The xterra season start here on Cyprus at “xterra Cyprus” was a success. With an exciting course of the race, in between already in 3rd place, a small fall in the “rock garden” and a very dense starting field, I finally managed to finish 5th. Biking still seems to be my strongest discipline - the competition never sleeps.
Having arrived the Wednesday before and being able to train well at the track, I knew exactly where and when to drink, when to launch an attack and where to pace with other racers. The plan worked out perfectly until I came across a lapped age group athlete in the Rockgarden, together with the later 4th (Jens) and I was forced to leave the ideal line. The descent over the handlebars followed. Nothing happened to me, fortunately hardly anything to the bike either, but the last 5/6 km back to the transition zone I didn't have to go full throttle anymore.
As 5th I changed into running shoes and could quickly work my way up to 4th place, but later in the run I had to slow down again and ended up just a few seconds behind 4th place. The top 10 were pretty close overall. Now there are 5 more days of good training here in Cyprus. 😁 Next stop: xterra Greece in 2 weeks.
