Altitude wisdom
I am writing from altitude training camp in Pokljuka, where I am together with all my great teammates from Pogi Team.
I haven’t been writing anything in a long time. It has been a long period of searching and picking up the pieces that were left on the road after this hectic start of the season. I made sure to be allright with what is before coming back to you; this sport sometimes brings us to the very limit and it is important to deal with and be at peace with what happened. Two seroius crashes that ended up in the hospital. Crashing out during the best form of my life and missing out on all of the races that fit my characteristics the best. Then, after months of work, I fell sick after Tour of Slovenia just days before the national championships. After racing in 43 degree Croatian heat and covering every single attack on the race as the main favourite, I burned out and I lost the nationals. I lost the champion jersey that meant so much for me, for my team and for my sponsors.
Mihael and I in our champion jerseys
Last year Mihael won the Slovenian ITT Elite nationals and I won Croatian Road Race Elite nationals. This picture was taken just before the start of GP Kranj where I was 4th and I saw how close I can get to victory in such a race.
One thing that I often navigate my life with:
Let’s say something bad and unexpected had happened. If you think it through, there is never a true reason to worry about it. If you can do something about it, then it is clear and you should get to action to solve the problem. However, if it is something you can’t do anything about, then don’t worry about it. Worrying never solved anything.
In this case, as in most of them, there is no reason to dig so deep into the why’s. The only way is forward and the road to glory had never been clearer. Ahead of us is a period of seroius grinding for months and bringing out the most out of this amazing body that I have privilage to take care of in this life, and I will make sure you can be part of it and follow me along the entire way.
Yesterday we watched our Pogi win his 5th Tour de France, I can’t put it into words how privilaged we are to be in his team and have his name on our jersey’s. We are in a team of the greatest cyclist to ever exist and we will make champions one day, just as the greatest of all time inspires us to.
The GOAT winning his 5th Tour de France. Autorska prava: AFP via Getty Images Autor: ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT
Ofcourse, none of us will ever be the New Pogačar. For me, doesn’t matter how much I work on my climbing, I will never win a race that finishes on a mountain top. My advantages are somewhere else. I am very explosive, I am great at downhills, technical and wet roads and I navigate great through the peloton during chaotic finishes. I can survive smaller climbs and make it to the sprint of a reduced group as the main favourite, and I will work on it to undersand the group dynamics and thread the needle in the bunch sprints just like Merlier does. I will never be New Pogačar, I will be the first Gojković (or second since I have an older brother who introduced me to cycling)
Did you know that Merlier didn’t win anything big untill he was 27. Untill then he was in a contintental team just like me and my teammates. We’ve got time and we will make it up there. I know it.
Tim Merlier on his way to one of the most impressive sprint finishes I have ever seen on stage 8 of Le Tour. Autorska prava: AFP via Getty Images, Autor: ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT
What’s coming?
In the next days I will write more about high altitude training camp, iron supplementation and my approach to it, journaling and personal growth, importance of people, good team and keeping your loved ones around, Tour of Slovenia revision, bunch sprints and how we will get from here to winning stage at Cro Race in 2 months. Make sure to follow along, it will be one hell of a ride.
