KATARZYNA NIEWIADOMA
W M 3 P R O CYC L I N G
I’m sitting in a café right now, enjoying a coffee because it’s not the greatest weather here in Girona for once. On grey days like this, when it’s an easy day you need to be able to escape the four walls of home and just chill. Luckily, Girona has plenty to offer the professional rider on a recovery day. It’s no coincidence as many of the businesses have been set up by or have some kind of connection with a pro or an ex-pro. Cafés, bike shops and even, as I’ve found out recently, physio and osteopathy treatment are run by people who used to ride bikes for a living. It’s like a cycling campus really, and I love it. And of course there are the other riders as well - there are dozens of us. No wonder we can get a discount in some of the shops and cafés!
Many riders are away at the moment because it’s the altitude camp season and there’s a lot of racing on. That doesn’t worry me too much because most of the time I train on my own. If I’ve got work to do, I like to get my head down and get on with it. I don’t like the distraction of feeling someone waiting for me to finish my intervals. But when there is a relaxed ride planned we’ve got the obligatory WhatsApp group going to see if any anyone’s up for four hours easy or a recovery ride.
In many ways I’m still finding my way around Girona and the local roads. I’ve got training roads I know and use a lot but I’m still looking for the perfect climb that takes my breath away. It mustn’t just be a nice climb to ride and have a view from the top; it’s got to be a super-hard climb that I tackle in great form and on which I feel I’m still winning at the top.
I was to supposed to ride Gooik-GeraardsbergenGooik but a minor knee niggle meant I got a pass to miss the race and focus on bigger goals. I’ll be lining up at the Ovo Women’s Tour in the UK in June, which I’ve never raced but heard great things about. My DS has already laid out my plan for the race - take each day as it comes and attack when I want. That’s the best instruction a rider can hear. It’s rare but it’s much better than being told to wait for the final climb.