Cykelvasan 45, Mora Sweden August 11 2023

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This is a mountain bike race largely on the Vasa trail. This year I settled for 45km, which is half distance. Last time I did this distance was in 2019, my time then was 2h 26 min. In early August, I did several training runs on the trail and my splits were not anywhere near those needed for my previous competition time.

Weather in Sweden has been the opposite of USA and most of Europe, with the rainiest July and August for at least 30 years. I have never seen the local lakes and rivers so high. Of course, that made the bike track really muddy at some parts. The organizers have made a good job of improving the track, so overall it was not too bad but there were difficult patches.

Competition day was lucky with the weather, a rare day with little rain! This time, I knew my approximate finishing time and I was placed in start group 2. I got off well and raced past many bikers without extra effort. In the well-known climb "Lundbäcksbackarna" I felt I was doing well. But something disturbed me, I saw a biker being helped by another person by being pushed on the back up the hill. The same thing happened on several more hills. If it was a beginner struggling to complete the distance, I would not be worried, but this was one of the fastest bikers in their age group that got help.

Abot halfway in Hökberg, I decided to give all and push hard to finish. I probably got a little too eager, while I was trying to pass a slower rider, I hit one of the fence posts and fell over. It took me some time to get back up again and then I struggled to get my feet to click in, they were probably full of dirt. My right knee took a hit, and I was bruised on the leg.

A few kms from Mora, I fell again. This time the organizers warned all bikers about sliding conditions on the upcoming downhill, but I wanted a good time and went full speed. The biker in front of me braked and forced me to do the same, resulting in a massive slide. This time it hurt my head and shoulder. Never mind, I just continued into goal.

I got 2nd place in my age group and the time was 3 minutes faster than 2019!

I just hope there are no long term injuries from the falls.


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