Saturday 1 June 2013

Alpen Tour Trophy: Stage 3 without waterproof shorts ;)

Opening the curtains this morning and not seeing rain was, well, quite a shock! It actually threw me: what to wear!? For a brief moment I actually thought it'd be more simple if it just kept raining, but that was short lived ;)

Wearing the Race Leader Jersey brings the advantage of a front row start, allowing a little longer to make my final decision on the day's attire and an opportunity to avoid the usual scrum during the neutralised start. Over the last 2 days of racing I haven't truly felt my strong self; sore muscles made me wonder what was the matter: could it be last week's massive training load; was I getting ill; or was it the waterproof shorts!?


On the first climb I felt good and almost 'normal', confirming my suspicion: the waterproof shorts made me sit in a different position on the saddle - perhaps sliding around a little - and incorporating different muscles. Perhaps I'm wrong, but whatever the reason I felt much better today.

The race was a bit uneventful with a lack of snow and rain - and having feeling in my extremities - but I can live with that. The views were pretty impressive: snow capped mountains, mountain rivers and low cloud; and there were some fun trails: steep loose switchbacks, wet slippery roots and of course the last slick descent on the downhill course to the finish.

Double victory for Alban and me :)
The respite from the rain has been great, but now it's time to get ready for some more wet racing tomorrow - the forecast looks biblical!

One more time I cross my fingers for good luck, fun and reasonable warmth ........


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