Since I had already competed here in 2018 and 2019, I already knew the routes and only arrived on the Wednesday before the race. Nevertheless, I inspected the cycling and running route very carefully so that I knew every curve, every technical downhill and steep uphill.
On Saturday April 27th the starting signal was given for the second Xterra World Cup of the season. I started the race with start number 10; the numbers were assigned by the official World Cup ranking. Normally the motto is “always beat your number” to cross the finish line in the TOP 10, but with a total of 50 elite athletes that wasn’t that easy.
The sea was cold and we swam with neoprene. Two laps of 750m had to be completed, with a short shore excursion over the beach in between so that the audience could also be offered a good show. I actually felt pretty good in the water, but I still lost important time to the top.
I was able to put pressure on the bike and make up time on the 1st of 2 bike laps. On the second lap there was a mishap and I cut my rear tire on a sharp rock. It took 3.5 minutes to finally patch the hole. The time I had made up was gone again and the competition passed me while I was busy with my tire on the side of the trail. There is no giving up here, because at the end of the season every single World Cup point counts in the overall ranking.
With a clear gap, I changed into running shoes and despite mixed feelings, I ran a solid pace, ultimately finishing 16th in the elite and thus sliding up to 11th place in the overall World Cup ranking, just one point away from the TOP 10.
