Hi there,

Im alive! just been busy as! I decided to avoid the carnage of the possible last night by heading directly to Longmont where im staying this week. Reckon my parents slept better that night knowing i was not there! lol

Righto, so the last stage… it was hard.. it was fast too. I was really good though but not quite good enough..

The race started with 15km on the flat at what felt like 100 km/hr. then there was a ‘7km’ climb which was actually about 10k, they just forgot to add the ramp up to the climb. well atleast it felt that way to me anyway.. Up the climb it went mad, it was the last chance for any team to put pressure on levi and his team, but it all came to nothing.. I settled well in a group with liquigas. I could have battled and risked blowing up by trying to stay with the leaders, but i knew that it would come back to a bunch kick, so stayed with the team that would control that.. it turned out good.. although it took the massive group 30kms of chasing to actually get back on after the descent.

We then hit the circuits.. small climb each lap to be covered 6 times. put it this way, it was 1600m of climbing, a descent, and alot of corners on the circuit and we averaged 45k/hr. very fast..

today i wanted to have a crack… i knew where to attack, but i really questioned myself as to when. For sure the place to launch was the climb, but i really didnt know whether to go with one lap to go, or last time up it with a km to go.. in hindsight i wish i waited till the last km cause i really did have the power. The bunch was also on the limit too, but i went with a lap to go.. its so hard to judge where to go.. with thoughts of ‘could i really have the power with a km to go to launch’ etc etc… knowing the sprinters teams will be flying, the danger factor with everyone thinking they are sprinters too….

anyway, i attacked and felt great… the crowd was pumping and i went away fast.. a few km later 2 other riders joined me and it looked as if we could go to the line. I really tried pulling as hard as i could, so did one other guy from spidertech… we also had a colombian, grrrrrr… ok so he climbs well but nana could drop him on the flat so we really missed one strong guy.. it turns out we got caught inside 2km to go.. i was happy i gave it a go, happy with how i felt but a bit gutted too..

self doubt plays a massive role in any persons life, and i think more so in a professional athletes life. i should have backed myself more and waited, but those who know me know that patience is not my strength! it was hard enough waiting till i did actually go! lol. but still i did what i said i was going to do in the morning on the bus, and went close…

This tour has been amazing.. I reckon even better than Tour of California. Its going to be bigger again next year, and the crowds were amazing.. it was like the tour de france, they were pumping.. This race has given me great confidence heading into the pro tour one days in canada next week, i know my body is ready and im going to go in to this with the aim of a result..

I still arent sure how ill feel going directly to sea level. some people fly, some need more time coming from altitude.. again self doubt! But i feel good now, im staying at 1500m here in boulder, and it feels as if im at sea level so thats got to be a good sign.. they reckon the real effects from altitude training comes up to 3 weeks after, but you can get initial effects directly for a few days, then you go down a bit, before coming up higher than ever before.. so its going to be interesting to see.

Im having a great time where im at now.. found an amazing massage lady, one of the best ive had by the way, and really focusing on recovering, then im back into it from tomorrow on.. I have 3 sessions ill do in the lab with oxygen, which means sea level to do some efforts too so that will be good.. yesterday i also seen andy pruitt. he is the guru at bike set up, and he spent a good 2hrs going over me, my body etc to get the best out of my power to the pedal. i rode there, and rode home.. felt like a new man riding home which made me feel great!

righto, thats the update.. i just got in from 30mins on the road.. now im heading out on the mtb.. god help me!

will update later in the week. thanks for the support, and big thanks to those kiwi fans i seen, spoke to along the way in the TOC. you guys are awesome..

cheers, hope all is well with you
roly

hey!

well today started with a bang.. i knew it would and as wee viewed the climb on the bike before the start, i was wishing i hadnt!

the climb started at just a steady tempo, for me it was 400 odd watts.. then it just went up and up.. i decided to not go over the red and end up blowing up, so settled in a group, and we come back to the main group not to long after..

Radioshack put their guys on the front as there was one danger man up front. but then the idiot sat up and come back to the group! not sure why, maybe some of the guys in the break either told him to go back, so they could stay away, or paid him to go back… for us the best scenario was to have that guy in the break forcing the shack to ride hard all day.. as a result the pace slackened a bit, then the sprinters teams took over at a rather rapid tempo… it was fast, super fast which was also good..

we tried to organise with our team that coming into the last climb we all be at the front, and basically peel off full gas to really split the peleton. i hit the climb first, and really hit it, but the guy behind me blew up leaving me out there with legs loaded with lactate! it was a head wind in the end so was hard to really split the group, but as i found out after pulling off, the group was already down to 40 odd riders.. i never even knew the climb before had split the peleton… so it was hard enough anyway… had i known this i probably would have sat in, i had great legs and a last minute dash may have been on the cards… never mind, i may try something in the finale tomorrow..

