Sunshine Cup #2 S1 Afxentia/Macheras Mtns. CYP, 26.-28.02.2010

By: Roel Paulissen

5th position in 3-days stage race

The Cypriot “Spring Classic” stage race hasn’t lived up to its name: 3 days of racing in the cold and rain showed that spring may be long in coming this year, especially in Cyprus!

Racing in low temperatures and cold rain is more or less the worst-case scenario for me and I really can’t stand those conditions in the true sense of these words. My back blocks and my limbs just freeze off...

Already in Friday’s time trial I felt that I had suffered more damage in last week’s race than I had actually realized before. I finished on 23rd position, with 2 minutes behind on stage and overall winner, my former Czech team-mate Jaroslav Kulhavy.

In Saturday’s point-to-point race I finished in 4th, suffered a lot to follow the leading bunch. I had been training hard the weeks before this race weekend and so I could definitely feel my legs getting tired and a heart rate of 157 was all my old engine could deliver.

Today’s race was even worse: raining throughout the whole race and so cold. I had no chance to keep up with the guys in front. I suffered the weather conditions so much, my back pain got worse and worse. I barely remember how I actually managed to cross the finish-line!

It was so hard, so cold! You pedal and pedal and hang onto your handle-bar until you fall into an apathetic state and just wish the race would be over with the very next pedal stroke. I couldn’t feel my thumbs anymore, I had to shift with the ball of the hand!

I arrived in 5th position in this cross country race XCO and finished on 5th place in the general classification, also thanks to my indestructible Flash, not a smallest issue with my bike during the whole weekend! The coming week I’ll take it a bit easier, try to recover and will take care of my back.

RESULTS
1     Jaroslav Kulhavy (Cze)   4:16:34       
2     Emil Lindgren (Swe)    +0:01:17      
3     Jan Škarnitzl (Cze)      +0:04:28      
4     Periklis Ilias (Gre)        +0:07:56      
5     Roel Paulissen (Bel)     +0:08:55