This was always likely to be a bit of an odd World Cup round. Being the first race of the year at some altitude and just 3 weeks out from the Olympics I wasn’t putting too much emphasis on a strong result. I put more emphasis instead on having a solid training week and making sure I came through both the short track and XCO unscathed and in good condition, something that would prove difficult in the XCO at least!
I didn’t have the best short track on Friday night. After a strong start I started to fade towards the second half of the race, something I put down to the higher altitude we were racing at. It felt like that was the cause to me at least anyway going off similar experiences at altitude races in previous years. I finished in 17th place; 1 spot shy of a second row start for the XCO.
On Sunday it hosed down, and the track turned to a sloppy mess. As much as I love riding in challenging, slippery conditions I’ve struggled in recent times to get my legs to fire in the cold. I knew it could be a tough day out there and when I got caught up in a crash just after the start, I lost some vital positions.
I went a bit too deep into the red chasing back immediately as I tried to regain some of the positions I’d lost in the crash. I paid for that effort over the first half of the race, but my legs started to come back to me with a few laps to go and I was able to press forward to finish in 16th position.
Not the best race for me but I was very happy with how I rode in such challenging conditions and that I was able to press on regardless of the situation.
Happy to make it through the week in one piece and now I can turn my attention fully to the Olympic Games on the 26th of July!