THE HILLS, Earth Series – 120 km, 2350 m elevation gain, 95% off-road: what a course, what a day.

From the course recon and its description, you could already sense both the beauty and the toughness of the route that awaited me and all the riders at THE HILLS.
Twenty punchy climbs—more like walls with gradients over 14%—and descents on trails comparable to MTB tracks. On paper, it was one of my favorite kinds of courses.

At the start line, there were many participants, but also some big, unique, and iconic names from the cycling world. Among the women, the strongest riders were all there, ready to race and battle it out on the “Prosecco” hills in Susegana (TV), Italy. The start… what an incredible atmosphere. Right from the beginning, I felt good—I was happy. It had been a long time since I’d felt such positive sensations on the bike. My positioning was solid, and I was really pleased with the first part of the race.

The second half, however, was disappointing for me. I couldn’t express myself anymore, and I was truly frustrated. I had some issues with my nutrition, made mistakes with fueling, got stomach cramps, and had to stop a few times. For me, the race felt almost over—I wanted to quit. But then I thought: the season is long, and I have incredible support that allows me to experience these amazing events. Okay, it didn’t go the way I wanted—but why not at least try to reach the finish line?

To try to finish, to understand everything that didn’t work—and also what, in the first part, felt so good.