World cup in Offenburg

photo : Sylvain Badia

A very strong finish for Kiara Bisaro after a crash during the race.
Marie-Helène Prémont finished 2nd and Alison Sydor 38th.

So the second world cup in Offenburg is over and I am heading back to France. It is sunny now but we had some good rain during the race. The course was really suited to me but I was not feeling incredible during my warm up. Just kind of a heavy feeling. I was really nervous too since I was hoping to have a decent race here.
We did 2 start loops and 6 full laps. It started to sprinkle on the start line but I decided to stick with my dry option tires. It was a good choice since it didn't start to absolutely pour until lap 3. I was doing quite well in the race. I had an okay start but then was moving up consistently and riding with 2 other strong girls. I was riding technically well but there were some places I just felt really slow on the climbs. After it started to rain my brakes started to not really work. The thing is that when the conditions get crappy like that it turns into as much of a mental thing as physical. The descents were dangerous already and with my lack of brakes I was really happy I was having an on day technically. Everything else worked perfectly which a lot of people don't have in the mud.
I was in a group with 4 girls including Sabine Spitz on the final lap and I had a fairly massive crash and slid down an entire descent on my ass while still clipped in to my bike on one side. Yup I am a mtber! I lost contact with the group but made it safely down the rest of the descents. I finished 10th at the end. 2 min off the podium and 6:50 from the lead. I am quite happy with it and excited and super motivated for the next one in Champery 2 weeks from now.
Hope the Canada Cup went well!

Kiara