Black or White

Black or white, lose or win, make it or crash, give everything or lose everything. I have to admit that’s the best way to explain the word racing and my life as a competitor. I live through this all the time and a smile is so much closer to a tear than you think. I nearly know anybody who is always on a winning streak, so neither I am.My World cup story begins in Scotland. Everything was planned in detail. I got on the plane by time, I got picked up by Pete Scullion, I had a place to stay in Edinburgh, got a cheap rental car, had the best travel mate, got my bike in one piece, I had a great accommodation in Fort Williams, the weather was great and stayed great, the 4x track suited me, training went perfect but yes now it comes the word BUT and the turning point in this story I messed up me first heat. I had horrible gate, I cased the first jump- the step down- the double- the other double, I was fighting all the time to catch up to her but in the stone field I nearly crashed and she was gone again. At the last straight I sprinted but I couldn’t make it. So yes I came all the way to get out in the first round how shattering is that? I looked the replay and couldn’t believe how bad my performance was. Finally I placed 10th. Melisa Buhl hugged me later seeing how sad I was and told me give yourself 24 hours and you will see you will feel better by then. It worked, I slept over it, I spent another day in Edinburgh, did some sight seeing and ate the best Indian food ever.

I came home on Tuesday, washed my stuff, had a long talk to my mental coach and get on the road again by Thursday morning. This time I had a big support with me, my mechanic Martin from Suspension Clinics and I felt confident for the upcoming races in Leogang, Austria. I decided to take part in both events downhill and 4X. I liked the track and I like Leogang but like always in Austria it was pouring down and I was the whole weekend just soaked and muddy. I take me hat off for those people who are out there the whole day to help the athletes, standing in the mud, carrying heavy back bags, spare wheels, pumps, trainers, gloves, goggles, tubes, giving the rider the umbrella and standing in the rain. Like Martin did for me, for free, just because he wanted to help me. This is for me having the heart on the right place. It was so good to not care about anything just your hands on the bar and ride. So did I. I trained a lot and had a tight schedule. But I found the right balance and had always enough power, when I needed it. Saturday I had downhill qualification run. I made a big mistake at the top section and missed the top 20th mark. I got 28th. I was disappointed but I had to get it out of my head to get ready for the 4 cross in the afternoon. And this afternoon was my time. I fought and raced I had never done before. It just went for it. Crash or win. Black or white and it paid off. I got 6th and was so happy. I couldn’t believe it. I made some good moves in the small final and nearly made in the first turn to lead the field. Next year there are the World champs in Leogang and after this performance I am confident for next year…. Yeah I like the white side can get used to it.

Here you find an interview sorry its german:

see my runs in freecaster.tv replay

minute 55
minute 69
minute 79

Thanks to all my sponsors Lene