For the TFJV (Trophée de France des Jeunes Vététistes) 2022, I travelled to Les Menuires in the Alps at an altitude of around 3000 metres. The air there became much thinner and all the efforts became much more strenuous. After the start, there wasn't much time left to do much cycling. The athletes went straight to their rooms and it was already late enough to recover from the very long journey.
Day 1 - the athletes' défilé
On the first day, the athletes and parents gathered together and were first informed about the programme. The young people then had to prepare for the défilé. This is an opening ceremony in the evening where all the teams dress up and perform a little dance. Afterwards, everyone walks through the city and presents themselves. The dance is judged by a yuri. Although the performance does not score any points for the overall ranking, it is still very important for the French.
The theme for this year was "Games in the Alps". And as it could not be otherwise, I was dressed up as a dirndl boy. (There were also ski jumpers, cows, climbers and parachutists). At first I found it difficult to present myself like this, but then I realised that everyone thought it was very brave and great, and I also enjoyed it a lot more. Especially when girls smiled at me, I also had a big grin on my face.
Unfortunately, the German team only came fourth in the dancing competition. Bedtime on this day was still generously set at 10.30 pm.
Day 2 - the relay race
The second day began at 8.00 a.m. with a 45-minute morning exercise session. We spent the first half jogging to a sunny spot and then stretched the whole body. On the way back we had breakfast, traditionally with baguettes.
At around 10 a.m., all the athletes headed to the race site. The relay course consisted of two mountains and a technical descent. Although the lap was not long, it was nonetheless challenging at maximum heart rate throughout. There were always three boys and one girl at the start. After the U13s and U15s had already pulled out a big lead, all I had to do was ride the lap safely. Nevertheless, I didn't know how much of a lead the German team had because there were a lot of lapped riders on the course. As a result, I rode relatively fast and realised that I was breathing heavily and my legs were weak. At the finish I was happy that we had won as a team, but I was also very worried about where the weakness was coming from.
At the evening meeting with our team leader, we discussed the next day and got the individual times from the relay. It turned out that I had set the third-best time. That made me sleep very well.
Day 3 - Trial (the discipline I was at the TFJV for)
The next day began with early morning exercise again. This time, however, it was shortened because we had to get to the first trial course very early. The obstacles were nothing like those in Germany. They were higher, more difficult and more dangerous.
The word "impossible" was out of the question for me and so I rode into the first course, which consisted of lots of tree trunks and concrete boxes. I mastered everything except for one obstacle, which I tried to jump up four times and skilfully jumped back onto the rear wheel each time. I was satisfied and especially the sentences like "Dennis what a show, very strong" built me up. What I was most pleased about was that I was the first to ride a new line, which everyone previously thought was impossible. I went to the second of four courses with a confident attitude. It was right next to the river and if you weren't careful, you would fall into the river. In my opinion, it was the easiest course of all. I rode quickly, but still safely. At the penultimate obstacle, the judge said that I had touched the flag and wouldn't get any points. I, on the other hand, am completely sure that I didn't touch it.
But I can understand that the referee is just doing his neutral job and there's no point in discussing it. The only problem was that I was mentally lower than ever before. Cheerful Dennis turned into an introverted, sad person. On the next course, I was no longer focussed and just made sure I didn't touch the flags. That cost me two parked feet and no points for an obstacle. There was a long break between the third and fourth course, during which I calmed down and then scored all the points. In the end, I came eleventh. In the evening, I got my Bulls race bike ready for the XCO start.
Day 4 - XCO race with a flat tyre
On the fourth day, we were able to sleep in as normal. Thanks to the good company in the room, we cooked porridge and distracted ourselves from the nervousness. After that, we headed towards the race site.
It was difficult to orientate ourselves in terms of time because the speaker only reported in French and delays were only announced late. Nevertheless, our coach Paul Kallenberger did everything perfectly and we were on the roll on time. I started as the best German on the front row. At the start, I briefly rode first so as not to be disturbed, but then let an athlete overtake me. Before the descent, another athlete overtook me - and that was the point where I lost the race.
When I saw that it was an athlete from the South Paka region, I knew that all the athletes there are normally extremely good. But he was extremely slow on the descent and opened up a gap to the first. In the end, I had to try to catch up with the leaders with all my strength. I managed this until the same descent as before. Due to severe exhaustion, I wasn't able to move my bike as skilfully as usual and suffered a flat tyre. I stayed calm because I knew it was only 200 metres to the tech and feed zone and it was all downhill.
Distraction costs the placement
In the zone, I didn't pay attention to where the Germans were because there were a lot of spectators in front of me and I narrowly missed them. Because I wasn't allowed back, I had to ride the next half lap with too little air in my tyres. That cost me three places. In the tech zone, everything went very quickly thanks to Jan Schlichenmaier, who made an excellent pit stop. When I then had seven riders in front of me and my race rhythm was broken, I just tried to keep up with the others. I lost more places up to the last lap until I crossed the finish line in 12th place. I wasn't angry or disappointed at the finish, but sad. Sad because I knew that the podium was within reach.
After the race, we got ready for the downhill training. We took the gondola up another 600 metres and from there went down with lots of technical passages. The course was extremely fast with lots of grassy bends that had to be ridden cleanly. There were only a few stones on the way down. After three training runs and a non-dramatic crash, I felt confident for the next day with the final discipline.
Day 5 - the rainy downhill from Les Menuires
The next day started with sunshine and I also had hopes of a good result again. We went to the lift together with the German U17 team. I had to wait more than two hours for my start because I was fourth in the overall standings up until then and started fourth last.
When it wasn't long until my start, it started to rain cats and dogs and the track became almost unrideable. The grass became muddy and extremely slippery. Nevertheless, I tried to make the best of it. I had very rough tyres, which allowed me to let some air out. I rode safely, but still felt very fast. At the bottom I was in 30th place and there were also athletes behind me. My result wasn't published until the podium ceremony to make it exciting.
In the evening I was informed that Fourth in the overall standings became. It made me very happy that I was versatile enough to earn this place despite not achieving outstanding results.
I went to the graduation ceremony with a smile on my face and had a great time with the boys and a few French girls.
Marc Strucken
Editor
