I had in Cross Vegas), I need to drill the long straight sections like I’ve done in the past, I need to let things fly on the long descent. I need to race with my head. But most importantly, I need to race with my heart and soul.

Sitting here right now in the trusty RV, parked in a campsite in Nurnberg, Germany. We ended up staying overnight in Aigle and then on Monday after I got in a solid two hours on the bicycle paths, it was back in the RV and off to Frieburg, Germany.

Have to say the riding in Aigle is simply amazing. I managed to keep my ride flatish and not go too high up the many mountains. The bicycle path system is most impressive and everything is really well signed. I wish I could of ridden for longer as it was just amazing.

We got into Frieburg and set up in a campsite (thanks Pete for the information) and then walked into the old town for some exploring and supper. This morning I was out on the bike for another bicycle path adventure. These paths are just not like the paths we have in Ottawa – rather you can ride these paths for hours and hours. I rode along the river that runs through Frieburg and eventually ended up in a nearby town which I was told is the gateway to numerous mountain bike trails. It was uphill and into a headwind all the way so I was pleased to turn around – not exactly what I wanted for my recovery ride.

(I did take a bunch of photos on the ride but the WWW connection here is not great – so I think the photos will have to wait until I get home. For photos from the race – check out Luc Van Der Meiren’s photo album – he has tagged me in a bunch of photos as has Johnny.)

Tomorrow I’ll set out and discover the bicycle paths from this campsite in Nurnberg. Have a two hour ride on tap with some tempo intervals with some accelerations thrown-in for some extra spice. My body is feeling pretty good – think I’m responding well to the treatments. Looking forward to seeing what I can squeeze out of it this weekend in Plzen.

Tomorrow after I’m done training we’re heading into Nurnberg for some exploring. Then after my ride on Thursday we’re driving to Plzen where we’ll stay put.

So far the trip is going well. Bit wet today so I’m hoping it stops raining tonight as I don’t feel like two hours in the rain and 8 celsius! I didn’t bring a small hat or neck tube with me, but I found both in a Euroshop (dollar store) – each for a Euro!

Thanks for the great comments on Facebook and the emails. I retweeted a link from Mark Legg-Compton – it has a link to the race highlights – including the women’s race. It is worth a watch – you get a feel for most of the race course.

(Thanks for the patience with these blog posts – it is nice to finally have some WWW access. No guarantees at the next place though!)

Life is good. Body feels good. Pretty darn thankful to be on this two week racing adventure. I’ll be home on Oct. 26, racing in Toronto on Nov. 6 and then on the place on Nov. 8 and racing in Niel, Belgium on Nov. 11. Whirlwind but the way I like it!

My dad has posted some photos on Flicker: http://www.flickr.com/photos/81271459@N00/sets/72157625198902960/

Well, the first Cyclo-Cross World Cup is in the books. It was a mixed day. I’m happy with how I rode some parts of the course and not as happy with how I rode other parts of the course. And most definitely I would be much happier if I hadn’t been lapped and pulled. But this is bike racing.

All I can do is be appreciative that I feel much better than I did three weeks ago. It is a relief to know that my body is starting to heal and that hopefully the ugly days with this last ulcerative colitis flare are behind me.

Anyway, enough about that stuff. What you really want to know about is what happened in the race. I had a fourth row call-up but was able to squeeze myself into the third row. All eyes were on the traffic light. But there seemed to be some chaos at the start with one side of the start grid reacting and the other not… Kind of crazy. I had a decent start and unlike last year I wasn’t gapped from the start (so this is a plus). I was just on the tail end of the pack and through the first twisty bits was able to squeeze by a couple of girls. When we hit the first off-camber/steep climb it was pure chaos with the girls ahead of me electing to run – I wasn’t prepared for this and became a bit of a mess on the bike…. I gapped myself as a result and was pretty much a couple bike lengths off the group in front of me for the first lap. At times I’d close this gap and then at other times it would open.

And as how these things typically go, if you don’t close the gap immediately it simply continues to grow. And this is what happened. My mistake. I just kept on digging and trying to close the gap and I would gain on the Swiss Champion on the descents and the open bits and then lose her on the off-camber sections.

