Another wet Arlberg Giro. It started to rain as we ascended to Arlberg Pass but unlike last year it wasn’t foggy at the top which allowed us to descend quicker. I didn’t seem to ride up the pass particularly fast. The descent was nice as usual. Water was coming from all directions in the bunch. A bigger group caught us up after the descent and we headed up the valley towards the next climb. Not far from the Bielerhöhe climb my back wheel felt a bit squidgy and I looked down to see that I had a flat tyre. 🙁
Oh no. I lost about ten minutes changing the tube and many bunches rode by. I headed up the pass by myself being overtaken by lots of people. For some reason I’m always rubbish on the Bielerhöhe climb. Markus almost caught me up and I saw him just a corner behind me. This motivated me to ride a little faster.
At the pass I pulled on my jacket again and headed down. There wasn’t much in the way of a bunch and I rode alone to start with. At some point I collected two other guys and we rode the rest of the long long descent together. I stopped at the drink station before the last turn to head back up the valley to Sankt Anton to get some much needed energy and tried to cramp horribly.
I gasped and groaned my whole way up the valley at one point loosing the bunch and having to chase back on to it. I was even a bit too pooped to try sprinting properly at the finish.
Still, I guess my time was ok considering the conditions and that I lost my good bunch and plenty of time by puncturing.
Arlberg Giro 2016 5:17:21.9
Above left: Carbo loading with apple strudel the day before the race. Above middle: Leonie and Markus made sure they were well stretched the day before the race. Above right: We camped in Pettneu am Arlberg.