1 June - Diary Entry
4 Weeks, 5 Countries
I am currently sitting in a very cool Italian bar sipping on a very yummy ‘capuccio’, while pondering how I am going to begin telling you of my racing adventures over the last month. Racing has been full on but I now have 2weeks of rest (ie: 2 weeks of training without racing). I arrived in Italy a little over a week ago and have been staying in ‘Varese’ at the Australian base for a screening camp that had been organised for all the Aussie riders in professional teams to come together for medical check-ups, physio screenings, bike position checks and a general good ol’ chinwag. Varese is situated in the very north of Italy, only 20k or so from the Swiss border and is surrounded by beautiful mountains and picturesque lakes such as Lake Lugano, Lake Varese and Lake Maggiore. The weather has been beautiful and I have enjoyed training here immensely, feeling like I could ride forever! So, with no racing in Belgium, I decided to extend my stay here…. which has turned out to be a great decision with there being non-stop rain in Belgium!
I have had a number of races in Belgium, Holland and Switzerland since I last wrote and all with very good results. I haven’t been on the podium myself (yet) but have played a major role in every race in ensuring that it is one of us from our team that crosses the line first! It is a very young team and I have had to use the best leadership skills I possess to guide them all to winning ways.
Teamwork in cycling is quite difficult to explain until you have experienced it for yourself but it’s like any team sport in that when the team wins, everyone wins and celebrates! However, in a cycling race only one person actually crosses the line first but a whole lot of sacrifice and hard work of teammates has occurred throughout the race to ensure that the team wins.
For instance, in the final sprint, the designated sprinter we call ‘the pea’ is protected from the wind and the team forms a train to lead the pea into the best possible position with as little effort as possible to the finish line. (The term ‘the pea’ comes from the fact that the rider is like a pea in a pod in its protected casing.) The 200m to go mark is the finish line for the final lead out rider where the pea then powers around to take the win! I have attached a photo of one of our wins where I am in the background with my arms in the air. I know that my time for victory will be here soon enough as I have been feeling very strong.
I am looking forward to my next lot of racing which is the Canadian World Cup followed by two tours in Montreal and Prince Edward Island. My professional team won’t be competing there but fortunately I was given permission to ride with the Aussies. So, I will be donning the green and gold colours whilst in Canada.
I hope you are all enjoying the sun there, I will be in touch again soon with the Canadian update.
Ciao for now,
Sara