October 2, 8:30 a.m. Starting line in Tossa de Mar. About to commence the second round of the Scott Cup!
This time, unlike the first Scott Cup Pirineus test, I am at the front on the starting line, in order not to lose time with the blockage that is formed by all the cyclists at the beginning.
We leave at a fast pace on a track with a curve to the right where more than one already falls on the ground, and after 100 m we start to climb a fairly straight track where my pulse is already reaching its maximum. Here I overtake two girls and I am first place for a few minutes, until a rival who is very agile on the climb passes me. I don’t let her out of my sight. We climb several more km and I start to overtake some male contestants. Until kilometer 10 it has been a progressive climb combined with some downhill sections, but in general we have not stopped climbing. They are 1400+ with 44 km.
It is a very demanding race. Besides the unevenness, we cycle along very slippery tracks made of coarse beach sand, typical of the Costa Brava.
From km 10 to 15 km we have not stopped climbing, the incline has been very hard, but very cool. I feel good and I still maintain the second position, with quite high rates for being a BTT test. The race is consistently tough but beautiful. Once in Sant Grau we have turned off along a very cool “cyclable” path, but after 200 m, there is a warning sign: from here on a very technical area begins. We have started to pass through some large rocks and plains, where you have to be very alert and, yes, it has been a difficult path, which luckily, the telescopic tub has made it easier for me to go down. I’ve done everything on the bike and at a good pace during the 3 km, with my arms under significant tension… But I’m happy I didn’t have to get off the bike and lose time. I have continued along a very straight downhill track until kilometer 23, and up to here I have really enjoyed myself.
We’re already halfway through the race and it is getting tougher, climbing up and up again. The truth is that my legs feel good and I am with a group of guys who go at the same pace. When we get to the top at kilometer 30 we take a very nice and “cyclable” path and we suddenly see a path that is impossible to climb on a bike. We carry our bikes on our shoulders and up we go and when we have already gone quite a distance, when we have almost reached the hill, we realize that we are lost and that there are no track marking tapes. Damn!!! I will no longer be eligible for the podium.
We decide to climb to the top and go down a very straight track full of loose stones, and I fall. Luckily, it is nothing, and we continue until we find the track the race is on.
Honestly, this makes me furious. Now I have two options: either letting it go and assume that I no longer have a chance for a podium, or give it my all to try to catch the girl in the second position and see if I can get myself in third position. You guess what I’ve decided, right?
The second option, obviously. I continue along the track at a very high speed, 10 km left to reach the finish line, and I feel good. I believe I can do it.
Now a hellish 2 km climb full of sand that makes the bike skid is coming. Most people go up pushing the bike. I push it for a while and do the rest on the bike. Come on, there’s little left, Cris! Without stopping, I try to give everything. Once at the top, all that remains is to go down, some small climbs and that will be it.
When we reach the top of Montagut, we start to descend on a fairly technical downhill path until we are 2 km from the finish line. I am with a male contender, going down very fast, without thinking about the difficulty. I have told him what happened to me, and every time we see someone in front of us who seems to be in trouble going down, he tells them that I am the female in third position and that they let us pass, all the way throughout the trail up to 2 km from the finish line. The technical zone is over, and he has been with me to the finish line.
In the end I am in third position, I haven’t been able to catch the girl in second position for only 40 seconds. Pity! And who knows, if I hadn’t got lost, I might have won.
I feel myself pretty good and I have one more anecdote to tell.
We continue!