2019 was to be my last year in the M40 category. That means I'm the oldest one and so I'm supposed to also be the slowest. I actually didn't think much about that and was still aiming for podium finishes.
During the winter training, while doing intervals on my Monark indoor bike, I was hitting higher watts than ever before. At 49 I was stronger than ever before. I was really looking forward to the racing season.
But then things happened...:
- Andalucia Bike Race: Concussion on stage 2. Kicked in the head by mountain goat on stage 4
- Billingeracet: 20cm long nail straight through the tire
- Beskidy Trophy: Overheating defective brakes
- Swedish XCM Champs: Crashed into by other cyclist causing bad fall
- Merida Marathon: Three punctures
There were also good racing results:
- Even with malfunctioning brakes I managed a podium finish on the first stage of Beskidy Trophy.
- No podium results in the Swedish Marathon Cup (Långloppscupen) but in a couple of the races (Långa Lugnet and Bockstensturen) I had my best results ever since I started participating in that cup almost 10 years ago.
- Third place in the Danish race Outdoor Sydfyn
- Victory in the Thai race Chiang Mai Epic
Other than racing results... I managed to bicycle a lot again in 2019. All of my bicycle commuting obviously plays a big part here. 40 km, every work day, year round adds up.
Now I'm looking forward to the 2020 season... Which kicks off with Andalucia Bike Race in just three weeks!