Rain, wet roads, crashes: There were many victims in the women's time trial race - including Elena Hartmann.
27.07.2024, 20:14
27.07.2024, 20:34
SDA
"Just a bit of skin gone," said Elena Hartmann, looking at her bleeding elbow and the red mark on the side of her thigh under her scraped-up kit.
The 33-year-old had to come to a halt in a traffic circle after 15 km in the rain. "The road was extremely slippery. At times it was like a patch of ice," said the Grisons resident from the canton of Zug. "The rain probably also softened some of the dirt."
Elena Hartmann did not hide her frustration, especially as she blamed herself for the fall. "I came close to crashing a few times at the start of the race and should have been warned. But I thought it would suffer more in this traffic circle." She said she felt really great halfway through the race, sensing that a great result was possible. "And then I probably wasn't focused enough in the euphoria." The result was a disappointing 17th place for her.
Hardly trained in the rain
Coach Edi Telser would have pointed out the difficult conditions before the start. "But then it was much worse than I had imagined." Perhaps the fact that she is a fair-weather rider also took its revenge. "I often train indoors in Switzerland when it rains," she admitted.
"I get one chance and I blow it," the policewoman was hard on herself. Elena Hartmann, who is employed 20% by the Zurich cantonal police in addition to cycling, had actually planned a quieter phase after eventful weeks with the Tour de Suisse, Swiss Championships and Giro d'Italia. She was allowed to throw this plan overboard. Just over two weeks ago, the 33-year-old found out that she was replacing Marlen Reusser, who had fallen ill. The Bernese had encouraged her on the phone and emphasized that she should be happy and not see herself as a profiteer.
Los Angeles 2028 in her head
"That helped me a lot in the run-up," said Elena Hartmann. Now she is already thinking about whether she can do better in Los Angeles as a 37-year-old. "I want to keep going until I come to the conclusion that nothing more is possible for me," said the athlete, who found her way to cycling via triathlon and has only been fully committed to the sport for just over a year.
