Last blog from Thor
Wednesday, 15 August 2007
The relay back at the ski hotel was a spectacle alright with the le mans start, the drum band, the commentators going nuts and the crowd swelled by the public race that started that afternoon. There were two spectator legs, the first was a taped route to the north of the stadium, the second was another route that took riders up into the stadium, over a bridge (with a control to punch on the top) and back down into a final forest loop in full view of the crowd in the stands. With 26 controls and an expected winning time of 50mins, the maps were a maze of red circles, lines and numbers such that it was really quite tricky to sort out where you were supposed to go next. It was a pretty good achievement for all 6 Australian riders to complete their courses given our lack of high pressure relay experience.
Tony and Paul went off first. Paul came back about 10minutes before Tony and they handed over to Larry and Woodsie respectively. The gap was actually less than 10minutes at the handover to Alex and myself. As Woodsie appeared, Kay told me to chase down Alex. Yeah right! My only real aim for the race was to pick up my map and secure it in my board without stopping riding. When I got to the map table, the marshals held out a soggy piece of paper (it started raining during leg 2), but I did manage to get it in place without stopping and before shooting off down the hill at the end of the stadium. Yahoo. It was amazing how quiet and peaceful the forest was after spending 2 hours at the stadium, and after a few messy controls I settled into the course and really enjoying the ride. I was passed by a few riders out there but was pretty pleased to pass a Spanish rider going into the last loop and holding him off so we didn’t finish last. Tony, Woodsie and I have declared ourselves winners of the mixed category. J
The after party was good and many jerseys were swapped. It’s all over now so my final word is to thank all of you who sent us messages of support. Very much appreciated.
Thor
|
A wrap
Sunday, 12 August 2007
Phew! It's over for another year. The fun, the excitement, the exhaustion and the nerves. This is one tough week. Five races in six days, every time trying to be up mentally and physically. How long will it take before we're itching to get on our bike again? Thanks to all who logged in and those who posted messages in the guest book. It's really great to hear from home. A special thanks to Anthony Darr who set up and managed the blog site. The hotel is quite empty now. We'll be heading for Prague in half an hour or so. I almost feel like a lost soul after the bustle and excitement of the past week. Even the (38!) dogs here seem more subdued. Overall it was a good WOC for the team. Four top 20 places and some great rides by the newcomers in what was a vastly different level of competition to that they'd encountered before. I am very impressed.
Now we hand over to the foot WOC team to keep you entertained for the rest of the month. We all wish them luck and as much success as we had.
|
It's all over now
Sunday, 12 August 2007
Just a few minutes to say that we all survived, all the bikes are intact apart from some bent derailleurs, and we've all had a wonderful time. We are packing up and heading to Prague this morning. More about the relays and the after party later....plus some more photos of course.
Thor
|
For more go to News Archives