Aiton Bike Race 2023
26 Apr
Steve McQueen said that “Racing is life. Anything that happens before or after is just waiting” and I was waiting to race for more than 10 month now. My last race was the National XCO Championship back in the summer of 2022. The rest is history.
I had difficult times and I am fighting to get back on track. During this period I had ups and downs but the most important thing is that I still enjoy riding my bikes.
For this seasons I had to adapt the plans to the financial situation. This means I won’t be racing World Cups, I will focus on different disciplines Nation wide and hopefully some International events will occur in the calendar.
No matter the training I had before, I knew I didn’t had the speed I had before but without any hesitation I want it to race pretty close to my home at Aiton Bike Race. The short track suited me so there I was. It didn’t had any technical advantage as the course was flat out all the time. But I took a Scalpel-HT for a “test ride than decide” and see how it goes. The bike motto is true indeed: the purest form of racing. It reminded me the old days as I previously had all the 29er hardtail versions of Cannondale. But this is the fastest and the most comfortable by far.
Now let’s talk about the race. Happy to see familiar faces and good old friends, even happier to see the new young generation racing. So I have started pretty paced in the early stage as it was a steady climb and I didn’t want it to blow out, even though I could. I was in the leading group right until 5-6km before the finish when I simply wasn’t able to keep the speed or power. It was pretty simple. Finishing 2nd in my category isn’t what I want it but I have to move on and look forward. Step by step things will happen.
My dad finished 2nd in his age category too so I am pretty proud of him especially because he isn’t quite young either. I hope to have at least his fitness at that age.
Meanwhile, until the next post, many thanks to everyone standing by my side and pushing me. It’s way harder to train when you are not motivated but the satisfaction is higher.
Congratulations to the organizers team for putting one big effort and make the event even better than last year, but also to every rider and spectator out there. This is how we evolve.
See ya soon at the next races. But even sooner at the charity auction, are you ready for it?
Cheers, Vlad
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