Relay Jitters

Sunday, 31 August 2008

The WOC came to a close today with the relay events. The teams were ready for the challenge, with Alex and Mel bravely stepping up for the high-stress first leg with a chaotic Le Mons start. 31 riders scrambled for the narrow gate leading to the start. Unfortunately both succumbed to the first leg pressure, with Alex unhappy with his race, and Mel mispunching in an otherwise brilliant ride. Jen and Darvo enjoyed their second legs, and Thor and AJ brought home the teams. Thor rode so well that she was drug tested, but whatever spurred her through the race turned out to be undetectable.

Now we're all busy with last minute chores, like drinking beer by the lake (something we've been looking forward to all week!) Mel has been cleaning and recleaning and dismembering her bike, while AJ streamlined the whole process by selling his to a passerby!

Some of us are heading off to new adventures- Coach Kay is off to enjoy a well-earned adventure, cycling through Holland and Denmark with NO emotionally unstable prima donna athletes in tow. Thor and Jon are driving on to Estonia for the world rogaining champs. Mel is hoping to squeeze in time to finish off a medical degree before her next race/holiday. Alex is going to chase roadies in Belgium. Some of us unfortunately have jobs to return to.

We've all had an awesome trip, and with the fantastic ups already eclipsing the downs (were there any?) can't wait to do it all again in Israel next year.

Thanks to everyone back home for the great support!

Jen

Thorlene Egerton

Long distance final

Saturday, 30 August 2008

Steady rain overnight and this morning meant the forest was going to be muddy and heavy going for the long distance final. Alex and AJ had late starts after their good qualification races and the girls all started in the first half of the field.

After spending most of Wednesday night nauseous and Thursday in bed, AJ rode brilliantly for 6th place, 3 minutes after Russian Ruslan Gritsan. Unfortunately for AJ he hadn't recovered from the bout of food poisoning to be anywhere near his usual form. Alex rode solidly, although with a few small mistakes for a great 13th place.

Mel, Thor and Jen all had solid rides. It was particularly exciting early on as Mel finished with a fast time and held first place for several hours. It was even nearly half an hour after she finished before the 2nd woman finished on their course! Cath had a bit of trouble with one big parallel error in the tricky terrain.

The girls were probably a little disadvantaged by the weather which cleared up this afternoon, making the tracks dry out considerably for the later starters. But all were happy with their rides, having found good rhythm in the difficult terrain.