Are you sure there is a top to this climb?
Racing begins in Deutchlandsberg
Racing begins in Deutchlandsberg
Today featured two different hill climb races. The first was for the younger group of masters; a 7 kilometer climb up to Trauhutten which averaged a 16% grade. I think whoever determined it was 16% had maybe one of Austrian beer too many the night before. The climb was a brute, with no respite, and 16% was when the climb actually eased up.
Rob raced up the climb, and due to the cold and rain, and hoping to get some extra training, I rode up it with extra clothes for him for the descent. Cruelly, the climb allowed you to see the town of Trauhutten, making you on three different occasions believe you were almost to the top. At the top, sadly, you cannot even enjoy the view, which I am sure was spectacular because the only thing you are seeing is the pavement in front of you and the stars swarming through your vision threatening to blind you. Oh yeah, and there is the feeling that you might throw up if you look up the hill any longer.
Rob rode awesome though and finished third in his group; a fantastic start to the two weeks of racing. As I climbed up, grateful I was not racing it, I had some epiphanies. The first is that the beautiful prayer nooks along the side of the mountain are really for cyclists seeking salvation from the climb. And, there is no doubt that the nooks around here are used on a regular basis. A soft climb here still involves at least 1000 meters of gut wrenching pitches, usually at that magical 16% average gradient.
I raced a good deal later than Rob, and took the opportunity to get in as much training as possible. After all, I am still missing a good deal of base, just being on the bike for nine weeks, and am looking to not only enjoy the European country-side again but gain some much needed fitness along the way. Plus I really needed to get the extra ten pounds of fluid from travel out of my legs and the cigarette smoke from the hotel’s restaurant out of my lungs.
After a good solid training ride, I headed out to the start of my race. Today’s feature was a meager 4 kilometer race with a one kilometer hill climb. Those of you that know me know this is not my ideal race and so I approached it warily. Tracy outlined the women to watch and as I began to stage I actually got nervous. I have not been nervous before a race for years and I had to actually smile as I began to chew my nails and look frantically for a bathroom. Ah yes, it is good to be back to racing!
As the count down began in German, the women were already edging off the line. The key girl to watch had teammates who immediately drilled it from the gun, which made me happy. No negative racing here! The first two kilometers of the race were a slight uphill grade with a cross headwind. As the road swung into the wind the team hesitated and I thought, “well it might well be a good time to test some legs.” I stood up accelerated very hard, and hit the right hand turn which took us down a steep descent. When I looked over my shoulder I saw the group chasing but I had a good gap so I stayed on the gear and came into the climb past the lead motorcycle, who was a bit surprised to see me coming around him so fast. Hitting the climb I slipped my chain onto my small ring and began to battle gravity. By now, a Russian woman had come up to me and I surged several times trying to break her loose. She would respond but could not come by me, and we spent 800 meters this way.
Is this thing ever going to end?
The crowd on the climb was excited to see the women battling it out and we received quite a bit of loud cheering, which is always good for inspiration. As we round the last switch back (which incidentally was sickly steep) I saw a prayer nook and wished I could use it to pray for a 27, which I needed badly at this point. The Russian then put in a good attack and it was my turn to cast around for an answer but I came up short and had to settle for second place. The main field though was a good minute behind us to I enjoyed the agony of the last 50 meters; the spectacle of the crowd, the announcer saying my name, the banners, the flags, the finish. It is a glorious thing the finish of a bike race and I thanked all the many people and sponsors who have supported my return so that I could again enjoy the sounds, sights, and smells at a finish. Oh yes, and there are always smells – we are in Europe don’t forget!
Rob met me at the finish with my leg warmers and vest and off we went for another adventure. This included yet another climb of a (guess what) 16% grade. The view was of course amazing, churches and castles dotting the mountain sides, fog laying in the valleys and of course cow bells blessing the mountain sides. But, I was truly lucky today, for at the top was a tree loaded down with fantastic pears just begging to be picked and savored later in the hotel room! Truly a bright finish to a wonderful day.
.jpg)
In the act of stealing pears - but they were by the road - I swear!
Tomorrow is a miss and out criterium. The final corner has a nice section of cobbles onto a very narrow street with the finish only about 50 meters up. Again, not really my style of race, but after today I am feeling a little feisty so I might just see what I can stir up!
A quick thank you: Thank you to ongoing support from Proman Paradigm Women's team, thank you to all of my clients who have inspired me to return, thank you to Michelin for their ongoing support and help, and thank you to the wonderful people who bless my life with love and daily support to whom I could not do this ...
Stay tuned – more to follow.
