Offenburg, or more the small towns of Rammersweier and Durbach are some of my favourite places in Europe. I arrived in Frankfurt Germany to meet up with Georgia, Chris and Waldek after the 10hr flight from Vancouver. The sun was shinning and the temperatures perfect for riding, a welcomed relief from the heat at Sea Otter.
Germany is in the full swing of spring. Everything is green and lush and the fruit trees lining every small roadway are full of blossoms. Where the terrain is not rolling green fields and orchards it is steep hillsides covered in vineyards. The course is amazing too. It winds its way through orchards and the black forest, down some breathtakingly steep and rooty chutes and up meandering singletrack climbs.
Offenburg always draws a big crowd and with over a hundred women on the start list it should be a good race. A lot of women were unable to make the travel to the first world cup in South Africa with Sea Otter the following weekend. It would have been a lot of travelling and time zone changes to start a long season with. This weekend, top 40 call up is based on world cup standings this year, then they call up the top 10 Under 23 women, then the top ranked women in the world. The middle of the pack will be stacked with half of the top 20 ranked riders (including me and Georgia) lined up 5th row and back. Always interesting.
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