Gunn-Rita diary: Bronze at the European Championships – good as gold

The battle for the medals was very tough at the European Championships in St. Wendel, Germany, last weekend. I lost the sprint for the silver medal, but the bronze medal was just as wonderful as a gold medal for Kenneth and me, considering our goals before the race, which were to feel on top of things and get in some extremely good race-training.

It's one and a half years ago since I won a medal in a championship and it certainly is a wonderful experience. The bronze medal fitted nicely into our collection of 19 championship medals, since we were missing a bronze.

We've enjoyed a relaxing weekend here in our apartment in Lautern – Heubach after the European Championship experience last Sunday, and my body has really been in need of extra rest after the tough race. The track at St. Wendel was very different from the World Cup track in Madrid: very different use of muscles and longer climbs, more technical sections and long flat stretches demanding heavier gears.

The two coming weekends will be free of races, and we'll use them for lots of correct training and recovery where we're staying in Germany. It's been a demanding start to the season for me since I missed out on so many races last summer, but we're on the right track.

Read the complete diary entry.