Our second race as a team this year was the Nirvana race in Tuscany, Italy. We had plenty to improve from the first race and the best thing was, we did improve, so much.
In the lead up to the race we spoke a bit more about better ways to pack and to organise our team bags. Also, the splitting of the food into small packs for each leg. Kristian organised some laminating of the leg info to be added to our packs and also spoke about better transitioning.
But the race starts with the journey to get there. Steph flew over from the UK and had the race organisers pick her up at the airport and take her to the village of Piombino where we had an Airbnb booked to get some rest and prep the next day. The rest of us drove over from Switzerland with a car full of gear and bikes on the back. There were no bike boxes on the roof this time as we would not need them in this race. We arrived close to midnight, but it was still stupidly hot even at that time and promptly unloaded the car and worked out who was sleeping where before getting some z’s.
The next morning, a couple of us had to work but between calls and lunch breaks we started getting the bikes and gear all sorted. This involved getting all the food out and packing it down into individual bags for each leg and labelling them up. Going over the mandatory gear list (and finding we were short of some glow sticks) and making sure we were not taking additional gear between us that was not needed.
It was during this time as well that another key change we were going to implement for this race started being implemented. As I would be dealing with the maps, I showed the team how my food was labelled and where in my bag I would like it packed during transitions and how to work my water bladder on this bag. This was something that was super easy but made a big difference during the race.
Lunch time we went out as a team to have a little look around town to get a couple things from the supermarket (some fruit and some fresh foods to make sandwiches for the first night). We made it over to the coast and were able to see the Isle of Elba and some of the town that we would later be racing through. Of course, we also grabbed ice-creams in the heat.
After the working day was over and all the bags were packed, we headed off to try and find some glow sticks before the race to make up for the missing ones. We searched a few boating shops and then in the end had to go to the local Chinese tat shop to get some.
We went up to the race HQ to get signed in and do all the final registrations. Here we got to meet a couple of the other teams as well and were able to talk to the organisers and get a few last minute questions answered.
After the check-in we had some spare time and headed off to get some pizza as a team. It is becoming a bit of a tradition to have pizzas before the race, however, the Kebab pizza option was vetoed this time. We took the pizzas back to the race HQ and got plenty of envious looks from other teams while we ate our pizzas and went over some of the information we had received about the race. A few of the legs had changed in distance and we had more information about elevations to add to the laminated cards. Rainer had also been a little over zealous with throwing out some of the cards when we heard that there were changes so he had to go off and do some dumpster diving to get them back (no video exists of this though).
Next up we got the maps. We had decided we would try and do as many maps before the start time as possible and then after that we would just do the maps 1 leg at a time. Of course, I forgot to bring a second map pen this time and so we had some well-done map and one that was not ideal with pen instead of the marker (I won't forget this again).
And then the race began. We set off at a good pace leading the pack that was going the same direction as us for the most part to get the checkpoints in town. The sun was going down and the course took us along the old water front and up through the main restaurant area where there were plenty of cheers for the racers. We made it into transition, no longer in first and leaving a close last from transition.
We headed up the road and started the long night of racing ahead. The hike-a-bike started early with some very steep singletrack near the cliffs for the first few checkpoints. At this point a lot of the teams were still close together and we headed off down a section of single track through the forest where the trees and bushes were grown over the trail. It was difficult cycling at night through this and I took a fall off the trail at some point falling down below my bike into the prickles that tore up my legs a bit and had to get Rainer to pull me back up to the trail (I almost pulled him down onto me as well before he set his feet properly).
As the night went on, we had a few moments where we were all alone and no idea if we were last, first (unlikely ????) or just in the middle. As we were coming up to a river crossing, we found ourselves again with a couple of other teams. The river crossing was both fun and refreshing but when Kristian came off in the river, he lost one of his water flasks. Now we were all nice and wet (even if you didn’t fall off you were totally wet through) it actually cooled us off in a refreshing way and we continued on to the rest of the cycle. Again the teams split up and we didn’t really see anyone again until we came into the next transition. We were last into the transition but there was a team only just in front of us, who left this transition after us.
This was out first transition to see how our new plan worked. Rainer started preparing bikes, Kristian went to get water, Steph changed the food over in my bag and I looked at maps with Rainer reviewing the maps as well. As mentioned, we beat the other team out of transition and headed on to first proper run/hike stage.
This was a long stage that didn’t start so well, we headed off and right away we couldn’t find some trails that were marked on the map. Thankfully as well the other team that was in transition came up and they also could not find it. We didn’t waste too much time on this and instead headed back to town to go down a more defined route. The hike would see us running down a main road in the middle of the night while seeing teams going through the hills above us, we had to hike up a large hill/small mountain to get up to a ridge line. There was a road crossing where the bridge was locked so we have to climb down the ledge on to the road and cross before re-joining the trail of the other side of the bridge. A really nice ridgeline where again we saw other teams headlamps ahead of us and a walk/jog through a quarry and also a downhill section that took us into a salt mine to get a checkpoint and where we came across some barb wire at head height in the pitch black. We then got to the section where in the race briefing they had said it was a “not clear trail”. Well, they were not wrong. This section had no trail at all. In the pitch black of the forest we go ourselves onto a slight ridge going up and just kept weaving our way up through the thick and spiky undergrowth until the sun was coming up and we made it to the top. Later we would find out that we over took a team or two on this section.
