This track was made up of very steep climbs with initially slippery rocky descents. Luckily the sun came out and the track dried out and it was really fun! Due to it being so steep we didn’t have that much practice on the track as it would have loaded the legs up too much. This didn’t matter too much as I raced here two years ago in 35 degree heat! Thankfully it was a lot cooler this year. I hadn’t been this nervous before a race in a long time and I think I was worried about the “what if” my legs hadn’t come back. Sam had said this would be far from an ideal race so I wasn’t expecting much however after a terrible start (probably due to the nerves) I began to feel a glimpse of what I had at the start of the season and managed to start working my way through the field. Each lap I focused on riding as strong as I could on that day and to keep smooth and clean on the descents. I finished in 35th position which doesn’t sound great but it was such close racing that I was only a minute off 25th. I felt relieved that I had improved from Windham and it gave me confidence that after a rest my legs would return. First though was a 13 hour drive to Andorra for World Champs. 

Finale Ligure in Italy is one of the best places on Earth for riding, beach and gelato and lucky for us it was on the way to Andorra. What made it even more awesome was our friend Gabby lives there and she put us plus three other kiwi races up for the night. We arrived, got the bags out of the van and hit the trails. It was the best thing I could have done – to get out and just ride and re-kindle my love for the trail again.

We wanted to stay but knew that getting to Andorra early was crucial as we would be racing at an altitude of 2000m and we needed all the time we could get to adjust. We left Finale and hit the road again, arriving at Camp Kiwi that night. It was great to see Sam my coach again plus all the other kiwi riders. It is always so interesting to watch how others prepare and focus for their races, it can be a high stress environment at times but this year it was a great environment to be a part of. Practice on the track that week was going well and we were very conscious due to the altitude and super steep climbs to give my legs plenty of rest every other day. Up until Thursday I was starting to feel like my old self again but then I caught a cold and I really wasn’t feeling well (when it rains it pours right?) . To make matters more challenging there were rumours flying around that rain was going to hit for the next few days and boy was it right!

As it turned out I only had pretty light training anyway so I didn’t feel like I was missing anything but I spent a lot of time in bed feeling very tired and worn out. I was on the mend by Saturday but by no means was I feeling 100% and I knew I was going to be feeling it on race day. The Under 23 mens race the day before (which kiwi Anton Cooper won and Sam Gaze got 4th in, woohoo!) was shortened by a lap due to the conditions however with the sun shining on the women’s race day teh laps were left at the original number which turned out to be far too long. The mud had become gluggy and slow and the race ended up being close to the 2 hour mark which was too long. I did  not get the result I was looking for but as always was impressed with my stubbornness not to give up. I races as hard and as long as I could, cramp and all and finished in 40th position.

I’m back in Queenstown now and couldn’t be happier to be home! After chatting with my coach and HPNZ I’ve decided I need a large break over the summer, still plenty of riding but not the structured training I’ve had for the last 3 years. I’m going to race in NZ as often as I can however I’ll be saving full training and race more for Europe next year to ensure I can race the entire World Cup season well and get the results I know I am capable of.

Although the second part of the season is one I’d like to forget, my coach and I have learnt so many valuable lessons that we will take into the coming seasons.

Thanks to all my sponsors for their continued support. I plan on working hard on ensuring I recover correctly and get my body back to full health. After all, Rio is just around the corner!