I couldn’t fall asleep for two nights, and the hotel breakfast on Saturday morning suddenly seemed unappealing. Friday afternoon, I drove 4 hours to a place called Ulricehamn in the southern part of Sweden. I was at the seemingly unappealing breakfast buffet because I had signed up for the Danish/Greenlandic national Championship in cross-country skiing. More precisely, the long-distance freestyle competition which took place Sunday morning. And I’m a total beginner.
Flow is maybe not the right word, think flow as in a state of mind, not flow as flowing well on the snow. Technique is quite something in this sport, and I haven’t mastered it - yet. So, my strong cycling muscles carried me through to 4th place overall and 2nd in my age group. I also didn’t know how to fuel while being stuck to two sticks, so I just ran 1 hour 51 minutes without any fuel at all. As a reference, I take one gel every 20 minutes in a MTB race + carbs in my bottle. I crossed the line empty. I hadn’t been able to use my full physical capacity because every time I tried to go faster I lost my balance on the thin skies, but I had tried so hard for almost two hours. I learned two things: “It feels scary because it’s unfamiliar, not because I’m incapable.” (Michell C Clark), and that “yet” is a word I need to use more. I haven’t *** yet. I don’t know *** yet.
So many opportunities, so many adventures ahead. January has treated me well, and in 2025 I wanted to challenge myself and try new things. We’re off to a good start. /Malene
0 Comments
The year was 2018 (sounds historical now, right), it was a hot summer (even a weather analogue), and my racing had been going really well as I was on my way to finish second overall in the U23 World Cup (which I did achieve). I was at a point in my career where I had to stop and wonder what to do next, 2019 would be my first season in the elite category. I was finished with my Gymnasium and maybe it was time for something new?
That’s the name of the game in this world, so time to look forward. I decided to head down to Roc d’Azur and talk with some of the French teams. Maybe that could be the place for me for the next step in my career? I met Pierre Lebreton and Michel Hutsebaut in a hotel on the Rivera, and they showed me their new partnerships and riders for 2019-2020. It all sounded so exciting, and they welcomed me with open arms. Little did I know that that was going to be my team for the next 6 seasons.
For the next 2 seasons, we came back to the French roots and raced on Lapierre bikes and Mavic wheels. At this time, Michel’s daughter Celine Hutsebaut had taken over the team and a new era of this team (with a very long history of racing, I believe 27 years) had begun. With Enrico Martello as the new DS, and a completely new set of staff. We always joked that I was the OG (original gangster), of the team as I had been there the longest - along side our Videographer, Enric Cabot. Over these 6 years, I achieved great goals, overcame hurdles, got stronger, got defeated, failed, you know all of it. But I think the most important journey was the growth and progress I made as a young adult. When performance and sport is your fulltime job it brings many things to your life. And I think especially in the hardship I learned most about my core values and where I want to go in this life. We are now parting ways. I believe everything has an end, and at some point, you need to be brave and jump. Who knows what the future holds? “You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore.” – William Faulkner The future looks bright, thanks for reading along. /Malene Et cykel kongerige i Schweiz? Jeg har jo egentlig været i Lenzerheide mange gange og kører deres World Cup, men nu, hvor jeg er begyndt at bruge størstedelen af min tid i Schweiz, har jeg haft muligheden for at udforske området de kalder BIKE KINGDOM, hvilket omfatter langt mere end Lenzerheide's ikoniske xc rute. Området spreder sig over den nordlige del af kantonen Graubünden i Chur, Arosa og Lenzerheide, og er et af de absolut bedste steder jeg har kørt. I forbindelse med at jeg træner i deres 'Kingdom' har jeg indgået et samarbejde med dem, og lovet at dele ud af mine oplevelser dernede, for at sprede kendskabet til Bike Kingdom.
Jeg havde en forstilling om at det hele var Bike Park, da jeg nu engang kun kendte DH ruten fra world cuppen, men jeg blev virkelig, positivt, overrasket. Jeg har kun kørt der med en xc cykel indtil videre, og det har jeg snildt kunne, selvom jeg tror farten ville være federe på en mtb med mere vandring. Der er mange forskellige slags trails, altså forstå mig ret, der kan sagtens køres klassisk bike park ned mod Lenzerheide eller i Alpen Bike Park i Chur, men der er også rigtig mange andre muligheder for langt mere en naturlige, kringlede og flowy spor.
Det sker ikke så ofte at jeg tager lift rundt, for det meste cykler jeg jo op, og det kan man i hvert fald også få lov til hernede. Der er nogle seriøst grumme stigninger både på asfalt og grus. Den anden dag cyklede vi op til toppen af Alpenbikepark Chur, hvorfra vi tog stien "Lady Patricia" ned mod Chur. Navnet kommer fra et amerikansk fly der styrtede ind i bjerget i 1944, som der stadig ligger dele af på sporet. En 16,7km stigning med 1400hm og næsten 9%. Bom bom. Der er forskellige muligheder ift. deres liftkort, man kan selvfølgelig købe til hele området i ét kort, men kan også købe en dags billet hvor ruten allerede er lavet på forhånd. Så man starter i Chur, kan tage liften op til toppen af Alpenbikepark, derfra cykler man mod Lenzerheide, hvor man igen kan tage en lift, derfra videre ned af spor til Arosa, op igen, også ned mod Chur igen. Det er vidst 500 meter i alt man selv skal køre op af og så ellers en hel masse meter ned af (RIP overarme). Så ja, jeg er svært begejstret haha. Det spiller, det gode spor, det er en god infrastruktur, de har en let og overskuelig hjemmeside og app. Hvor du også kan finde 'touring'. Det kan også gøres uden bil; toget tagges fra Zurich lufthavn til Zurich's hovedbanegård, hvorfra man skifter til et tog der tager dig til Chur. Herfra kan man enten blive i Chur eller tage bussen videre til Lenzerheide, eller toget til Arosa.
Også bare byen Chur er super hyggelig og god til kaffe og shopping. Landevejscyklen er slet heller ikke dum hernede med alle de forskellige bjergpas der ligger i området. Et styks begejstret Malene Degn. |
Reflect what you desire, become what you respect Archives
February 2025
Categories |