The Rocky Mountain BIKE Marathon as part of the Ziener BIKE Festival Willingen is a sporting highlight of the European marathon scene. The race, which starts and finishes in Willingen, takes 1.800 participants from over 30 nations along beautiful and attractive trails through the Willingen Upland.
Three distances (55km/95km/130km) offer riders beautiful and attractive trails for beginners as well as for advanced and professionals - for young people under 17 years there is a 37 km long U17 circuit.
Friday midday: 23°C / bright sun and an early end to work – thanks to the early shift. The first important race of the season is coming up. Half is already packed, the other doesn't take long either. I somehow need a bit of stress before the race, although the routine has long outweighed it. A look at the cell phone reveals that things are different in Willingen than in Salzgitter. It's been pouring rain all day long. Not a good omen as dad and I decided to sleep in the VW bus. Usually a cool and cheap option, but not the best idea this time. But too late, now only rain jackets and umbrellas help.
I while away the time on the trip to Willingen with Compex regeneration massages for all muscle groups in my legs. The rain started in Kassel. So strong that a journey with the bot would have been at least as effective.
In the evening we escape to a restaurant with friends. Fill up your tanks, escape the confines of the bus, stay warm and dry. A good and at the same time successful plan, because when we decided to go to bed the rain stopped.
Saturday: The night was short. At 5:15 the alarm clock rings. time for breakfast My choice before a race is mostly rice pudding. Easy to prepare and relatively digestible for me even under high loads.
The start number 28 adorns my bike, which also means that I will start from starting block A. The mistake of the day follows. 1,4 bar pressure on the tires is just calculated, more on that later.
The main difficulty at the Rocky Mountain Bike Marathon in Willingen, in addition to the long distance and the constant up and down, is above all the starting mountain. Without warming up, it goes straight into the ascent. If you drive too fast, you lay your cards right at the beginning. If you drive too slowly, you won't be able to catch up with the front-runners. I decide to go fast, but not at the limit. After 11:10 minutes at an average of 393W I am in a good group with Florian Gaul and some Rapiro Racing drivers on the Hoher Eimberg. The following trail shows the extent of the previous day's rain. Less than 100 meters of trail and all are full of mud.
After completing the lap at kilometer 55, Marvin Augustinyak (Rapiro Racing) picks up the pace on the climb to the Ettelsberg. It doesn't take long for our group to tear apart. Together we set a decent pace. My plan on rounds 2 and 3 to play to my strengths over the distance seems to be working.
The accident then happened on a section of the trail at kilometer 62. When driving over a stone field, my rear tire is pushed off the rim. Despite the CO2 cartridge, I can't get the tire back on the rim. Depressed I walk down the trail. My salvation awaits below. The supervisor of Florian Gaul and Tobias Schmidtmann (both EGF Bunsruth) has a large floor pump in the car. With it, the tire is back on the rim in no time. It can go further, but the defect cost me a lot of time. I also realize that I won't be able to find anyone else to work with for the rest of the day. The gap to my group is now much too big.
As I climb the Langenberg, my motivational crisis is slowly over. From now on there will be races again, I think to myself and decide to finish the 130 km distance despite the lost time and not turn off to the finish line after 95 km.
On the final climb, I was able to pass two more long-distance runners, so that after 6:10:03 h I was able to cross the finish line in 11th place overall.
In retrospect, the plate is annoying and the result is not what I had hoped for. One more reason to come back next year next to the cool track. But in the end I can be quite happy with my race in these muddy conditions. My performance data are also pointing in the right direction so that the next challenges can come!
If you are interested in a little evaluation, you can view my Strava activity here:
https://www.strava.com/activities/996758534
After a proper shower, I naturally took the opportunity to walk around the trade fair one more time. I was particularly pleased that my sponsor ACS Vertrieb was well represented with its brands Rotor Bike Components and Squeezy Sports Nutrition!
See you next time Ziener Bike Festival Willingen!