With it being so cold over the last few days we had a real clothing dilemma, it could do anything. I opted for a bit of Deep Heat on the legs. I'd bought some German stuff that didn't really seem to do very much.
The published start line procedure of placing you in a box according to your number, 343 we weren't looking forward to starting 2/3rds of the way back. Fortunately it didn't work out like that, there was a grid for all the international licence holders then everyone else and managed to get reasonably close to the front of the B Grid.
Everyone had been saying the start was mental and usually lots of big crashes. In reality it wasn't that bad, no worse than an XC Race.
We bashed it out pretty hard to begin with to get as far up the field as we could before the start of the 1st real climb, tomorrows grid is determined by where we finish today.
The 1st climb went ok 7km long, the Euro-machines making it look all too easy, Legs burning now... With a screaming fast descent, 45mph on loose gravel, even me passing slow Euros who can't descent for toffee! Harry if you get to read this, I did remember your lessons of the other week! The lesson in braking now making perfect sense!!! The 2nd big hill came at 45k and 10k long, and the heat of the day building... Legs burning madly!
From the top it was steep loose and technical down to the road then a 30k generally downhill or flat before kicking hard up for a very hot steep 5k climb to finish in Weerberg.
We got in with a good group moving fast and working well when the bike started handling like a pig. Back tyre had gone soft, not punctured, must have burped it on the last bit of rough descent. Then the cramp hit home, both legs! Desperate... Steve having to push me along for a while until it subsided. We hooked up with a couple of Americans and worked well together to the last climb. That's where Steve cracked, his turn for cramping legs!
So we finished in 4hrs 51mins and 44th place. Happy with that, hope we haven't gone off too fast, with 2300m of ascent,that was the easy day!
We're sat in the campsite at Weer, had a lovely long shower, shaved the legs... And they are still feckin, burning... Don't buy German Deep Heat!!!
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