Results:
Rennergebnisse Fur Versehrte:
Roman Bor
Syd Lea
Thomas Winkler
Rennergebnisse fur Masters 5
1. Ewald Wolf
2. Johann Taucher
3. Dirk Cowly
Damenklasse 3
1. Susan Shook
2. Clare Greenwood
3. Lubov Vasilkova
4. Julian Emblin
8. Tracy Lea
Masters 1
1. Leon Vibholm
2. Alfred Platter
3. Rob Dillion
Damenklasse 2
1. Panina Inna
2. Giana Roberge
3. Michaela Brunningraber
Rob raced up the climb, and due to the cold and rain, and hoping to get some extra training, I rode up it with extra clothes for him for the descent. Cruelly, the climb allowed you to see the town of Trauhutten, making you on three different occasions believe you were almost to the top. At the top, sadly, you cannot even enjoy the view, which I am sure was spectacular because the only thing you are seeing is the pavement in front of you and the stars swarming through your vision threatening to blind you. Oh yeah, and there is the feeling that you might throw up if you look up the hill any longer.
Rob rode awesome though and finished third in his group; a fantastic start to the two weeks of racing. As I climbed up, grateful I was not racing it, I had some epiphanies. The first is that the beautiful prayer nooks along the side of the mountain are really for cyclists seeking salvation from the climb. And, there is no doubt that the nooks around here are used on a regular basis. A soft climb here still involves at least 1000 meters of gut wrenching pitches, usually at that magical 16% average gradient.
I raced a good deal later than Rob, and took the opportunity to get in as much training as possible. After all, I am still missing a good deal of base, just being on the bike for nine weeks, and am looking to not only enjoy the European country-side again but gain some much needed fitness along the way. Plus I really needed to get the extra ten pounds of fluid from travel out of my legs and the cigarette smoke from the hotel’s restaurant out of my lungs.
After a good solid training ride, I headed out to the start of my race. Today’s feature was a meager 4 kilometer race with a one kilometer hill climb. Those of you that know me know this is not my ideal race and so I approached it warily. Tracy outlined the women to watch and as I began to stage I actually got nervous. I have not been nervous before a race for years and I had to actually smile as I began to chew my nails and look frantically for a bathroom. Ah yes, it is good to be back to racing!
As the count down began in German, the women were already edging off the line. The key girl to watch had teammates who immediately drilled it from the gun, which made me happy. No negative racing here! The first two kilometers of the race were a slight uphill grade with a cross headwind. As the road swung into the wind the team hesitated and I thought, “well it might well be a good time to test some legs.” I stood up accelerated very hard, and hit the right hand turn which took us down a steep descent. When I looked over my shoulder I saw the group chasing but I had a good gap so I stayed on the gear and came into the climb past the lead motorcycle, who was a bit surprised to see me coming around him so fast. Hitting the climb I slipped my chain onto my small ring and began to battle gravity. By now, a Russian woman had come up to me and I surged several times trying to break her loose. She would respond but could not come by me, and we spent 800 meters this way.
Is this thing ever going to end?
The crowd on the climb was excited to see the women battling it out and we received quite a bit of loud cheering, which is always good for inspiration. As we round the last switch back (which incidentally was sickly steep) I saw a prayer nook and wished I could use it to pray for a 27, which I needed badly at this point. The Russian then put in a good attack and it was my turn to cast around for an answer but I came up short and had to settle for second place. The main field though was a good minute behind us to I enjoyed the agony of the last 50 meters; the spectacle of the crowd, the announcer saying my name, the banners, the flags, the finish. It is a glorious thing the finish of a bike race and I thanked all the many people and sponsors who have supported my return so that I could again enjoy the sounds, sights, and smells at a finish. Oh yes, and there are always smells – we are in Europe don’t forget!
Rob met me at the finish with my leg warmers and vest and off we went for another adventure. This included yet another climb of a (guess what) 16% grade. The view was of course amazing, churches and castles dotting the mountain sides, fog laying in the valleys and of course cow bells blessing the mountain sides. But, I was truly lucky today, for at the top was a tree loaded down with fantastic pears just begging to be picked and savored later in the hotel room! Truly a bright finish to a wonderful day.
.jpg)
In the act of stealing pears - but they were by the road - I swear!
Tomorrow is a miss and out criterium. The final corner has a nice section of cobbles onto a very narrow street with the finish only about 50 meters up. Again, not really my style of race, but after today I am feeling a little feisty so I might just see what I can stir up!
A quick thank you: Thank you to ongoing support from Proman Paradigm Women's team, thank you to all of my clients who have inspired me to return, thank you to Michelin for their ongoing support and help, and thank you to the wonderful people who bless my life with love and daily support to whom I could not do this ...
Stay tuned – more to follow.
Results:
Rennergebnisse Fur Versehrte:
Roman Bor
Syd Lea
Thomas Winkler
Rennergebnisse fur Masters 5
1. Ewald Wolf
2. Johann Taucher
3. Dirk Cowly
Damenklasse 3
1. Susan Shook
2. Clare Greenwood
3. Lubov Vasilkova
4. Julian Emblin
8. Tracy Lea
Masters 1
1. Leon Vibholm
2. Alfred Platter
3. Rob Dillion
Damenklasse 2
1. Panina Inna
2. Giana Roberge
3. Michaela Brunningraber
2 comments:
Keep it up Gianna! So proud you are wearing the PROMAN jersey!
You are a wonderful writer; it is a joy to read your race reports.
congratulations, Giana! you're looking lean and fit and healthy. show those women why you earned your nickname.
Lorri
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