The perfect trip, I’m not talking about winning, the perfect trip is something else, something more. It’s when everything works. His equipment works perfectly, his technique is simple and efficient, and every part of his body works optimally. You feel invincible. Instead of dreading the pain caused by the next long, steep climb or the tortuous step required to stagger into the break, welcome, yes, even look forward to the next moment of hard effort so you can pour some of that strength into it. . And when the time comes, at the base of the climb or when the group forms a single file and the pace picks up, you feel as if you are propelled by an invisible force with limitless energy. You think to yourself, that now, now you are going to show your opponents, now they will experience the true feeling of pain and suffering. As you reach the top of the climb, instead of resting for a bit, you switch into that monstrous gear and spin it like never before. You feel like you are recovering from the effort of climbing much faster than usual. Even in decent ones, take a chance, don’t take a chance today. With all this extra energy and power, comes the feeling of being invincible. Today nothing can go wrong, today you will steal time both uphill and downhill.
You just can’t seem to find a use for all that energy. These days are rare, very rare. Maybe once a season, sometimes even less. Maybe a few times during training. The perfect journey begins before you even get on the bike. It begins with the dream of the night before. You have no trouble sleeping, or going round and round, or worrying about the race. Just a deep, peaceful sleep. You wake up with a lot of energy, before the alarm clock goes off. You get out of bed, you try to feel your body, your legs, while you dress. You wonder, is this the day? Is this the day that everything will work out? The legs feel good, very good. Everything is ready for the race, all your gear has been prepared the day before, including dry clothes to put on after the race. You know that today it is essential to avoid wasting energy on useless things. You want to suppress all the energy and reserve it for the event that will take place in 4 hours. Today you have a leisurely breakfast, avoiding anything that is not crucial for the race. A large bowl of oatmeal, a couple of bananas, and a glass of orange juice works fine. A cup of coffee ends the morning ritual and wakes you up, gives you that little “extra”. You prepare your recovery meal after the race, making sure it is ready as soon as you get off the bike. Please arrive at the start area approximately 2 hours before the start time. You are focused, preparing yourself mentally. Check the equipment again, is everything ready? You arrange for recovery food and warm, dry clothing to be ready at the finish area.
That’s what you’ve been working for, all those hours of training. Those long, hard winter walks. All the hard work accumulates in today’s event. Usually this “pressure” would cause negative feelings, but not today. Today you are focused, calm and clear. Today you want to show it to everyone. Today is your day. You can already feel it. Is it the day? Will this be the perfect trip? You warm up, the feeling of your feet hitting the ground this morning is still there. The legs feel good, very good. But you’re cautious, you’ve felt this way before. You know you can feel great now, only to find that your legs are full of lead after 3 hours of running. You tell yourself that you must be conservative, realistic. Stay focused, don’t celebrate victory before the race has started. You know that it is extremely important to direct all your energy and strength towards something positive. Happy thoughts, man, happy thoughts. Sweat begins to drip from his face, his legs rotate effortlessly and quickly. You are warming up, the body responds well during warming up. Finally, the time has come. The race starts, as usual, it starts quite slow when we leave the city. Riders chat, swap stories, alliances are being forged, only to be broken within an hour. Welcome to the peleton. As the race progresses, you feel like this is the day. You recognize the feeling of the perfect trip. This is your day.