Houffalize first 4 WC end report

The first World cup race took place in Belgium. In a small town called Houffalize. The 4x track was exactly like last year. So nothing was very new for me.
My team mate Hannes S, Markus and I arrived on Thursday midday, after a 12 hour drive and trained later on. I liked the track and it was thrilling track to watch. Not that the obstacles were very big, more the passing moves kept the crowed entertained. So did I. I qualified 11th and in my first heat I raced against Jana Horokova (the final winner) Sascha Huntigton (AUS) and Eva Castro (ESP). I had a bad gate but stayed on the back wheel of Sascha. In the second to last turn I tried to pass her and nearly made it. Jana was first, Sascha 2nd me 3rd -so out. After analysing the video I should have closed the ending of the turn completely and maybe some back wheel pushing…so my BMX experienced team mate Hannes and Markus. At the end I got 10 th.. Jana (CZE) won, Anita Molcik (AUT) 2nd, Emmeli Ragot (FRA) 3rd and 4th Anneke Beerten (NED). So in two weeks I have another chance in Maribor (SLO), where I will compete in DH and 4x. Bye bye Lene
Fotos by Tom HAUKE
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markus and I
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Angry face because the GPS sent us on a weird road…

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Houffalize first update

The training is over the qualification is over too, I am in Belgium now, more excatly in Houffalize the first world cup round…I can just give you a quick update because i have to go im starving. Hier is the results. I am happy I did all right and tomorrow i will go for it.. Bye Bye LENE

http://62.50.72.82/ftpuci/ftppoelman/ftptouci/MTB/2010/36898_RiderResult_4X_WE.pdf

What about the women?

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This weekend, Markus, my teammate Hannes Slavik and I went to Poland to take part at the second round of the European 4 cross cup race. It was a long drive up to Poland…we started at 7 o’clock morning and arrived at about 2 o’clock. I was so lucky I just had to drive for about one hour on the way home the rest the boys were driving. thanks by the way…We trained straight away, when we arrived. The track was fast, dry and slippery, had some nice turns and jumps in it. To sum it up I liked it a lot. What I really didn’t like was the amount of girls who where compeating, just me and Anita. Yeah we drive 7 hours to compete against each other allthough we live about 30 minutes away from each other… So we both saw it as a good training for 4x world cup in Houffalize. The weather was great and the croud was loud. But because of the fact we were just 2 girls competing the UCI and organisation ignored us completly. We were both very pissed. We didn’t show up on the qualification results, end results, homepage or on the podium. So it was like we had never raced there. Anyway in the qulification run I my time was 45,8 and Anita’s 45,6 so very close. And in our race run. At the start she was ahead of me on th e first straight and after the first turn I jumped the first double and she didn’t. So I was first but not for long I made a face plant because my front wheel slipped away. So she was a head again and stayed there until the finish.
Hannes got on the fabulous fourth place, considering that the world best best elite Riders were there.Maybe he would have even had a better result without his flat tire in the final run because before that he was on the 3rd position. Markus got kicked out by an german rider in his first heat, the rider got disqualified and Markus got in the next round. At the end he placed 22.
Bye Bye your LENE
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News News News…just news from me and my sponsors

Just open this files and you will find me news.. and below you find other news.
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SPY
Apart from that I have also news from my sponsor side. The austrian distributor Motion Sports, owner Hans-Jörg, is the new SPY Distributor from Austria and as far I can tell SPY goes big. So check out the stores where you can get the SPY Stuff. I will asked for a list and will post it soon. The new range from the SPY googles and sunnies are just great. There is also a new MX google „KLUTCH“ and it fits perfect in the DH helmet ( I am running a Troy lee D2).
Hans Jörg also has DVS and Ogio

MICHELIN:
Michelin brought out a new range of tires called WILD. I already got some tires for testing and I can just say wau. I tried the „WILD Rock R“ in 2,1 for 4 Cross on compact earth. The rubbers seems soft and it sticks great to the ground. I really liked it. I will see how it works and loose gravel, but I guess same.

