World Cup 7 – Val Di Sole, Italy


World Cup finals once again came around quickly and it was time for me to wrap up what had been so far the best season of my career. Coming into the final round I had a lead of 150 points over Floriane Pugin and I didn’t want to do the maths and work out where I must finish in order to win the overall ! I just knew that I needed to race like normal and get a good finish.

Val Di Sole has always been a track I have enjoyed riding every year we have been there but one that I have never done very well at, so that added a little pressure for me but I felt pretty good in practice. For me the hardest thing about this track is trying to maintain my grip as my hands get so pumped up that I start to not be able to pull on my brakes and have to resort to using 2 fingers to brake which then weakens my grip and it just becomes a vicious circle which ends up with me riding slower and slower !! This year was no different as the track conditions were tough. The track was so dry that it was often hard to see what you were riding over in the dust and the holes just got bigger and bigger. It was a real great test of skill and strength.

I had a very average qualifying run, I just knew that I was riding far too safe to be fast in this type of track and it ended up with me in 4th place in qualifying, losing a few valuable points for the overall. I was riding alot better in the morning practice session of the race when I rode the course in sections, but when I put together a full run I just could not ride at the same pace with the same loose riding style. I just got more and more tense as my grip got weaker. I also ended up having a big old crash in my last practice run which didn’t help my confidence or the strength of my body ! So going into the final I really did feel the pressure a little.

My whole season rested on me getting this race run done and doing it well enough to secure the overall world cup title. I did my normal warm up and felt pretty good, although a little more nervous than normal. I really wanted to just treat it like every other race but as soon as I set off I just couldn’t seem to let go, my mind just made me ride within myself to be sure of not crashing or making a major mistake ! It was such a tough race track to ride safely as it was so easy to make a mistake. Thankfully I made no major mistakes and my pace was not too slow that my 5th place finish on the day gave me enough points to win the 2011 World Cup Overall.

Such an amazing feeling and a huge amount of relief to have backed up all my great results this year and come away with the title. It’s been 5 years since I won the World Cup Overall and it’s a title that requires such consistency all year, it’s a really satisfying accomplishment.

Thanks to my mechanic Sander for all the hard work he has put in all year keeping my bike in perfect working order and a huge thanks to my team, to Trek for making such an amazing bike and to all my sponsors who have supported me in 2011.

Just one more race to go and it’s the big one...the defence of my World Championship Title. In the meantime I will enjoy the next week with the World Title, the World Cup Overall Title and the National Title all in the bag !!

Next up Champery World Championships....