I would like to have a “do-over” with this race since I made some chronic mistakes from which I’ve already learned from. Yesterday in the pre-ride and this morning during the warm-up I was able to ride the steep climbs/off-camber sections. But today during the race they were very chewed up after the U23 race and elite warm-up – so I was struggling in the loose and soft dirt. But I kept on trying to ride them – only to continue to slip and have to come to almost a dead stop when getting off. If I had this race to do again, I would commit to running these sections – this way I wouldn’t loose so much time fumbling around on my bike.

I’m happy with how well I ran through the sand, with how I attacked all the steep climbs (except the first one where I cut the corner too close, hit a post – broke the post and had to stop – this was the first time I gapped myself in the race and the girls I had passed went by me…), I think my barriers were very smooth and I remembered to sprint onto the bike and look for my pedal (could have done a better job at sprinting right away). As for the twisty/turny stuff before the start/finish straight – I needed to keep more speed through this. I did not badly on the BMX bumps. And as for the steep and rather sharp descents – I’m very very happy – my hands did not come anywhere near my brakes – a massive improvement over last year.

So some pluses and minuses to take from this race. It sucks being last. It sucks being lapped. But as someone said to me today “well, it can’t get any worse…”. Am I content – no – I want to do better – I need to do better. Am I relieved that I didn’t feel as badly as I did in Catamount, Pennsylvania, Cross Vegas, and New York – most definitely. Now I know with some training (I basically haven’t ridden for two weeks) and a few solid nights of sleep – I’ll be in much more ready for the Plzen World Cup next Sunday. The other thing I know now is that I can push my body and it won’t spontaneously combust on me. In the back of my mind I wonder if I subconsciously held back a bit for fear of this happening. I guess really, I’ll never know.

As for the race experience? It was top-notch. A simply most excellent day. Kicked it off with an excellent breakfast at the hotel. Had some tasty yogurt (I’m sure it wasn’t 0% fat…) and some very nice croissants. Got here with lots of time to hang out, talk to people and not be rushed to get out on the course. I had an excellent warm-up lap and felt very good about it. The RV is simply the way to go for these races – able to stretch out, get changed easily and not feel all cramped. It was great to catch-up and chat with so many people. Extra bonus was all the cheering on the course – it seems that every key section I head “Go Vicki. Come on Vicki. Keep digging Vicki”. This helps immensely. Many many thanks to my dad for standing in the pits, cheering me on, cleaning my bike and generally just doing whatever I needed today. Also many thanks to Greg for his help as well. Great to see Luc, Linda and Johnny – they were out cheering me, taking photos, took my clothes at the start and had kind words for me after the race. Huge thanks to Serge of BKCP for being there at the finish to take my transponder for me, to remind me to go get some warm clothes and to tell me that I rode better than I did last year. Thanks to Rudy for checking my tire pressure on both bikes. for cheering me on and for pointing out that considering the start to the season I’ve had – this was all things considered a good day (and if you know Belgians – particularly Belgian cyclo-cross racers and coaches, they don’t hand out such words easily). Great to chat with Cory Page after the race and just chill for a bit. All in all a good day. Only thing that would have made it better would be to have Marc here – but it was my choice – he could come for the first two World Cups or the World Championships in St. Wendel, Germany – so of course I chose the World Championships.

Alright, this is getting a bit long. Normally I write a separate race report but I’m limited with the blogging software I’m using on my iPad and haven’t yet figured out how to update existing pages as well as add new posts. And I know I promised you photos…. You will get some – I just don’t know when. I snapped some pics of Sven, Bart, and Francis after the race so I’ll put those up when I can as well. I’m sure Luc has already posted some photos on Facebook…..

We are set-up in the parking lot at the UCI for the night. Tomorrow I’m lucky since I have a two hour road ride to do – so I’ll set out in the morning and explore the wonderful paths around here. Also on the agenda is laundry – we’re hoping to do this at the UCI since I know that there is athlete housing there… Then we’re off on the road towards Plzen, Czech Republic. We have a pretty good route set-up that takes us by Bern, Zurich, Munich, Nurnberg, and then Plzen. Not sure how far we’ll get – our plan is to take it easy and stop off anywhere we find interesting. We did drive to Lausanne today but couldn’t find parking for the RV…. Ah well, we had a nice walk around the center of Aigle and now just relaxing for the night.

Okay, I’m off. Thanks for the cheering, the emails, the comments on Facebook, the sponorship and the support. It means so much. Thanks to my favorite guy for making this all possible.