WORLD CUP CANADA – NO START
[Translation: Crispen T.P. de Lange]

Due to a heavy bout of diarrhoea last night, I didn’t take part in the World Cup race here at Bromont / Canada. After intense stomach pains and many trips to the toilet through the night, we weren’t taking any chances on a tough race today, even though we saw this race as an important part of the preparations for the Olympics.

After the World Cup last weekend in Mt Sainte Anne, where I was happy to finish as number 5, I’ve been training according to plan and have been able to prepare as we had wanted for this second World Cup race here in Canada. My body has felt good and light these past days, my energy levels are steadily increasing, and I was looking forward to the race today. But in my present state of health, with a long trip to Beijing tomorrow and a very important race-day in a short three weeks, we weren’t about to take any chances by starting today.

BAD LUCK

I have no idea what I’ve got into me. The Merida team has all been eating at the same restaurant all week and I had the same dish last night as I had 2-3 days ago. None of the others on the team have had any unusual reactions to the food we’ve been served. I ate a bit of fruit yesterday evening before going to bed and there’s nothing unusual in that either.

I was training on a particularly muddy track yesterday, and the smell in the area suggested that there are a lot of horses being ridden there. With all the rain we’ve had in the past days and the conditions on the track, it’s been impossible to avoid getting a bit of mud into one’s eyes and mouth while training.

This might be another instance of maximum bad luck. On the positive side, however, I’m feeling a lot better now. I’ve been able to eat some solid food through the day without it passing straight through my body, and the pains in my stomach have subsided. I’m hoping it’s something that’s already on its way out of my body.

This is naturally a spanner in the works, but we still have three weeks until the race-day in Beijing, and we can accomplish a lot of good work before the day arrives. The most important thing now is to get some good rest, listen actively to my body, and control the factors that can be controlled so the trip to Beijing tomorrow is as comfortable as possible. We’ve had greater challenges than this before, and I reckon I must have used up my bad luck quota for this year.

Our original plan for the first days of the pre-camp was to take it easy no matter what, exercise at a low intensity and gain strength. The flight there will be long, and we also have to deal with the 12 hours’ time difference between here and there. I’m optimistic and will not give in without a fight J

Cyclist’s greetings from Gunn-Rita and Kenneth.