On April 26th the German Cycling Cup season 2015 started for TEAM GREEN'N FIT. This year the drivers will again report on their personal racing experiences. Marion Wittler, who finished 100th on the 11 km course, starts things off – on a race day that was anything but an ordinary one as far as the weather conditions were concerned.
I survived - or: free massage at Hohen Hagen
Today it was not Cologne, but Göttingen that was the opening race on the calendar of the German Cycling Cup. However, Göttingen should not be inferior to the traditional capricious weather.
While our "short drivers" arrived in Göttingen on Saturday, we long drivers preferred to spend a night in our own beds and only arrived in Göttingen on the morning of the race. The arrival went as planned and picking up the starting documents was also relaxed. The Sparkassen-Arena is manageable, and so I met the rest of the green pack as soon as I entered the arena. The first decision of the day was the choice of clothes. The weather forecasts were inconsistent, but rain was to be expected in any case. But quite mild temperatures. So put on arm warmers and overshoes, a quick bike check and then off to the starting block.
What a great start to the season! Familiar faces, warm greetings and short, nice conversations. Until then it was still comfortable. It wasn't raining and it was almost too warm with arm warmers. The start-up phase was hectic and very stressful. My second biggest deficit is maintaining my place on the rear wheel of the front man/woman. I definitely have to learn to use my elbows more and not let myself be pushed away. Like I said, I still have to learn... today I kindly gave way to everyone who might have been aspiring to my position. But the main thing for me was to survive the first hustle and bustle safely.
The first climb gave me problems. My legs obviously resented the marathon run the previous Sunday. Luckily I ran into Anna from Team Rose in the field. We work well together, and my head needed someone to cling to. That then worked quite well. The weather was great up until about halfway into the race, and I was annoyed that I had put on the arm warmers and overshoes. But then it started. When approaching the Hohen Hagen suddenly thunder, rain, waterfalls from the sky. The rain then turned to hail, the wind did the rest - a free massage on the route. What the organizers offer nowadays! Astonishing! Of course, the descent was horrible – zero visibility, marginal braking power…. I just wanted to arrive safely. Luckily that worked out, although in the last meters I was made aware of my greatest deficit - absolute lack of sprint talent. But you can work on weaknesses – and people need goals. I'm so glad to have survived Göttingen! Let's hope for better weather and better legs in Frankfurt.