# Photo: Thomasfutterknecht
I traveled to Nauders on Monday to be able to prepare for the upcoming races and the joint team event. With perfect conditions and accompanied by the team members who had already arrived, I explored the route of the three-country Giro on Monday and the decisive section of the Endura Alpentraum on Tuesday. It went perfectly on both days and we collected countless great impressions on the Stelvio Pass and the other passes.
After a rest day on Wednesday, the Kaunertaler Gletscherkaiser was on the racing calendar on the public holiday – 2 hours of full throttle against extremely strong competition – a tough one! It actually went surprisingly well for me, I couldn't keep up with the top riders, but in the end I caught up a lot and crossed the finish line happily at 2750m. In any case, it was a perfect preload for the Drei Länder Giro, which followed on Sunday.
# Photo: Walter André
Until then, we still had 2 very nice days with almost the entire team, which we could use intensively for photo shoots, material coordination, race tactics and other organizational things. On Friday evening, of course, there was still the professional criterium in the village center, to which we were invited with 4 drivers. It didn't go so well for me, but the evening was a great experience for drivers and spectators and ours Fan club in the target curve!
# Photo: Walter André
Fully motivated, we got up early on Sunday morning, because at 6:30 a.m. the start for our 30-man squad took place at the three-country Giro. Started in icy temperatures, it was still pleasantly cool on the Stelvio Pass, the panorama was amazing, the weather was like out of a picture book. On the long route we were represented by 3 drivers in the front of 14 drivers and the decision for victory was made on the last climb. I was able to keep up for a long time, but didn't quite follow the decisive attack. But I was very happy with fourth place and even more so with the strong performance of my team riders!
As a bonus, Monika Dietl secured victory in the women's category with a new course record! It was simply perfect teamwork that day, which also gave us our first win in the team classification. After a relaxing afternoon and the award ceremony, everyone started their journey home full of emotions. The cycling week in Nauders once again lived up to its reputation and everyone is already looking forward to the next team appearances at the Mondsee Marathon and La Marmotte in France. It can definitely continue like this!