After a successful National Track Cycling Championship in September, my next race obligation was the European Track Championships in Guadeloupe, in the Caribbean, in October. For those who wonder how come a European Track Cycling Championship could be held in an Atlantic island, the answer is simple. Guadeloupe is a colony of France and therefore has the right to organize European Championships. After this event I had to participate for the first time in my athletic career at the 1st Track Cycling World Cup in the city of Guadalajara, in Mexico. As in all World Cups, it lasted three days, from 7th to 9th of November. I raced in the Omnium , a discipline consisted from 6 different events which lasts 2 days.
The problem with this particular race was that I came across a peculiarity that I had never experienced before in my career. The peculiarity of this had to do with the fact that most cities in Mexico are located in altitude, so the density of air and oxygen levels in the atmosphere were significantly reduced (up to 30% - hypoxic conditions) than those observed at the sea level. More specifically, Guadalajara is located at an altitude of about 1500 meters above sea level, in the middle of a vast plain. Before a race, to enable an athlete to prevent the negative effects of hypoxia (dehydration, increased pulse, severe shortness of breath), to help the body to function normally and to adapt to the altitude, you need to train at the location where the race would be conducted at least 3 weeks prior to the event.
Without knowing how my body would react to these conditions, we started our long journey with my National Team (3 different flights in one day, 17 hours total on the plane). We arrived in Mexico about 6 days before the Official Start. Hitherto, as time was scarce and valuable, with the support of the Greek National team’s coach, I did my best to adapt in time to the altitude and the Jet Lag (8 hours apart with Greece).
As for my diet in Mexico, although I'm not a fan of Mexican food, Mexican cuisine at least at the hotel was excellent. Fresh Chimichanga (burritos) and tortillas deluged every day the breakfast and lunch buffet, which you could combine with various sauces of your choice in order to achieve delicious results. Of course, I confined myself to the classic European cuisine (fortunately the restaurant was not limited to Mexican recipes). Moreover, the weather conditions in Mexico resembled the spring of Greece; sunny weather, normal humidity and a temperature between 17-24 degrees Celsius. This is the best weather scenario for taking a nice walk or spending some time doing intervals on the bike. Being used to train on the busy roads of Athens, I thought that riding in Guadalajara wouldn’t be any different. So I made the mistake and tried to go for training on the road. The result was that for 3 consecutive hours I was trying to get away from traffic, wayward drivers and smothering exhaust gas in order to find a quiet '' provincial '' area to continue my workout. As I was moving away from the '' four star 'hotel and the charming city center, the only thing I saw was an endless shantytown. By observing the people , you would see everywhere kids in the streets with bare feet shouting in Spanish, local traders selling their goods in the middle of the road , people looking tired and grim, damaged agricultural cars that were turned into temporary homes; images completely contradictory to downtown life. Third-world situations that serve to remind us (that) there is much suffering in the world and make us feel lucky to live in the Western Countries despite all the adverse economic conditions we have experienced from time to time.
Regarding the World Cup, six days after our arrival in Mexico, the time had come for the races to start. To be honest, my feelings were mixed. On one hand, I was feeling excited for participating for the first time in a World Cup and simultaneously racing against athletes from all over the world. On the other hand, I had a lot of stress as to whether the altitude had affected me negatively or not. The truth is, from the intensity of the first day of racing I felt what lack of oxygen really means. Event after event dizziness and drowsiness had become a common phenomenon on me. However, on the second day of racing my performance totally changed for the better. I managed to achieve two personal bests, an 8th, a 10th and a 6th place in the final event that placed me 14th overall. I believe it was a decent result, if you take into consideration the poor start of the first day. Therefore, by the end of the 1st Track Cycling World Cup I returned to Greece, with experiences and memories that I will remember my whole life!
My next important race was the 2nd Track Cycling World Cup, which took place in London, UK. It was definitely, a race equally important and episodic.