The new Michelin tire range is now available for everyone who wants to try out these world-class tires. On my team, KMC-Orbea, have we been riding them for a while now, and we all loved them. The feedback we had from the previous range were taken into account and personally I find the new ones awesome to ride. So. There’re the ‘Michelin Jet XC2 racing line’ for fast and mostly dry trails, then we have ‘Force XC2 racing line’ for when the trails get sticker and steeper​

(I often choose this in the front for extra grip) and last we got the ‘Wild XC racing line’ which is a bigger tire that really can handle some more slippery tracks- those were my weapon of choice for the Olympics. I wanted to make a write’ about the new tire range of Michelin, because when I thought about the new tires my brain started to think about being grounded, finding grip - what does it even mean? And can we have more of that? ​

Google says that being grounded means that you are connected with earth and present in your body. If you aren’t grounded, you're like a leaf in the wind - thrown off balance real quick. Next google search: “What does it mean for a person to be grounded?” Mentally stable, realistic, remains calm and connected to who you are in the face of uncertainty.
Hm. ​

Being grounded is such a rad personality trait. Like people who can stay calm (and cool) and doesn’t get thrown off balance when things doesn’t appear the way they wanted them to, are always impressive. I think in elite sport, you got to work on your grounded-ness.
Going on course practice on a muddy day when nothing is going your way, but staying present, calm and finding the grip. Making the good choices (also regarding tires, hah) are so crucial. You gotta get the grip on your nerves and the dirt. ​

I don’t think it’s possible to always have the perfect travel, training, workday, off-day, race day, you name it, but I think it’s always possible to take a breath and find your ground. I want to be more grounded - not a leaf that easily get thrown off balance. That’s something to work on this season.

Now step one - find the right tire set up, so I can feel grounded on my bike - everyday.

/Malene​

Enduro World Series
First, I did the Enduro World Series in Finale Ligure. It’s like our UCI World Cup just for enduro. The race weekend was happening over 3 days, practice day, race day 1, race day 2. I had support from the Orbea Enduro team, and I felt very fortunate that they wanted to bring me in and share advices and so on. I practiced the stages with them, it seemed like the focus was finding flow and speed. For them it was the second to last race of the year, so they were in such a routine. Cool to see. They knew how they wanted their bikes and how they wanted to tackle the tracks. Primoz, the team manager, told me that racing Enduro is kind of a mix of DH and Cross Country racing, almost the base of mtb. But to be honest, I felt like it was it’s own beast. A very different kind of racing. Long days on the bike, having the stages spread out over the day, pushing the riders to find, that focus, multiple times. To me it’s a skill in itself!
I left very impressed of the riders skills and race mindset. ​

Focus on Fast
The team were riding the new Rallon, which is a new Enduro bike that Orbea has developed. I only had the opportunity to ride it around on the parking lot (when the pro riders went up to the accommodation to rest, I stayed at the pits to sneak around haha), but for them it was a game changer. They were so stoked about the new improvements, and it made me excited to have it one day! When I asked, this was what they told me; It's made for racing in 2021, the race tracks have evolved and so has the new Rallon. They get a 'slacker' bike, which fits the steep conditions better. They can get lower on the bike as the dropper post can go further down (Which I don't fully understand the meaning of, as an xc rider ;-) ). It can be turned into a mullet with 2 rear wheel choices. The size choices are more flexbile (because of the low standover) and much more - Plenty I didn't understand - but it sounded great - and as the pro riders they are, I believe in them, haha.   
You can check it out : www.orbea.com/dk-en/bicycles/mountain/rallon

Less than 24 hours later I was standing on a new start line, this time on familiar territory, XC racing! I came in 4th and I was pretty stoked about this result! Plenty of spectators who ended their day at Sea Otter with watching some bike racing and enjoying cold beer. See you next year. ​

Campo
After the Sea Otter Europe experience, I left the e-bike (Wild) and the xc (OIZ) bike in Spain and went to France, mandelieu, with my Enduro bike. The bike felt almost familiar after the week in Italy! Here I participated in a Redbull event by Loic and Myriam. It was mass start with Loic and Myriam hunting us down from behind. Pretty damn fun and scary!! ​

My World Cup season didn’t bring me so much 'glory' in those 3 races, but it really reminded me that more than anything I do this sport because I just love the sport. I enjoyed myself a lot out there between the tape, even when my racing wasn’t on point. And somehow that feels like a win in itself? Like that’s how you know you’re pursuing the right career path, right?
(Happiness is everything, that's what I have figured out in my 24 years ;) )​

And yes yes I did have some amazing races this year. On the two days I really had looked most forward to; The Olympics and the World championships! Those were my best performances of the year, and honestly if I had to choose, those two days were the most important to me.
But back to the World Cups! Inside of me I know I’m capable of more than what these results indicates, and I’m super motivated to change things up and work better for next year. If it was easy it wouldn’t be fun anyway! (And psst.. I want to ride in the front)​