Remax Stage Race, Austria 8-10th June

Hills, rain, mud and pain... the three-day, four-stage race in Austria was tough! This was my first proper European stage race and with nearly 100 riders from pro and amateur teams from right across Europe this was a completely different league from the UK races that I have become used to! Furthermore, the women on the continent have been racing several times a week for the last couple of months and are properly race fit! I had only done three races so far this season.

Nicole, Siobhan, Linda, Sonja, Katharina, Elena, Sarah, Iona

We were racing alongside the German Bike-Aid team. We had met Elena and Klaus whilst racing the Ras na mBan in Ireland last year and Elena raced with our team in Malta earlier this year. Klaus and Elena kindly met Iona and myself at the airport, looked after us overnight and transported us safely to Langenlois - our base for the weekend.

The first stage was a flat, 100km race on winding, narrow roads, taking us through the tranquil Austrian countryside. After the torrential rain that had accompanied us for most of the journey, we were glad to see the sunshine... in fact we were riding in blistering heat! The first lap was pretty gentle and I was well sheltered in the bunch, although I was really struggling to move up and had to keep sprinting in and out of the many corners and turns that were on the course. About 2/3 of the way into the first lap, a rider came down in front of me... I could see she was about to fall and managed to dodge her, although had to sprint for about 400m to catch the bunch again. I was too far back in the bunch at the end of the lap and momentarily lost contact as I ended up following some slower wheels. I was not going to let this happen again. I put in a dig over the first road bridge and was back in the bunch again... but I still could not move up and with riders all across the road, cutting in in front and going around the roundabouts the wrong way, this all felt pretty hairy!

Focused and ready to race

Towards the end of the second lap, I was starting to relax but as we came into the last five miles, the bunch became very twitchy and I was rather nervous about the impending 80-strong bunch sprint. Unfortunately, a rider in front of me lost control and crashed. I slowed to try and avoid her but in doing so my front wheel locked and the next thing I knew I had "face-planted" and surfed across the road. I tried to get up but one of my feet was stuck in the pedal and I was bleeding heavily from my chin. PAIN! I was determined to finish the stage and thought I was within 3km of the finish... so should get the same time as the bunch. Trying to hold my chin together, I got back on my bike but suddenly felt very dizzy and couldn't breathe! I ended up lying on the side of the road, surrounded by concerned Austrian villagers and two Police-officers!

So instead of a nice hot shower and a cold lemonade, I spent the evening in the nearby Krankenhaus. And here I should say a massive thank you to the extremely kind lady who patched me up at the roadside, gave me an ice pack, drove me to and from the hospital, helped me with my very rusty German and waited with me for the best part of two hours. I can't begin to say how grateful I am for everything you did to help.

Thankfully not too much damage done but I couldn't bend my right hip and thought that I probably would not be able to continue to race. But the next morning I was back on my bike and found I could pedal fine. I was definitely not 100% and I was really quite nervous in the bunch to begin with. I didn't really have my racing head on but did as best I could.

Top of the climb - stage 2

Stage 2 was a 12 km mass hill sprint. I tried to get as far up the bunch as I could on the flat run into the climb and then gave it my all. Unfortunately I went "into the red" too early on but worked with a group over the flat section towards the top of the climb (probably too hard) and lost my position coming into the finish when we got caught up in the team cars. Oh well. We had a lovely ride back into Langenlois... it would be a great place for a week's training away from home. Legs felt fine whilst on the bike - it was more my upper body that was struggling - I hadn't realised quite how bruised my shoulders and ribs were from the crash!

Recovery drink, hot shower, compression tights, lunch, feet up. Time to prepare for Stage 3. This was the first time I've ever looked forward to a time trial! In fact this was the first proper time trial I've done for two years and I was interested to see how I would do, as I'm definitely way stronger now! Plus I got to wear my skinsuit for the first time. Lush.

Start of stage 3

I was first off, as I had been excluded from GC, having not completed Stage 1. It was great to get a proper warm-up in. It was raining heavily but thanks to Klaus' amazing organisational skills, we had turbos set up under a gazebo in the car park. And then off to the start. I was a bit fazed by having to hold onto a barrier rather than being "held up", as in most British time trials. I was also disappointed that the two people ahead of me had not turned up, so I had no one to chase. After a wobbly start, I was up to speed and getting the power down. The course suited me well - it was flat with a few gentle ups and downs. The roads were wet and I was basically riding through a stream for the first couple of miles. I stupidly lost some valuable seconds at the dead turn at the end of the course. I just took the corner badly but I enjoyed the slightly downhill section with a bit of a tailwind, coming out of the turn, to get some speed up again.

A couple of miles from the finish, I was overtaken by British-team rider Emma Trott (sister of track world-champion Laura Trott). A few seconds later her team car came hurtling past me, on a blind bend with a car coming the other way and cut in in front of me, causing me to slow down. Grrrr.

The finish line was soon in sight. I was really pleased with my time - and third out of our teams - behind Elena (who came 3rd overall) and Iona. Although looking at the stage results, I was disappointed to see that I was as far down as 60th place!! These were strong, strong riders!

And now for Stage 4. This was going to be a tough one - only 63km but two steep climbs on each lap and a couple of steep descents too. To add to the already very technical course, it was raining and the roads (and cobbles) were very slippery. Just to add to the anxiety, I had found my bike with a flat back tyre. We pumped it up, thinking someone had probably just fiddled with the valve overnight but it had gone down again as we were warming up. With ten minutes to the start, we were frantically changing the tube. No tyre levers and the first tube out of the box looked pretty dodgy so we had to hunt for a second one! Panic!! Top marks to Steve and Klaus for getting me to the start in time. 

The pace was fast from the start, over a steep cobbled climb and then round some tight bends into the first climb. I was off the back of the bunch towards the top of the first climb but chased back on over the flat section to the next climb. Dropped again. More chasing. I was yo-yoing off the back of the bunch on the descent and slowed slightly as I spotted Iona on the side of the road, having come off on a steep section.

Again, my head was not in the right place - I was more focused on staying safe and staying upright than staying with the bunch on such hairy descents! As I came through the start-finish area, I heard over the tannoy: "Nummer vierzig... Doktooour Saaraa Meydment aus Grossbritannien!" This made me chuckle and gave me a bit of a boost. I rode the whole of the second lap and most of the third lap on my own. I was in a world of pain but trying to keep the power down and maintain a steady rhythm up the climbs. I was much more confident on the descents on my own! About 6 miles from the end, I caught another rider and we rode two-up for about 4.5 miles. She was much faster on the descents and gained quite a gap going into the final kilometre but I was determined not to let her beat me. I powered down the finishing straight. She looked like she had run out of steam. I changed gear, got out of the saddle and gave the last 100m everything I had, pipping her to the line.

Race face!

All in all a great time away - despite the mishaps! There is something really special about going away as a team and it is such a privilege to be able to race against women from all over Europe.

Big thanks must go to Klaus and Elena for inviting us to the race and for looking after us so well. To Dr Melanie Darwent, (the amazing A+E consultant who coordinates our rota) for making it possible for me to have time off to race. And (as always) to our awesome team-manager/soigneur/bike mechanic Steve for his support and encouragement.

Sarah


Thanks to Klaus for the pictures. Hopefully some news from Linda and Iona to follow...