There were 23 teams at the start of the Watersley Ladies Challenge which went 9-11. September. On Friday, 117 girls started a street race at the Tom Dumoulin Bike Park in Sittard. The Norwegian girls had taken the course a few days before and felt very well prepared. The track is 2.8 km long and has to be run 20 times. Camilla Rånes Bye, Ina Nakken, Celine Madeleine Braaten, Aurora Storlien Ulen, Dina Helene Røed and Maren Cecilie Mustad are on hand.

The girls can position themselves far forward when the start kicks off and aim to sit as far forward as possible. On the technical path there is a division quickly. Celine, Maren, Aurora, Dina and Ina ended up falling behind in groups 2 and 3, while Camilla managed to stay at the front. Aurora, who was placed in group two of approx. 40 seconds behind tight group, did a great job getting on center court again, and in position before the last lap. Zoe Backstedt of Great Britain broke away after 60 minutes and soloed for the win 1 minute ahead of Julia Kopecky of AG Insurance – NXTG in 2nd and Justyna Czapla of Germany in 3rd. Camilla and Aurora entered with a main field of 2.47 behind the winner and finished in 17th and 54th respectively.

On Saturday morning, individual pace was ready in Munstergeleen, a total of 11.9 km. Hilly and technical trail and slightly Nordic conditions with good rainfall. Ina was the first Norwegian to leave at 21:01, Dina entered at 22:09, Celine at 22:03 and Maren at 21:48. Camilla and Aurora entered on speed bikes, where Aurora cruised to 46th place in 20:56. Camilla was unlucky and suffered a puncture after 1.2 km and finished on the standard bike in 21:09. The winner of the move was Zoe Backstedt in 17:54.

On Sunday, the girls ran 80.3km together in the area around Watersley Sports & Talentpark. Difficult tracks with sharp turns and narrow roads. The girls aimed to stay at the front of the field, but got defensive in sections and gradually fell and ended up at the back of group 2. Camilla managed to stay on the front of the field and earned a climbing point in the first half. . After approx. 50 km Zoe Backstedt moved and allowed weeding. The gap was growing quickly and on the penultimate lap Zoe was 3 minutes clear of the field. For Aurora, Celine, Dina, Ina and Maren who were in group 2, unfortunately the time difference was too great and they were eliminated when they crossed the finish line before the last round. Camilla was in the main court all the way to the finish hill and cruised into 25th place 3:26 behind Zoe Backstedt.

Well done by the girls during the Watersley Ladies Challenge! Lots of learning and experience gained over the weekend and a great end to the 2022 season.

Hanne Berg Eriksen
Head of the K-Junior Road National Team

Published 16/09/2022