15. August 2019
Snow Bike Festival – Gstaad
Doing competitions finally again! In 4 days I competed in 4 races. I earned a lot of experience these days. How is it to race in the snow? Do I have enough energy for the 4 exhausting days? Do I achieve my goals?
On Thursday the stage race has been opened by the Prologue. The snow was soft and therefore slippery and a bit muddy. I already kissed the floor 5 meters after the start. I got up, sat on my bike again and gave full throttle for about 33 minutes. I took a great 4th place.
The first stage was not what I expected. The weather was too warm. It made the snow very soft. I had to run a lot where I lost much time. I also crashed several times. My arms hurt because of the bike jogging and the maneuvers in the snow. I finished the first stage 17 minutes behind the leader.
New day, New luck. With mixed feelings, I started the second stage. The temperatures were a bit lower. Good conditions! At the first ascent, I felt very strong. I had lots of power and pushed myself forward. When I arrived at the front, I rode until the end together with the leader Katrin Leumann. Unfortunately I couldn’t follow her in the last downhill. I finally reached the finish line on the great 2nd place. I finished the 759 meters of climbing and the 35.3 km within 1hour and 46minutes. Only 10 seconds behind the leader. Goals clearly achieved!
The 3rd and last stage was a bit surprising again. As it became warmer again during the night and rained continuously, the planned route wasn’t passable. The organizers decided very well and changed the route. This stage was the hardest I’ve done. Unfortunately, I missed the groupe of three women and I had to ride alone then. At the end I crashed on the ski slope and my gears didn’t work anymore. I mobilized all my power and sprinted the last 100 meters by foot across the finish line.
It was enough! I took the 4th place in the overall UCI women elite category. I am so happy and proud about that.
In less than two weeks, I will continue with the training camp on Gran Canaria. After a lot of snow I’m looking forward to the sun, which hopefully is waiting for me there.