So here it goes. The final instalment of my Euro trip. Hope you guys have enjoyed them.
For my last week in Europe I would be staying with Elisabeth Brando in Germany, and, after my disappointments at the World Cups, I was ready to make the most of it and get my head back in the game for my final race in Granichen, Switzerland.
I’ve probably said it before, but Germany is a stunning country! Everything operates the way it is supposed to. I don’t think I saw a single piece of rubbish the entire time I was there, nor did I notice any burglar guards either (or car guards for that matter). So needless to say, I like Europe a fair amount.
German Forests
Top of one of the enduro trails
Country side around Schonaich
As Switzerland is so expensive, we decided to only travel through on Saturday, the day before the race. This gave me an opportunity to see what Germany had to offer and get some decent riding in, in preparation for the race on Sunday.
After a pretty epic week of riding and sightseeing, we set off for Switzerland on Saturday morning. By 11h30 we were out riding the course, which was a pretty fun one. It was not ridiculously technical but had enough to keep it interesting and the amount of rain Europe has been getting of late, made it super muddy and slippery, once again making you guess as to what tyres you needed to ride, and because we South Africans don’t usually ride these conditions, you just didn’t know what to really expect. I managed to get about half of the course ridden before they started with the smaller races on Saturday afternoon, which was not exactly ideal, but there was still a bit of time in the morning that I could squeeze a lap in.
Swiss sunsets, at like 9h00PM
Sunday dawned to be a pretty decent day, and Elisabeth and I set out to do a quick lap of the course to make sure nothing had changed too much as a result of the previous days’ racing. We then had to wash our bikes and make a decision as to whether we should run mud tyres or dry tyres. I eventually decided to take my spare wheels and put mud tyres on, that way I could check with Elisabeth and the other South African girls as to how the course was riding and make a final call then. Man am I glad I did! The girls raced in fairly dry conditions, by dry I mean it wasn’t raining, which caused a lot of sticky mud to clog up around the bike, similar to if you race at Cascades in the mud, but not quite as bad. However, during my warm up, conditions were turned on their head as the heavens opened and a massive down pour started which would continue throughout most of the race.
Lining up in the rain is not as fun as it sounds and it gets rather cold. Fortunately, in Europe, once they have called everyone up, it takes about two minutes and you’re off.
The Swiss Cups are basically mini World Cups and everyone who is anyone is there. This was also the final selection race for the Swiss Olympic team so the competition was rather fierce; with Nino Schurter and Florian Vogel being on the start line, to name just two. 15h00 the gun went off and we set off at a slightly slower pace than I was expecting. There was a long, tarred uphill drag that we would go up every lap and I was feeling pretty good and keeping up, until around three-quarters of the way up after which I realised why they all started a bit easier. Suddenly it was like I just couldn’t hold on anymore and guys slowly started to make their way around me. Unfortunately one of the draw backs of mud tyres is that they really don’t roll too well on the tar and this makes you work so much harder to move forward.
I was able to get into a bit of a rhythm after the first climb and I set off trying to make up places and get around the course. Things were going pretty well, and with the mud tyres, I was handling the downhills pretty well (I would rather ride in these conditions than South African hot, dry and dusty conditions) and probably having one of the most fun races I have had in a while. By the third lap, though, my brake pads had completely worn out. I realised this when I went to brake before a downhill and there was absolutely nothing, which caused me to crash into one of the barriers. I didn’t really know what to do, I was having a pretty decent race but no brakes made for some very unpredictable riding. Fortunately, I found out that the aluminium backing of brake pads is a half decent braking surface (one advantage of weight weenie parts) – not great by any small margin – but good enough that it can slow me down enough to get down the technical sections and as long as I rode cautiously, I was able to make it around the course.
Eventually, I would finish one lap down on Nino. I needed around a minute and a half to have made the cut-off, so I was fairly happy with this result, especially after the brake failure, which ironically tends to slow you down a bit. I was happy to finally have a positive outcome from one of my races in Europe, even though it did destroy my bike on another level (I have had to completely strip and rebuild it since getting back).
What’s left of my pads, they were a week old
That brings us to the end of my Europe trip. The racing did not go according to plan at all but it gave me some idea of just how much more work I have to do to get to that level of racing. On a positive note, though, it was an incredible experience and I learnt so much in the three short weeks that I was there. I cannot wait to go back.
Before I sign out I would like to thank, firstly; Squirt Lube for helping to make this trip possible with allowing me to stay in their athlete house. Thank you to my other sponsors, DeFeet Socks South Africa, Hi-Tech Therapy and AbsoluteBlack for your support in my endeavours and standing by me even when the results were not what I was expecting; to my family and friends for the support that I have received in following my dreams. Finally thank you to Elisabeth, Marco and Max for opening your home up to a complete stranger, taking me in and looking after me, for showing me what Germany is all about and giving me some insight into what makes the Europeans so fast, I will always be in your debt. Thank you for all that you did for me, I hope that one day I can repay you for the kindness you have shown me.
Marco, Elisabeth and Max
That’s a wrap and hope you guys have enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed experiencing it.
Till next time.
God Bless
Cheers
Psalm 56v3
Stuart Marais Racing 