Preparing for the Euros in Czech

After the Alpen Tour Trophy we were able to stay in our apartment for another week of training on the fun trails around Schladming. Having ridden so many of the trails during the race we knew exactly where to go, which is much better than stopping to read a map, though I'm not sure Dave would agree ;)

Lovely biking around Schladming

Post ride relaxing :) 

Last Sunday we headed off to Jablonne, Czech Republic, which is situated in the north and lies really close to the German and Polish boarders. We're staying in a nice hotel in a small village called Jitrava, which is surrounded by beautiful, peaceful forests that are home to lots of wildlife including lots of birds and deer, as well as bears (but unfortunately I haven't seen any bears. Yet). There is also some amazing geology in this region; huge rock formations litter the forests - it's really spectacular.

This rock looks a little like Dave!

We've had a few days to recce the Malevil Cup course and I now feel fairly familiar with it. It's an A to B race starting in the town of Jablonne and finishing at the Malevil golf course. The course has a mix of short sharp power climbs (some a little rocky and technical; others just steep), rooty single trails, slippery rocky descents (though these are drying out quickly in the sunshine) and a lot of forest trails. It's a power course and I like it. There isn't a lot of climbing - 2000 metres - but the accumulation of lots of small climbs throughout the course will take its toll. The men will cover a slightly longer (100km) course starting at 8.30am and the women will race over 95km starting at 8.45am.

Tomorrow I will ride for 1.5 hours once more on the course and then I'll put up my feet ready for the start on Sunday morning. I'm feeling in really good shape at the moment and I'm looking forward to a hard, fast race :) Fingers crossed for good luck and fun.......