“The whole race was nearly perfect. Only in the second night, after about 40 hours or riding, I felt the strain and got a bit sleepy. These are the moments where I realize that I still lack a bit of experience to stay efficient and completely focused. Still I’m more than satisfied with my performance and will definitely try to go for the title next year,” a determined Strasser said after the race.
A race like the one in Slovenia is not only about physical and mental abilities it’s also about the bike (Lance fans will get the pun ). Specialized proved again an invaluable partner for Christoph’s endeavours. “Whatever the race throws at you, Specialized has got the appropriate answer. On the flat and fast stretches I used the aero-wheels. For the hilly parts I took the light bike with super light and rigid climbing wheels. It’s simply awesome! A big THANKS to the guys from Specialized!”
The next days are all about regeneration and trying to refuel the stores. The Specializeds will be given a few days of rest and a proper lube while Christoph and his team will scrutinize the race in all its details. “Every race, no matter how good you think it was, offers room for improvement. Learning from your mistakes – be they tactical, logistical, or others – is what keeps you improving and what makes the whole thing fascinating,” muses Strasser.
How it unfolded:
The race was officially started at 9 p.m. in Postojna (Slovenia). Similar to a contre-la-montre (TT) at le Tour, the racers headed-off with a two-minute time gap through crowds of cheering fans into a wonderful, starlit night.
From the very beginning of the race, the course showed its full atrocity with a lot of short but very steep climbs giving the riders something to chew on. Still Strasser managed to keep his average speed over the first 100kms and 150mm altimeters at 35 km/h – which was still considerably slower compared to Jure Robic.
After a hilly ride up to the north of the country, the riders had to negotiate the 1600m high Vrsic, Slovenia’s toughest and most daunting climb. Strasser hit the Vrsic in third position behind Robic and Marko Bahlo but was able to catch up with Bahlo, attack him on the climb and increase the gap in the descent. Jure Robic though was a different matter. He had a healthy lead of about an hour but Strasser was doing a terrific pace on the flat roads along the Austrian boarder and could reduce that gap to 14 minutes. Pushed by his crew around Dr. Hochgatterer, Strasser’s team must have looked like a techno bus at the Loveparade with all headlights switched on, loud music droning out of the sound system and people shouting encouragement to Strasser who after two full days of sleep deprivation was slowly losing his fight against Robic and microsleep. In the end Christoph finished an impressive second, 2:20 h behind local hero Jure Robic.
A few days of rest and the new Vice-European Champion will be back on the bike having his mind firmly set on the 12H Kraftwerktrophy on May 24 …
the start in Postojna at 10pm
dawn in the Slovenian mountains
last kilometres before the finish
the 3-person team on the podium
Beitrag vom 13.December 2008
Be well :)