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Italian Cup Mtb Race and Marathon II think all bike racers should have the opportunity to either race or ride in Italy sometime during their lifetime. It is the food capital of the world. It is carbohydrate heaven! The pasta in Italy is like no other. Definitely the gastrointestinal highlight of the trip. We traveled to Castelnuovo Garfagnana for an Italian Cup Series event. The small town is located only 20km northwest of Pisa directly up into the mtns as a crow flies. But driving there was another matter. It took us over an hour to find the town because of the small narrow twisty roads. And it was almost midnight when we arrived so the drive seemed endless. Worth the trip though. These races are quite prestigious and the start list resembled something close to a world cup. The race was Saturday at 9am. Like racing in the Colorado mountains at 9am; very cold and crisp. But it was clear and sunny….no rain! The race began on the paved roads through town, went up a short fast climb and then descended onto a small double track. Then we started up the longest and hardest granny gear climb. Annabella Stropparo set the pace up the hill. I followed in second and Mary McConnelog was in third. Annabella had more punch than I did and was able to open up a gap on the rolling parts of the course. She had better accelerations than I did. Mary and I rode together for a lap and then she fell off the pace. The course was slick in some parts making two of the climbs on the back side of the lap barely rideable. But the descents were mellow and nothing too technical. Kind of surprising for a race in Italy. Usually the European courses are quite challenging. The laps were fast and only doing four made for a very short race. Annabella won, I was second and Mary McConnelog was five seconds behind me. A little too close with Mary seeing as she is probably my biggest hurdle to making the Olympic team. She’s riding really well so it was good to finish ahead of her. After the race we rode back to the hotel, showered, ate another amazing meal, and then loaded up the van for the umpteenth time and started another long drive. This time we were headed for Montebelluna for Sunday’s marathon event. We wanted to do a race on Sunday but decided against the eight hour drive to Slovenia for a small E2 race (only half as many points to win as the Italian race). So we opted to drive south for three hours and do a marathon race. Never done one before. It was quite exciting. Over 1000 competitors from all walks of life and all abilities. This event was short, only 45km (27 miles). We were staged in the first wave of 250 guys. A lot of world cup riders were doing the men’s race. And Paola Pezzo even showed up. There may have been a total of six other women competing in the first wave. After not having any warm up, the start of the race seemed brutally painful to me and I had no trouble finding my way to the back of the field. I wasn’t even pack fill I was so far back. No big deal I guess. I still rode a hard race and felt better towards the end. It was fun chasing the guys. They were all really friendly. The course was on lots of pavement, dirt roads, and smooth singletrack. Lots of short steep climbs and riding across bumpy cow pastures in front of confused looking farmers. It was a gorgeous day and we all had a lot of fun. Pezzo won the women’s race but since she wasn’t competing officially, my teammate Shonny was credited with the win. That put me into second. We had a great podium. Huge flowers, big trophies, three bottles of wine, and lots of kisses on the cheek. And then like any other sporting event, there was the big pasta feed. I have to say I have never been to a pasta feed that has served anything but mushy pasta with canned tomato sauce. Of course being in Italy the pasta was awesome! Even cooking for over 1000 people they know how to do it right. What a treat! Now we are in Croatia. We are staying on the coast. The tourist season hasn’t started yet so everything is really cheap. Most of the hotels are closed so it is quiet. Good for training. We race on Saturday in Croatia and then another long drive to Vienna for our last race on Sunday. Then it’s back home! Until next weekend… Ciao,
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