Hochreichart - Hirschkarlgrat - Geierhaupt

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KOTL King of the lake

TCRNo11 - CP2 to CP3

TCRNo11 - CP1 to CP2

Checkpoint 2 was a quick operation: Get the stamp, have a short chat with the TCR media crew for their podcast and order a drink and a snack. Christian just received his non-alcoholic beer from the cameriere and so I also took one. We had a fast cheers to celebrate the great ride we shared so far! Before the waiter could put my sandwich into the toaster, I grabbed it from his hands, put the cold toast in my jersey and paid. After a toilet stop and some treatment for my butt I was on the bike again. 

I would absolutely want to keep my good rhythm, stay strong and stay fast. I have already made it from 9th place in CP1 to 7th place in CP2, but I was about 9 hours behind the leaders Ulrich Bartholmoes, Adam Bialek and Robin Gemperle. Having a look at the leaderboard I discovered absolutely no reason to waste time!

This paid off: I was in full fighting mode until the top of Passo Gavia, where I could catch some riders and get into virtual 5th place in the rankings. That gave me extra motivation and I remembered my strategy:
Warm-up until CP1, establish my routine and understand how the race works until CP2, increase intensity and speed until CP3 without destroying myself, and then try to race all-out and reduce sleep after CP3 to finish.

My to-do list only contained one small nasty thing: Since my 2032 spare battery was already used in the shifter, I wanted to buy a new one. And I also needed new earplugs to listen to music and make phone calls, since mine have also died in the rain. The small detour to an electronic shop in Ponte di Legno turned out to be a relevant climb, but it was definitely worth it. Having a connection to music again and restock batteries was a good feeling of comfort. After a big resupply on Passo Tonale, where I met Will Vousden for the 3rd time in 1 hour, I definitely understood what efficiency means: Will was a bit slower than me, but much more consistent. He had a minimum of off-bike-time and therefore overtook me again and again. But this time he was unlucky: He had to look for a pharmacy after a crash down from Gavia. We wished each other best of luck und off I was to the long valley towards Trento and to Northern Italy. 

A mixture of smoothly paved and fast bike paths and main roads led me to the region of Feltre, where I decided to not book a room, but sleep outside, whenever tiredness gets too strong. I enrolled my sleeping bad in an unfinished building site of a shopping centre north of Treviso and had another 3 hour nap.

The next day was just a big blast: Facing some troubles in the morning was the only small setback, before I could ride strong and steady. It happened, that I became too tired before sunrise and decided to take a short powernap. Sitting down and leaning back to a garden fence seemed to make sense, because lying down would lead to a deep sleep maybe. Problem was my empty phone battery, so I could not put an alarm and slept (I am not sure but I think) about 50 mins instead of 20 mins. Angrily about wasted time I found that I had another flat tire, while the bike was standing still in the grass. What is going on? No punctures while riding, but while standing still? Some bad miracle? Or some sabotage (just joking)?

Since I had only 1 of 2 tubes left and I did not want to have the tire-not-on-rim-problem again, I decided to ride to the next bike shop and get a new spare tube and have a mechanic put on the new tube and pump it up. Bad idea: The mechanic was so slow, did not care about the race (I told him that I was in a race, but he just smiled) and did other things instead of helping me. He was chatting to a pretty woman, looking at my tire and talking to colleagues. I got angry and would have preferred to leave, but the wheel was in his bike stand and I could do nothing but be patient. After 30min he got the new tube ready, and then I had to wait another 10min for the cashier to do the 5 customers before me. Man, was I angry!

But these emotions really woke my inner beastmode, and so the Strasser-Express pushed very hard the whole day through Italy, Slovenia, Croatia until Bosnia. My legs were perfect, my mind was focused, the weather was great. No navigational issues, no problems with food or stomach, no tech problems any more. I felt I have finally arrived in the race now. I knew that now my time will come. I sent out a video message to my social media to begin some psychological games on the other riders: I told, that I am feeling fresh and strong, that my strategy with a slower start pays off now, and that I am ready to fight now. I do not know if they saw the video, but having said this in public, gave me an extra boost of determination.

After another 3 hour sleep in Tihac, the first town in Bosnia, I had a very tough day: Rain, much traffic and rolling hills with much climbing made it really hard, but I was still racing hard without issues. The GPS-tracking site proved, that I got closer to the leaders. While Robin had to take a long stop to rest, I was in third with only Adam and Ulrich before me. Their lead got smaller and smaller, and when I arrived in CP3 Pluzine in the evening, I realized that they had only 3 hours of advantage left. But not only racing was in my mind: I have also seen one of the most beautiful places ever. The way south of Sarajewo into Montenegro through that impressive valley while sunset was a highlight in the beauty of TCR!


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Straps - CS 377

TCRNo8 – Checkpoint 2 to Checkpoint 3

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Hochreichart - Hirschkarlgrat - Geierhaupt

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KOTL King of the lake

TCRNo11 - CP2 to CP3

TCRNo11 - CP1 to CP2

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