Arrival in Spain!

So a lot has happened since my last post. I had a successful end to the NZ season winning both the Tour de Ranges and Avantidrome Rev Classic races, as well as taking out the QOM jersey at the Bev May tour for the 5^th year.

QOM Jersey at Bev May's Tour

Avantidrome Rev Classic

Then before I knew it, it was time to say goodbye to summer, and set off on the long journey to Europe. This trip turned into even more of a mission than usual, when, after stopping briefly in Australia to refuel, we were informed that there was a mechanical problem with the plane, and our flight would be delayed while this was fixed. So we waited on the plane…and waited…and waited……5 hours later, we were taken off the plane to sit in the airport, where we continued to wait….for another 3 hours! Finally it was decided that the plane would not be leaving the tarmac, and we were taken to a hotel for another 24 hrs of waiting. Needless to say, by the time I reached Spain, 3 days after leaving Auckland, I was beyond exhausted!!!!

I was greeted at the airport by one of the team managers, Miguel, who was very nice and chattered away to me in Spanish- I could not understand a word, so just smiled and nodded when it seemed appropriate!! Miguel took me to the team base, where I met some of the other staff of the team, and was given my bike and heaps of kit. I have to say I am pretty stoked not to racing in a bright pink outfit this year..that was really not my colour!! Then I was taken to the team house, where I will be living for the season, where I quickly met a few of my team mates, before collapsing into bed!

The next few days were spent exploring the area on my bike, and trying to get used to the cold weather. It may not be as cold here as further north, but for a kiwi coming from the most amazing summer in years, anything less than 10 is freezing!! The town I am staying in, Urduliz, is situated in the Basque Country, about 20km from Bilbao, and the only way to describe the landscape here is…HILLY..which of course I am happy about!!!

My new training area

On Saturday, 4 days after I had arrived, it was time for more travelling, as the team set off for France, to compete in the first French cup race of the season, Cholet-Pays de Loire. I had a particularly good result in this race last year, so was keen to repeat that again. However, with all the travelling over the past week, my legs just did not feel 100% and I rolled in with the 2^nd group, 50 seconds down on the front bunch of 20. However, our team sprinter, Fanny Riberot, had an awesome result, sprinting in for 4^th place, a nice present for her birthday, which was that day.

This past weekend, I had my 2^nd lot of racing, with the first 2 rounds of the Spanish cup series being held 40 minutes away from our team base. Due to this being our local area, we had a very strong team represented at these races, and were keen to dominate the field. We definitely managed to do this, sweeping the podium both days, and racing aggressively throughout the weekend. My legs felt back to normal, and I felt strong both days, finishing 4^th on the Saturday and then taking my first European podium of the season by finishing 2^nd on the Sunday.

Team mate Sheyla Guitterez winning sunday's race

On the podium with team mates Sheyla and Eider

A breakaway during saturday's race

Our next race is not until Monday, so I am having a good week of training, as well as desperately trying to improve my Spanish, so I can communicate with my house mates (I live with 2 russians who speak NO English, and we currently communicate with hand signals!! Pretty sure they think I am about as strange as I think they are!!) . I had a nice surprise when I was out training today, coming across 3 guys from the American Optum team, who are staying in the area, while competing in several big races here. While talking to them, I discovered they knew 2 of my good friends- Courteney Lowe and Emma Grant, and that Courteney and Emma are currently living at their house in America- small world! Anyway, it was nice to be able to speak English for a bit, and not have to worry about being understood!!

Well this has turned into a bit of a novel, so well done if you managed to get to the end of it! Will try and keep this updated more often!

Emma