Again I will start this entry in an unusual way with a picture. This is from the very top of the stairs from today's race. It just screams mjölksyra eller hur? So today I made my debut at racing in Denmark and that makes this the 3rd country I have raced in this season. And this also was my debut in H Prestige because they only had a choice between H and H40 but it didn't matter because everyone would race 60 min + finish the lap they were on. No worries for lapped riders. You just do as many laps as you can.

The start was not very dramatic and the whole thing was kind of like Introcross except with chip timing. The course was marked with arrows but there was plenty of chances for corner cutting. I took it easy and just watched where everyone was going so I could follow the same line in later laps. My speed was fine and the Tufos at 2.5 bar were perfect today. My race plan was simple...just keep a steady pace until I meet Mr. Wall. And again the first two laps I was just trying to see where I could rest and where I could gain ground. There was no time for rest anywhere.

This was the lap...the long straight was slightly downhill and everyone was flying so I had to shift down and fly too. At the end of that down near the water it turned left onto a trail but most stayed high and went along the grass. This was a good place to gain time because most coasted here and I did the coasting in the next part, the left turn followed by a sharp right into the forest. This was a tricky part with stones and loose mud and was a place where a couple of guys had bike problems. So here I took it easy and that was a perfect strategy because I did the whole thing without flaw. In the forest it was kind of fun except for the fact that it was slowly uphill the whole time. But I kept at it and this also became a good spot for opening gaps. The next part was a rough grass field over to a right turn, after which was a gradual climb with the wind against you. Fan this hurt. Or, well, it hurt because this is precisely where I made my attack in every lap. That would pay later on. After that was a little 2m drop with a pile of mud at the bottom which became more slippery each lap. But I managed just fine. Then it was time for a double löphinder, again just after an uphill so I was basically stopped. After this we crossed the chip line and then head for the stairs. If you check the picture above you will see a very large brick circle and because I feared pedal vurpor and massive carnage I was already off the bike in the grass and was lifting it up over my shoulder while running up to the hill. This was pretty good. And then taking the stairs 2 at a time meant that this was another spot where I could open up gaps. At the top after I usually messed up my remount it was a slow downhill back to the start which was yet another good spot to attack.

So back to the race. Around Lap 3 my consistency strategy started to pay off because I could see someone 50m ahead and could close the gap and pass. I did this 3 times over the next few laps and felt like things were going great. Of course I was already lapped but I didn't care so much about that. Around 30 min in I could see a few cyclists that had given up so I would not be last even if Mr. Wall came for a visit. Those in front of me were getting more difficult and at least one was på rulle (like 10 m back) for at least a lap. Not so much was happening at this point because the next guy in front was very consistent.

I had no clue how much time has passed so stupidly I asked how much time was left (10 minutes) and this gave away my weakness so the guy I had passed beautifully with an attack in the wind part could sneak by on the stairs. That was my worst stairs of the day. So I figured 2 laps and tried to keep going but my body was weak. I think that was a slow lap because the guy in front of me was getting farther ahead. So then I heard last lap and pulled out all the energy I could find and it was perfect. Where did that energy come from??? So I made up some time and crossed the line and found the nearest muddy grass patch to collapse in. Fy fan. 60 minutes is da shit. And now I am a stiff MF indeed.

It was not exactly a folkfest but there were enough there to make it pretty good. And hearing Danes yell loudly when their bike falls apart is also fun. I think there will be a few pics of me too because one seemed to always be there with her camera on every part of the lap. The results are supposed to appear on Facebook and then on their website. I was not expecting much so we will see what happens. I did pass a few people and I even lapped a couple so that has to be good.