The quote above was taken from Star Wars Episode I, The Phantom Menace. And it sums up the funniest experience of my 2013 training camp on the island of Mallorca. It was at the end of the first of the two week training camp that I was talked into participating in a bicycle drag racing event called Thunder Wheels Racing (http://thunder-wheels.de). So only 20 minutes after finishing a five hour bike ride through the Tramuntana mountains of Mallor-ca I was facing a one on one elimination competition over a course that was just 400 meters long. Never before had I started any race whilst already clicked into my pedals and someone holding onto my saddle for a sprint start. Adrenalin kicked in when we lined up for the first round. My opponent looked like a real bullet: a few pounds too heavy but equipped with mighty thighs! So when the countdown commenced 5-4-3… my adrenalin kicked in. When it ended with …2-1 Go!, he was already five meters ahead! Damn, I had put on the wrong gear and within the first 100 meters the guy got a lead of around 10 meters. Finally I got my gearing right and caught and passed him after around 300m. From then on it was full throttle until the end. I crossed the finish line first, the max effort recorded by the SRM at 1.200 watts. I was glad to really have survived the first round and with thus had reached the quarter finals.
When we lined up for the heat I was told to be careful as my opponent would be a real sprinter and quite probably go for a late pass from behind. Well, I thought, we’ll see how this goes. I then decided to start the race from the drop bars instead of the top of the STIs. Like a real sprinter, I thought! Big mistake! The gun went off and I was leading. I was leading until my opponent decided that it was time for me to move back one spot. And that was at around the 250 meter mark already. He went by in a blitz and I tried to get behind him. I grabbed the bars tighter in one last ditch effort and nearly… hit the barrier on the right side of the race course. Puh!, that was close! And no more chance to catch the guy. I then decided to give him the credit he deserved: I got into an upright position and applauded him for his win. The picture below shows me in the process of. But hey, a max effort of ~ 1.200 watts was not enough to even get on his rear wheel. He deserved to win!
We stayed to watch the semis as well as the finals of the races and just like the guy who had beaten me every guy among the top four was a real road racer not a wimpy triathlete like me.
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