Today was the last stage of the 2018 Tour de Kärnten. It was a short mountain time trial with a climb of about 1150 m over 16 km. I presented a master class in riding slowly. I couldn’t get my heart rate over 160 bpm in the first few km and at some point I decided it wasn’t going to happen so cruised up to the top at around 140 bpm. There was nothing in my legs today. It was cold and misty at the top so I didn’t hang around and descended back down to where my faithful support crew was waiting – thanks Leonie!
I was around 5 minutes slower than my ascent in 2016 and the climb was far less enjoyable than the mountain TT last year where I felt I rode well and passed many people on the way up. This year almost the entire field, it seemed, passed me.
Anyway the 5th Tour de Kärnten that I’ve taken part in is over. Three out of the six stages were fun. None of them went optimally for me. Stage 5 had the potential to be a good one for me but the awful start behind the broom wagon cost me a lot of energy.
Still, a nice six days of cycling.
Above: The mountain TT stage.
Above: Slowness.
Tour de Kärnten 2018 Stage 6 – Mountain Time Trial Time: 01:17:17.8
