Today is a day that Anna Plichta (29) has long before marked in her agenda: she can win the Polish national time trial title for the third consecutive time and that could give her a spot in the Polish selection for the Olympics in Tokyo this summer!
“I have been working really hard towards this goal”, starts Anna Plichta. “I am feeling good and I hope it will be enough to defend the jersey. This year I’m coaching myself, which is challenging, but I have been following a similar preparation as I did last year for the national and the European Championships. I have also been creating the effect of altitude training camp by sleeping in a hypoxic room when I was in Poland last month and afterwards I slept in an altitude tent for another ten days when I was back in Belgium. In total I slept ‘on altitude’ for over three weeks. I finished this period twelve days ago, so normally I should be able to optimally benefit from it now.”
“I had a bike fit this spring and I also did some aero testing on the track. That was very interesting and I am sure this will also give me an advantage. My position was adapted a little bit. My saddle has been moved to the back and my handlebars were set lower than before. I hope these details will make the difference”, says Plichta.
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Anna Plichta tells us more about today’s course: “The course is quite hard actually. It’s a time trial of 23.4 kilometres long. The first part is very undulating. And it will be pretty windy, so it’s going to be crucial to divide your powers and to save enough energy for the last 10 kilometres. On top of that it will be very hot, but I prefer this to the colder temperatures that we sometimes have in the spring races.”
“In a time trial it’s all about your own speed and your own power. All you can do is to be at your best yourself, so I don’t look at the competition. I won’t go early to the race, because I like to get in the zone and only focus on myself. Today is not only about the national title, but it’s also important for the Olympic selection. Poland can select two riders for the road race and one of them will also ride the time trial. I need to prove today that I deserve my place in the selection. I am sure that my Ridley bike with the Polish colours will bring me good luck and give me extra motivation”, concludes Plichta.
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