IM Vitoria-Gasteiz
What an unfortunate race in an unforgettable location: 140.6 Vitoria-Gasteiz, amazing venue, well organised, great country with good food, culture and nature. Vitoria-Gasteiz is a lovely medieval town in Basque Country. The swim venue was in the freshwater reservoir of the region. A rolling hills bike ride through pittoreske villages and golden fields gave an amazing backdrop to the 180k. The finish was a 4 loop city run with probably the best audience I have ever had. Unforgettable is the run out of Plaza Europa through narrow alleys where the audience is making an unbelievable party.
Everything was set for a great race. My family was with me, so was Estela’s. I wanted to go 9:30:00 or less, was super confident. The swim started accordingly: right in my target time. I went fresh into the bike, took a deep breath when suddenly this horrid pain flushed through my left leg. A bee stinger grinned at me from my thigh. A cramp followed. And the pain didn’t stop. 35 years of cycling and never had I a bee sting.