We then had a more enjoyable downhill sections and we came a checkpoint labelled as a hunting chair. We found the two hunting chairs but there was no checkpoint marker there. We looked and looked and decided not to waste more time and took a team photo and decided to tell the organisers that we could not find. Another change from past races where we made this decision quickly enough together and then moved on to the next point.
We came in from the hike in 5th place (gaining 3 places during the leg) and set about getting ready for the longest bike leg of the race. We headed out and this leg would be probably the toughest of the race. It was long, route choices were made to avoid hike-a-bike but it meant we went further, and then there was rain as well that although it was not too cold, it was heavy and sapping. We also missed a turn while enjoying a downhill a little too much, but this meant a long steep uphill to get back on course. We would later find out that only 5 teams did this leg. It was a fun leg but very tiring and we had a few minor crashes along the way.
We came in from this leg very tired and probably did not take enough time in transition as we headed out for a short run in town to get a few checkpoints and we forgot the camera needed for one of the checkpoints and also could not find the sheet to record the other checkpoints (we would later find we had the sheet for the checkpoints but that it was just in a place in the bag that was unexpected). We decided to not lose more time on this and instead to go back to transition and start short coursing to make sure we hit the finish line and could get to other stages like the kayak that we wanted to do.
Back to transition and back onto the bikes. While here we agreed that while we were already short coursed we would focus on getting as many checkpoints but would avoid the big hill for two checkpoints and instead would get one at a cave and then head down to the coast. This cave checkpoint took us a little too long, I think we probably just relaxed a bit too much after deciding to short course but in reality we should have pushed a bit harder here (no one is to blame here, we all did it together and it is only looking back that I think we might have made a wrong choice – more improvements to come). We then headed down to the coast and were cycling along nice and quick as a team on the road.
There were a few checkpoints here down on the beach where we bumped into a team that was doing the shorter race that day and we collected a number of checkpoints about the same time as them. Here as well while in the forest Rainer and I found a couple of snakes, that while not lethal would have ruined our day if we had of stepped on them and got bitten.
At the next transition we headed out for a short run through a massive camp ground. There was a huge swimming pool, shopping centre, loads of cabins and camping. It was huge and they were also running some orienteering courses for the kids staying there, it was a nice break to get off the bikes.
We then headed on a shortish bike via a marina and some cliffs to get to the next transition where we would have a hike and the kayak. In the transition we asked about the hike and if it would be possible to collect just a couple of the checkpoints and then come back. It was advised that it was not really possible because of the way the trail was designed so we decided not to do the hike and instead do the kayaking and then head back on the bikes to the finish.
The kayak was really nice in the ocean and we all did pretty well to paddle across and back collecting the two checkpoints along the way. We came back from the paddle and made the decision that we would just head to the finish line and not collect any checkpoint on the way to make sure that we made the cut off.
This is where it all got very hectic. We started along and the map showed two clear trails that when we go there, were closed with gates to private property. What we didn’t realise at the time was that one of the gates we had gone through the night before but it all looked so different in the daylight and we didn’t know if we could go through it again. So we are now running out of time and trying to get to the finish line. We followed a trail that was marked on the map and very quickly it disappeared and as the navigator I realised we did not have time to go back and try another trail and so I pushed on through a field with the team following and me reassuring them at this was in fact the right way. Thankfully we came to a road and we got onto it and were heading in the right direction. I still could not work out exactly where we were on the map but I knew we were headed in the right direction. We kept this up with me making sure we were going the right way and trying to work out where we were on the map when we finally came to a place I remembered from the night before and I located us on the map. Now we could move full speed heading for the finish line. Along this section we lost Rainer as he came off his bike into a huge rut in the road but no damage done and we kept going.
We made it into town and the finish line with 18 minutes to spare. It was a great feeling to get in and see the other teams, to chat to some of them and to have a feed provided by the organisers. We didn’t stick around too long as we started to get cold after the exertion of the race and headed back to the accommodation for a well earned sleep.
The next day was nice and chill. We packed up and headed back to the huge camp site from the previous day for the closing ceremony of the race. It was nice to see the teams again in the day and chatted to a number of the teams, one of which was actually at the Dutch race we had previously done this year.
Lastly, there was the long drive home, via the airport to drop Steph off. It was also nice to not have to drive through the night to get home this time.
Another race done, huge improvements from the previous race and looking forward to more races as a team.
Written by Larissa on Jul 27th, 2023 9:06 pm #1