Number three in Madrid: the Gunn-Rita Dahle-Flesjaa diary

It was an amazing experience for us to win the world cup race in Madrid . It's the third year running that we've taken first place at this race track, which has become a classic of sorts within mountain biking circles. We've entered an exciting and important phase of the 2006 season, with three world cup weekends in a row, so this result was a big positive.

After the race I was lying on my bed with my legs raised,with my pulse dropping as the adrenaline in my body gradually receded. I was still sweating after a very tough day on my bike in the scorching sun and temperatures well above 30 degrees centigrade. The first hours after crossing the finish line were spent talking to Norwegian and international press, plus the awards ceremony, warming down on the rollers, doping control, photos and writing my signature for all our Merida supporters here in Spain. I had a good massage and a delicious dinner together with the team.

The weekend before we took part in the Bundesliga at Heubach in the south of Germany, which was a demanding and exciting warm up before the World Cup race. We arrived in Madrid on Monday afternoon and the week was used for some rest, training and fine tuning with a focus on regaining energy. Through the past weeks my physical shape has been steadily improved, and we've received the feedback we'd been looking for on the race track, regarding both my feeling physically and my performance.