06/18/2007 Team
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I set off to Europe for the second time of the year excited with the opportunity to race another world cup and spend more time checking out some amazing places. Instead of the 3 day rock star in and out trip that we made to Houffalize in April, this time we were coming over for more than one race so we had a little more time to kill. First we headed to Offenburg, Germany for the second stop of the World Cup. The race was a lot of fun and was made quite interesting with a last minute dose of rain that made things really technical and unpredictable.
The day after the race in Germany the team split up and we all took our own little European adventure. Most of the team had a full two weeks before the next World Cup in Champery, Switzerland but I had a different program. I was set to compete in road race with the U23 National road team the weekend after the Germany race, but before that I had a few days to make my own plans. I panicked a little bit with the freedom of figuring out what to do in Europe by myself so I ended up talking with our Team Manager Jon Rourke and he did an awesome job of piecing together a couple different options for me to choose from. I decided to head to Montreux, Switzerland, a town nestled between Lake Geneva and the jagged peaks of the Alps, for a couple days of awesome riding as well as some quality R&R at the sweet lakeside hotel that Jon found for me. I did a couple of big rides filled with incredible high mountain passes and quiet twisty roads. Unfortunately the trails that would have stemmed from the bottom of the many ski resorts I passed were covered in snow, so tearing up the Swiss singletrack was not an option. It was probably a good thing because as it was I still ended up riding a little more than I should have just because of how awesome the terrain was.
After my stay in Switzerland it was time to hop a train to the Geneva airport where I met up with the National road team guys. We then drove to a ski village near Chambery, France in the heart of the French Alps. The race was the Tour des pays Haut Savoi, a 2.13 ranked, four-stage race, known for its mountainous terrain. It ended up being one of the hardest three days of racing I can remember and it was plenty exciting with attacks going from the gun every day.
I was happy to try to work for the team, since really I was mainly there for training. They had me trying to cover early attacks and it was a lot of fun. I got into a couple of cool early breaks and I even managed to score a couple points in the KOM competition. I think the hardest part of the race was the descents. Youd think that a mountain biker should have good enough bike handling skills to hang on the descents, but these road racers are insane. Trusting the other riders to pick the right line and stay upright while navigating wet corners is much different than ripping through a rock garden or handling a tricky section of singletrack on your own. I got plenty of adrenaline rushes and I felt like I might die countless times, but it was all in good fun and I managed to keep it upright except for one minor crash in the final kilometer of the first road stage. The highlight of the race had to be the last day with its epic hilltop finish at the top of the Col de Glandon, a 20 km climb covering almost 5,000 feet of vertical. I was wishing I had a bigger cassette, or maybe a bike swap to my mountain bike, because, man, it was steep.
After the road race I headed back to the US to rest up for the next block of races instead of sticking in Europe for the Swiss World Cup. Right now Im actually nursing a little illness that I caught on the flight back, but Im sure Ill be feeling better soon and Im excited for Deer Valley and the World Cups in Canada.
Sam Schultz Races on the Road in Switzerland
Sam Schultz is part of the Subaru-Gary Fisher Mountain Bike Team. He's also the defending American Under-23 Champ. After the second World Cup race in Germany, he headed to Switzerland for a road race with the U23 squad. Below is Sam's retelling of the event:----
I set off to Europe for the second time of the year excited with the opportunity to race another world cup and spend more time checking out some amazing places. Instead of the 3 day rock star in and out trip that we made to Houffalize in April, this time we were coming over for more than one race so we had a little more time to kill. First we headed to Offenburg, Germany for the second stop of the World Cup. The race was a lot of fun and was made quite interesting with a last minute dose of rain that made things really technical and unpredictable.
The day after the race in Germany the team split up and we all took our own little European adventure. Most of the team had a full two weeks before the next World Cup in Champery, Switzerland but I had a different program. I was set to compete in road race with the U23 National road team the weekend after the Germany race, but before that I had a few days to make my own plans. I panicked a little bit with the freedom of figuring out what to do in Europe by myself so I ended up talking with our Team Manager Jon Rourke and he did an awesome job of piecing together a couple different options for me to choose from. I decided to head to Montreux, Switzerland, a town nestled between Lake Geneva and the jagged peaks of the Alps, for a couple days of awesome riding as well as some quality R&R at the sweet lakeside hotel that Jon found for me. I did a couple of big rides filled with incredible high mountain passes and quiet twisty roads. Unfortunately the trails that would have stemmed from the bottom of the many ski resorts I passed were covered in snow, so tearing up the Swiss singletrack was not an option. It was probably a good thing because as it was I still ended up riding a little more than I should have just because of how awesome the terrain was.
After my stay in Switzerland it was time to hop a train to the Geneva airport where I met up with the National road team guys. We then drove to a ski village near Chambery, France in the heart of the French Alps. The race was the Tour des pays Haut Savoi, a 2.13 ranked, four-stage race, known for its mountainous terrain. It ended up being one of the hardest three days of racing I can remember and it was plenty exciting with attacks going from the gun every day.
I was happy to try to work for the team, since really I was mainly there for training. They had me trying to cover early attacks and it was a lot of fun. I got into a couple of cool early breaks and I even managed to score a couple points in the KOM competition. I think the hardest part of the race was the descents. Youd think that a mountain biker should have good enough bike handling skills to hang on the descents, but these road racers are insane. Trusting the other riders to pick the right line and stay upright while navigating wet corners is much different than ripping through a rock garden or handling a tricky section of singletrack on your own. I got plenty of adrenaline rushes and I felt like I might die countless times, but it was all in good fun and I managed to keep it upright except for one minor crash in the final kilometer of the first road stage. The highlight of the race had to be the last day with its epic hilltop finish at the top of the Col de Glandon, a 20 km climb covering almost 5,000 feet of vertical. I was wishing I had a bigger cassette, or maybe a bike swap to my mountain bike, because, man, it was steep.
After the road race I headed back to the US to rest up for the next block of races instead of sticking in Europe for the Swiss World Cup. Right now Im actually nursing a little illness that I caught on the flight back, but Im sure Ill be feeling better soon and Im excited for Deer Valley and the World Cups in Canada.
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