Saturday 24 July 2010

Another Tackle

stats of the week: run 22km, cycled 65km

Bye for now, dear folks, I'm off for nearly a fortnight to tackle my personal mountain of the year.
On Monday, August 2nd, I hope to be swinging my home town's flag on the top of this one.
It'll need some luck to be successful ...

Tuesday 20 July 2010

Day of Records

stats of the week: run 17km, cycled 274 km
L'etape du Tour: 181km, 10:14 h, 1060th of 1502 in age group, 5082nd of 6888 overall

As expected this year's L'etape turned out to be my toughest day ever. And it was a day of personal records:

- my longest competition ever, lasting 10 hours and 14 minutes
- longest distance cycled ever with 214km completed, included the way home to our bus
- biggest ascent ever done, Col de Marie Blanque, Col de Soulor and Col de Tourmalet added up to 4,350 meters of climbing
- highest speed ever ridden on the bike 70.1km/h (43.8mph)

Col de Marie Blanque 1035m:


Col de Soulor 1474m:


Col de Tourmalet 2115m:


On the final ascent to the very steep Marie Blanque we had to push our bikes for nearly a mile due to a traffic jam caused by walking cyclists - I lost about 25 minutes. The route was beautiful and I enjoyed every part of it. Although my performance wasn't as good as last year and I didn't feel as fit as in recent races. Anyway it was still a day I'll be dreaming of frequently.
Now I look forward to watching the professionals doing the same stage on Thursday.

Sunday 11 July 2010

Worn out by heat

stats of the week: run 17km, cycled 158km

Call me crazy, I know I am, but midweek I had to squeeze in a 5km track race. Our local town championships took place so I had to be there. After weeks of long distance cycling it was no use to take part in a 5km run. As expected my performance was limited. I finished after 22:02 min, under different circumstances a disappointing time. Nevertheless I was the only finisher of my age group what let me take home a champion title ...

To keep fit on the bike I completed a popular bike event in the nearby mountain area Sauerland. It's a challenging route of 158km and 1800 meters of ascent.

It was the unbearable heat what made the day more than tough. Reaching the finish after 6:20 hours of cycling I was so worn out that I wasn't able to eat anything and it took me until Sunday evening to recover reasonably. The result is that I don't feel really fit for Tourmalet - next Sunday will be the most challenging day of my 2010 sports year.

Tuesday 6 July 2010

Day of Sweat

stats of the week: cycled 210km

Maratona dles Dolomites: result see below

The Maratona dles Dolomites is Italy's most popular cycling event, with this year's 24th race finished by 8,800 thrilled cyclists. More than 20,000 applied to get a bib. The whole day is broadcoasted live on TV, 140km of road are closed for the bikers - and nobody bothers. 3 routes can be chosen during the race - 55km/106km/138km, the longest distance covering 4,100 meters of height difference.

See and feel the sweat:

It was the hottest day of the year to go up Pass Giau. It made me feel my head being close to burst and I had to concentrate to stay on my bike. Smiling is just a second's window dressing.

At my third year of Alpine cycling I am still passing my apprenticeship as the result unmistakably shows:

Name Ulrich Sauer
BIB 9600
Land/Town D-Witten
Category 138km Uomini/Men 50-57 anni

Start time 6:53.42,5
Finish Time 14:55.48,3
Race Time 8:02.05,8
Ave Speed 17,174 km/h
Rank Overall 3016. M of 4151 (73%)
Rank Category 479. M50-57 of 753 (64%)

Splits on route
Place Hour Time Rank Overall

Gardena 9:53.51,0 3:00.08,5 587. 3447.
Corvara 10:08.14,2 3:14.31,7 578. 3426.
Campolongo 10:34.28,5 3:40.46,0 537. 3285.
Selva Cadore 11:38.31,0 4:44.48,5 529. 3230.
Passo Giau 12:51.41,6 5:57.59,1 496. 3131.
Falzarego 14:09.41,8 7:15.59,3 476. 3009.

Hill Time Trial Corvara - Campolongo 6.4km, Height diff 353m
Time 26.14,3
Ave Speed 14,635 km/h
Rank Overall 2179.
Rank Category 279.

Hill Time Trial Passo Giau 10.6km, Height diff 900m
Time 1:13.10,6
Ave Speed 8,691 km/h
Rank Overall 2879.
Rank Category 429.