Jennie Stenerhag

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First podium at a UCI stage race!

2009-08-24

I have been to Germany this weekend for the race Albstadt Frauen etappenrennen, a UCI 2.2 race over 3 days. I have once again been a guest rider in the Danish Team high end sport and I have had some really nice and fun days with them. The race started on Friday evening with a 4km prologue. I flew down to the race and had my bike with me and I did not bring my time trail bike for only 4km, I did not think that the prologue would be that important for the overall result. 2 hours before the start we got to borrow a TT bike from another team and decided that I would ride on it even though I had only tried it on the parking lot! When it was time to start warming up the sky opened and I did not want to warm up on the road in the pouring rain, so it had to be done on the trainer with an umbrella over my head. I was in the last part of the start list and when I started it had stopped raining but the road was still wet and slippery. When I started I did not feel concentrated and I felt very unused to the bike but I was going fast, at least I got to know that after the finish, I was laying second for the time. One of the last starters was Sara Mustonen, also from Sweden, she came in on the fastest time, 2 seconds faster then me, so I finished 3^rd, I was of course very happy with that, even though I could not help but wondering what how it could have gone if I had had my own bike, a disc wheel and a TT suit… But as Lance says "It´s not about the bike..."

Second day started with a long wait, the start of the hill stage was at 4pm. We did 8 rounds on a 10,5km lap that included a 2km climb right after the start. The first time up went fast and a lot of girls dropped already. Then 3 times up went ok. Lap 5-7 went fast again and we were a group of 10-12 girls that got away at the top each time and had about 3-400 meters on the bunch but no one was interested in working so the bunch always came back. On lap 6 before the bunch came, me and another girl got a way and stayed away for about 7km before the others caught us close to the top of the climb. The last time up was very hard, same thing happened again but this time I was not in the first bunch, this time the went fast and we only caught them 500 meters before the finish. Since we did a lap and went 2km uphill we also had to come down, the max speed for the day was 82km/h and with 500meters to the finish we were still going downhill, so was a very fast sprint. I did not manage to get to the front and finished 15^th in the sprint. Charlotte Becker from Nurnberg got away and stayed away and won by a minute. So my 16^th place was enough to keep my 3^rd overall since Charlotte was the only one that passed me and I passed Sara.

Last day was a criterium on a 2,1km round and we did 40 laps. I wanted to defend my 3^rd place and it was very tight behind me with only seconds separating many girls and with bonus seconds 10-6-4 it was many that could pass. It was a few break aways and some were away for many laps. Nurnberg that had number 1 and 2 had to work hard to get them back. I just tried to stay in a good position in the bunch and be aware if anything dangerous went. Finally it came down to a bunch sprint and I crossed the line as number 11 which was enough to defend my 3^rd place since no one close behind me got the bonus seconds.

I am very happy with this since it is my best result ever in a UCI race!

There has been some really nice days with good accommodation, good food and good company and I have got to practice my Danish a bit as wellJ Thanks team high end sport!

Now I will be at home for a few days before it is time to travel down south in Sweden for the next race, a 3 day stage race on an island called Orust.

Photo: Kaj Igor Hansen

Warming up in the rain!!!!!

Photo: Kaj Igor Hansen

Prize giving after the prologue. Lisa Brennuer, Sara Mustonen, me and Maria Grand Pedersen from High end sport that won the young classification of the prologue.