Starting line in the Scott Cup Pirineus, an MTB race with 55 km and 1700 positive meters that awaits us in the Ripollés region.
We go out with my friend Marc at the kick-off. We start in the town and after 500 m we begin to climb a paved and very straight climb and we already anticipate the hardness of the test.
For 8 km we have not stopped climbing, reaching the top of the first section of the race, having made a positive 450 m. Once at the top, we have taken a path and… Surprise! All the runners are there! Because of the start at the same time of both, rider and marathon, there is a jam. We go very slowly down the trail, which turns to be very technical. Having to cycle down slowly has been good for us. Once this is over, we are back on the track and, facing the second section of the climb, my legs feel great. We are going at a good pace! But as the slope increases I want to change the sprockets and the chain comes off… It takes us about two minutes, since it is stuck between the chain ring and the spokes 😬… luckily we put it back on and carry on!
Continuing up the climb 2 km from the aid station, I ask Marc how he is doing. “Just right! You go, Cris!”, he tells me. I tell him I won’t have it, but he insists. When you are “just doing right” and go to a point above where you feel comfortable, it is not a good sign, and when he tells me again, I agree and we continue separately.
I arrive at the first aid station at kilometre 13, fill the jerrycan, have a sachet of CH, proteins, minerals and continue with the climb. We have 10 more km to go… luckily I feel brave despite the heat and the slope difference… OMG!
We continue climbing along the track, taking some very well-worn uphill path. When we are at the top of everything we have to go down, I press and… gas, go down! The truth is that I’m enjoying it, going down a track with plenty of loose stones… too bad it didn’t last long, only 2 km, and we go back up the right ascent, passing through Coll de Pal. I overtake a girl here, but I don’t know what position we are in… We have 3 km left for the next aid station. We arrive at the aid station located in St. Jaume de Frontanyà, I get some water, fill the isotonic canister and eat a piece of orange. The girl I just overtook leaves before me. When I start, I see that Lluís (my husband) and Roger (my eldest son) arrive 😍 They encourage me and tell me that I’m fourth, but that the second and third ones are right in front of me. Gas! I clench my teeth and legs and immediately catch them and move into a second position. My legs still feel very good (we’ve done 28 km! Compared to the Titan race, having done 28 km meant that there was still a lot to be achieved. Here, I already have half a race done 😉).
We continue climbing. In fact, we have been climbing almost the entire race. God, what a demanding race! The heat is also squeezing hard. I start to see people with ramps (normal, with the heat and hardness). I always take salts every hour, I drink a lot of water or isotonic very often and I take gel or gummies every hour.
We face a descent along a very cool path, going through stretches of grass with quite a slope for 1.5 km and we go back up for about 6 km more. We are at its highest point at 1400 m. I already told you that the feeling is that we only went up, but I’m doing very well and I keep pushing, until on a path uphill the chain comes out again. Fortunately, with a minute I solve it, but since the first time it came out, I have not been able to use the last 2 sprockets.
We arrived at the third aid station. Many people take longer at this station than at previous ones. Fatigue is already beginning to sink. I take water, 2 pieces of orange, and knowing that I am still in second place, I leave quickly and as there is still one of the last climbs left. We already have done 40 km! We only have 15 km left and most of what is left is a descent. Now we really get on a very cool cycle path that takes us into the middle of the forest. The first km do not present much of a technical difficulty, but things start to get complicated, and we begin to go down through places with quite a few roots and narrow paths. I feel confident and keep at a good speed, until at one point, when I’ve done the hardest part, I fall to the ground (but I get up quickly! Silly fall!)
I’m happy because I’m going pretty fast. After a few km going down, we make a short climb again and finally face the last 12 km, of which 7 will be along a very cool trail but with a fairly technical descent. I start very well, going down quite fast and without getting off the bike. I’m enjoying it; I feel well today! After a long time of going down, I feel my arms tired from grabbing the handlebars so tight. We have finished the trail and now we only have 5 km left.
Some guys who have gone down with me, and master the bike (but had punctured and lost a lot of time) have told me: “You go down slopes better than 90% of the guys!” 😍.
Only 5 km left! A big smile is already drawn on my face! I start to cycle to the end, crossing the finish line and achieving a second position overall and a first position in category master 40, a great surprise in my second MTB test, on such a demanding circuit!