CECILIE UTTRUP LUDWIG
CERVÉLO BIG LA
It’s only until we’ve had limited internet access here I’m reminded how much time I spend on it - and it’s not all necessarily productive time
Finally, the season is underway. I’ve been bubbling over with excitement and anticipation for a long time, so it was nice to get rid of the preseason nerves. Now that we’ve started racing, time is flying. Before I had time to realise it, I’d already done two races, a stage race in Valencia and Strade Bianche. After that, I decided to flee the bad weather in Denmark and head to Spain. It’s something I am really happy I decided to do because I’ve learnt so many things I’m about to share with you.
My plan is to rent an apartment long-term in Girona before the end of this year, but for now I’m finding temporary solutions on Airbnb with my team-mate and best friend Marie Vilmann. Unfortunately we haven’t been able to travel to sunny and hilly places together this winter. Marie has been out with Achilles tendon inflammation and a knee injury since May 2017, but now it looks like things could be turning around. She has been able to increase her training load significantly. This means that we can train together again, and I’m enjoying every minute of it. We’ve rented this place in the countryside. It is so secluded. There is no phone connection and the Wi-Fi only works occasionally. It has made me realise how addicted I have become to the internet. It’s only when you break a leg or an arm that you are reminded how much you use it, and it’s only until we’ve had limited internet access here that I’m reminded how much time I spend on it - and it’s not all necessarily productive time. It has been so nice to switch off and just recover mentally and physically after training.
The house is in the middle of nowhere, there is no street name or house number. This has created a little challenge for submitting my whereabouts. I have to update my locations for the UCI and antidoping Denmark and since it’s difficult to find the property, I’ve put in my GPS coordinates and I’ve made navigation on Google Maps to the location. I’ve also made a long description of what the house looks like, so it could be easier to find. Even though this might take longer than usual to submit my whereabouts, I do it gladly. We must do everything we can to have a clean sport.
My team-mate Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio lives close by so we’ve been BBQing with her and her family in the peace and quiet, as well as with our host. Cycling forces you to travel and thereby opens you up to other cultures. We’ve been BBQing with the local Catalan people and they were explaining to us why they want independence. The primary goal was to come here to find good weather and great roads to train on, especially good climbing, but what it has done is broadened my horizons beyond just the sport. That’s one of the things I love about cycling.