So yes these were the news from my sponsors.
bye bye LENE

Italia report- Race in Pievo Di teco

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I am still in Italy but this time it is so much warmer and sun is shining on my face. I am waiting at a BMX track in Vigevano. I can’t ride because the gate is locked and so I wait for some people who said they will be there. So I hope they come soon or at all, because the track looks so nice from that what I can see.
This weekend I ride in Pievo de Teco and for my surprise a race was going on this weekend. The first Italian race and I guess one of the first races in Europe. So I didn’t want to miss the chance of doing my first race this year and practice the race situation. There were so many competitors from all over the place. From Croatia, Slovenia, Poland, Swiss, Germany. So a bunch of people, I don’t know if there were other Austrians I didn’t hear or see some I know.
The track was very nice and I liked it a lot. Many many turns, some jumps and drops, some very steep section and then speed section as well. But what I really have to criticize is everything apart from the track. The start money was too much 40 Euros like at a World cup. The registration opened at 10:00 on Saturday and then they get one person done in 5 minutes. So you waited up to 1 ½ hour, when you were at the end of the queue. Then I nearly could not race because there is a new UCI rule which I have never heard about before, which says that foreigners are not allowed to participate at Italian races. For this race it was okay because it was a new rule but for the future no. So for everyone who wants to race small Italian races should not waist the time and go there before talking to an official and check the start situation. So and then they had just 2 vans for the bikes and 2 for the people, so you waited at least 45 min for getting a place on the shuttle. And the best was the lunch break from the shuttle drivers of 1 ½ hour. I thought it was a joke but no it wasn’t. I had the luck I had trained with Elisa on the track the days before. Because I had the first 3 runs a flat and then I did just one runs the whole day.
On the race day in continued like this. Not the flats I mean no I mean the organization. We had two runs the first was supposed to be at 11:00 o’clock. But until 11:00 o’clock they didn’t have any start lists prepared. I mean the just had one day to do this…..crazy. And then I got told the start after the numbers. Because I had a very high number I went up early. At the end 3 ½ hours to early…Yes exactly….. I got so tired and was so hungry. And finally I had my first run and I crashed in my first run. Not hard but I cost my some seconds. (no hurts) and the second run was at 16:50. This time my run was much better and I really enjoyed the riding. Finally I finished second after Elisa Canepa and before the Italian Champion Alissa. In the men class won Sueding Lorenzo.
My story isn’t finished yet… Then the price giving was running… or more stopping. The organizers were bringing the sheets with the category results one by one in an 10-15 min interval. You can imagine that makes the whole ceremony very boring and the commentator tried his best but hmm it didn’t really work out to keep the people entertained. We waited 2 hours in a cold building…I was so cold that my body was shaking. Okay I have to mention I am very easy frozen person.
All sounds now very negative but the fun I had during the riding was just erasing and over blinding all this mess of organization and I was very happy the whole weekend. My new bike worked fine, the sun was burning down, and I had fun with Elisa and her team. By the way check out her homepage www.elicaride.com. Her boyfriend and she are running this freeride DH shuttle service in Finale Ligure. I just can recommend this area for training. It’s just great. The city is right on the coast, very nice and the food there is soooooo good. Actually I ate in Pietro Ligure, where she lives and there the food was soo good. Bella Italia.

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Bella Italia- testing my new bike

