Pia Sundstedt

We were so lucky that the 80% rain probability turned out to be wrong. Today I found a great rythm from the beginning. I was just spinning up the first 18km and it was not hard at all. On top of the first climb in Kreutzal I felt like beeing home. I have spent so many weeks on Plose mountain and Plose Huette so I know the area very well. Also a few friends had showed up to cheer on me and Carsten. The first single trail was also familiar, which makes riding esasier. As we hit the asphalt road up to Wuerzjoch the problems started. I flated and Carsten fixed it very quickly. Our team car was further up the road and from there we got a new rear wheel for me. So another stop and go. Team Vaude almost caught us during this wheel changing procedure. The next climb I found a good rythm again. In the single trail downhill I followed Carsten. On the bottom I suddenly noticed my gears were not working anymore and when I was pedaling nothing happened. I wasn’t going forward anymore. So another stop, stay calm and try to change the gears smoothly. Suddenly everything worked again. I already had time to get affraid that this was it with our Trans Alp. Now out mechanics are fixing everything, changing some parts on the bike. So tomorrow will be another challenging mountain stage. Looking forward to it though. We are supposed to have an awesome single trail section at the end. A flowy and smooth trail for the last 20 km. That must be fun!