UCI MTB World Cup Albstadt

With the starting number 133, a challenge awaited me at the second UCI MTB World Cup in Albstadt, but I knew after the great race in Brazil that it's possible with my form to ride in the top-60. With exactly this plan I started into the race.

Already in the second lap my plan got interrupted by a flat tire and I had to ride about 2km and a hundred meters of climbing on the rim to the tech zone. However, the defect was my own fault, because I tried to overtake a slow rider in the downhill and caught a stone there. After the wheel change, my race continued, but I didn't feel so confident on the new tire and felt that I had little grip in the slippery corners. Nevertheless, I managed to work my way back to the front with a fast lap time. In the fourth lap it happened and I slipped away in a fast corner.

In my crash I suffered some bruises and a cut on my knee. I continued to torture myself for just one more lap, but was fortunately taken out of the race by the 80% rule and made my way to the medical tent. This is definitely not how I imagined my first World Cup in Europe, but I am confident that I will be able to start again next weekend at the World Cup in the Czech Republic.