Ciao bella, how they say here. yes I am in Italy for some training days, in the region Ligure. After I tried to finish my work at home I drove to Italy by myself. From Mödling to Graz I had a traveller passenger. But the other 10 hours I drove alone. I choose the car because I have to go to Milano to see my sponsor, SPY, after.
I was very tired from stressing myself out the days before. Since I am here in Italy I sleep every minute when I am not training. I don’t know why? Maybe I have to get all the sleep back which I have been missing the last weeks. Elisa is already calling me an old women…
I stay with Elisa from Elicaride.com at her place. It’s a nice town and direct on the sea.
The landscape and the little towns are so beautiful, all the little and narrow roads, the old churches and all the old cobblestones made by hand hundreds of years ago give these middle ages town a specific charme. Its quite edilic apart from the weather. It obviously had it in for us. It snowed it down all day and of the top of the hills the ground were frozen and slippery.
I did some runs on thuesday morning but then the shuttle stopped, it was too cold and the other riders had to go home.
It was my second day on a DH bike since a long long time. The first I was with Martin, my mechanic in Bratislava on the last sunday and he helped me to adjust the rear and front suspension. I am running the FOx 40 and the DHx RC4. The rear works already perfect for me but the fork not yet. I don’t know which spring I should run. The purple one is a little bit to soft and the next harder one, the blue one, is to stiff. I will see I have time to test it now.
Yesterday we were in Pievo de Teco. I was there two years ago. It is nice track. A lot of burms and it was fun to ride it with Elisa and her friends. Today we will go again.
bye bye LENE
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What told me the Ispo in Munich? Read and you will see.

I was at the Ispo this time. And it was so exhausting. I ran around and had meetings from sunday to thursday 10 am to 5 pm. But I think I make good contacts and I am looking foward to the year 2010. My effort wasn’t so much for my biking career, because it was the winter ispo, it was more for another project I have in my mind at the moment.
But I still met some sponsors. Finally Gisueppe Lapente the marketing director from SPY Europe and my new onces I can’t publish yet.
On the picture you can see Giuseppe from Spy and my new sunnies. He also gave me some brand new Snowboard goggles. Thanks on this way too.
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Then I also used the time to look around and I couldn’t close my mouth because I was so overwhelmed by the design diversity. Especially the snowboard and new school ski industry is the playground for the world best designers.
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I also passed the stand of the organisation Wings for life.
There I met Illek Wolfgang and old DH colleguae and friend, who is stucked in the wheel chair for many years now, because of a downhill accident. I know some of you think, it’s his fault why did he do this dangerous sport, but seeing the numbers everyone can end up there with some bad luck. He is such a great person and I take my hat off to him, for his strenght and discipline for not giving up. I don’t know what I would do to be honest in his position.
The organisation Wings for life Spinal Cord Research Foundation is a privately funded non profit organization which follows the principal aim of promoting research worldwide in order to expedite scientific and clinical progress towards a putative cure for Sponal Cord injury.
This organisation does a great job and I hope I have never to make a use of their help but there are many people who need them and they need us to donate for making bigger and faster steps in this science.
I don’t wanna play the donation queen I just want to show it to people who might don’t know it and with some euros you can help.
It’s everyones own desicion.
Because you never now maybe suddenly you will need their help and a quick progress of the science to stand on your feets and your life again.
Just in Austria are 4000 with full paraplegia people who are in a wheel chair and 14.000 who are half paralyzed. And 2,7 Million people in the world. Caused by car accidents with 50%, 24% by falls, 17% by others and 9% by sports.
So on this way live your life how it comes, smile and don’t bother about small things which makes you sad, because it is not worth it and have in your mind it could always be much worse.

By lene

What is she doing?

Yeah most of you might live in Austria and know what’s going on with the weather here. But for those who don’t know it is snowing and it’s so beautiful. I am not a big fan of cold or more I can’t stand the cold but I like the snow a lot. And since I am back from Marokko I feel permanently like an ice block. Buts it’s okay. So and so I have no other choice to search for indoor trainings. I am lucky and this BMX hall in Bratislava is just an hour away from my place. So my friend and I are going nearly every week there to do some gates and more. Apart from that we do sprints on the asphalt with the BMX to stay fast and go to the indoor training hall to make proprioceptor training.
I am positiv about my training but I not very positiv about my sponsor situation. I still need a money sponsors to be able to afford the next season. So everyone out there who wants to support me. I am here and ready.
Apart from this I finally moved in my new flat and it’s great. It’s a lot work until everything is how you want it, but many of you know I love to be creativ and put my own style in everything i touch. So these are my news.

here are some older news from a german bike magazin.
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