Ossola Sport

Irena Ossola – Dedication and Determination

Italia Training and Ardeche

Over the month of August I had been in Italy training up and down mountain passes, but nothing could quite prepare me for the feat that lie ahead at the Tour de L’Ardeche.  The race started September 1st and went until September 6th.  With 7 grueling stages that never gave a second of rest.  It was hard climbing everyday in high heat, intense competition, and long races.  The first day I went out hard since it was the only “sprinters” stage.  It was a circuit course with a small kicker of a climb each lap.  I felt good and with 20km to go I attacked and went solo.  I got 45 seconds on the pack, but in the last lap just before the only gpm/qom they caught me and it was a race for the finish only 4km later.  I was dissapointed to not hold for the win, but I was also proud of my strength and ability to be aggressive.  I won most aggressive rider for the stage and 200 euro that was on the 16th lap of the circuit.

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The second day I felt the fatigue and pain in my legs from the previous day.  I struggled, but also stuck it out.

The third stage contained the epic climb and finish at the top of Mont. Ventoux.  Since I am not a climber and had no real chance of doing well this day I stayed with the peleton until the bast of the climb and then went up at my own pace.  Which actually wasnt too bad as I continued to pass other riders along the way up.

The 4th stage was actually potentially harder then the 3rd stage with mont ventoux.  Because after the difficulty of that climb there wasnt much rest, so going into another day of almost the same elevation gain (2900m) was so difficult.  I struggled, but stayed tough to complete it.

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The 5th stage was a short time trial.  But without a TT bike I really couldnt compete with the girls with full equipment.

The 6th stage was my best chance at a good result and I went in positive to do well.  But unfortunately on the 2nd and last climb my legs felt heavy and blocked.  It was a day of incredible wind so the pack was split up very easily through the valley.  I dropped back and finished with the second group.

The 7th stage was more hills and hard from the start with 3 main climbs.

 

I completed the race, but the last 2 days I was in survival mode as my body was feeling the repercussions of dehydration, fatigue, lack of recovery/massage, and overall tiredness.  The first day I dug deep and payed for it the rest of the race.  I was sick the first night, which i think was bad food, and after that felt constantly neaucious.  This made it hard to eat well feel good going into each race.  I also learned the huge importance of massage in cycling and this race.  I did not have anything to help with recovery until the second to last stage.  The build up of lactic acid and fatigue in my legs was difficult to overcome each day, especially when each stage started racing hard from km 1.

I am extremly grateful for this opportunity that I had though and the strength I gained from this race.  I will carry it on into next year and will make me tougher for any other races that lie ahead.

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