Tejay was good again today, just stayed in the same place @17s from the lead.. tomorrow we have a 16min full gas climb to begin with according to georgie boy bennett so the race isnt over, but it will take a huge effort to overhaul levi and his strong team..

I still believe we can do something, i hope we can anyway… i know through my own southland wins, that the race can be won on the last day, and lost… so im keeping positive and aiming to keep the boys positive too..

We are now in denver, which is pretty cool.. never been here before but it seems like its a nice place.. then we have a ‘evening’ here in denver before i head to boulder.. im contemplating missing it, and just going to boulder, due to the fact that a headache at altitude is not ideal! plus i have a bike fit booked in with the guru of bike fits, mr andy pruit on monday morning.. so ill just play it by ear..

righto, im off to bed.. not much else to report, but one thing that i really didnt understand was how much the colombians from utah suffered today.. slightly weird if you ask me, but hey cyclings a strange sport at times..

will update tomorrow, or maybe the next day or the day after. but you will hear from me i promise.. ill also update you on the bike fit, and what andy thinks at this stage anyway..

it exciting times ahead. i feel im in great shape, really have enjoyed racing every day.. the states has really rekindled the old spark within, and i want to carry this with me right through till next year… wherever that is going to be!

thanks for the following, stay tuned.. pray for tejay, and HTC.. its not over!

roly

Hi!

Man im on a roll with these reports! so i hope your enjoying hearing my thoughts! If not just ignore me!

Todays stage was exactly how i said it could be… Full gas.. It was a short stage, but covered at a rapid speed.. 135kms and we averaged 44km/hr.. It wasnt flat either, we did 1300m of climbing, and with a 16km false downhill before the first climb it bloody well hurt the legs going up that i can assure you.. As i glanced up, i seen ’shut up legs’ jens voigt hammering it on the front! not ideal cause when he goes, he goes hard!

Today the race wasnt anything to do with the hitters really, although a few of them tried to go away early.. i knew it would be a sprint, so sitting in was the key. I really tried to calm tejay down, i know he is aggressive, wants to just go and go, but at this stage in the race, patience is key..

Tomorrow is where any energy saved today could play a major factor. its not a stage with massive climbs, but its a stage where all the big guys know a good day can win this race.. we start uphill, and i think it will be very important to get over it for tejays sake, so that he has teammates with him ready to do what ever is required for him to win.. i know for sure he has the legs, you can see it and feel it, so for me, as hard as it may be, I want to be there, I want the legs to help our leader win.. So tomorrow its going to be on! I expect it to blow up directly on the first climb, with maybe a big group going away… with all the favourites so ill need my best set of pins to be there.. It wont be the fact im not good enough to be there, more the fact that its a fresh climb right off the blocks, and everyone wants to be in front so the pace will be high.

So heres hoping!

Today i was really good.. i was strong, i tried the best i could to look after myself, eat so that my legs have all they need for tomorrow. The last 30kms was really fast.. the break was flying, and when its downhill and tail wind, the peleton has to ride even faster in order to catch them.. Liquigas was the team riding.. It was great to watch and they won too.. They had the whole team on the front, even basso, which says something.. My job was to keep tejay up at the front, out of trouble and i think i did a pretty good job there.. he finished safely in the pact in what turned out to be a harder day than some teams probably wanted..

RadioShack also rode hard today, till the sprinters teams took over due to a colombian being in the break.. They are tired, well they should be, so tomorrow is really going to be a test for them.. Youve got a very motivated George Hincapie, who is flying right there with his team BMC.. Youve also got Vandevelde and danielson from Garmin there too. the colombians also, plus teejay.. so good luck trying to go with everything.. But radioshack are still a solid unit, and everyone is a little tired at this stage of the race too..

so let the war begin.. please god please give me those dream legs! I wanna be there and help!

Will update tomorrow with what i hope is a new leader, tejay..

thanks for reading, and all the support i get from you guys is amazing..

ciao ciao
roly

Hi there,

I went into today, sleepy, tired, and i even slept an hour in the bed on the way to the start! It wasnt an important day for myself, for the fact it was a tt that didnt suit me being uphill, but as it turned out, i did a good ride so was pretty happy.

I just rolled out of the gate, let myself settle, then just focused on doing a solid ride… I did a different warm up, for some strange reason. I facebooked how i was going to do the peter velits warm up.. which is no sweating, or very little..he has a palmares we all would dream of so i thought why not! whether he really does this or not, im not sure, but i basically did it, with a few small efforts out on the road heading to the start.. made me think of future warm ups i can assure you! but it was fun times in the bus, laughing about it thats for sure.. when peter was warming up i even touched his forehead, it was dry too by the way! so i stuck with the velits warm up plan lol..

I guess today we were able to have fun, teejay wasnt in the bus, due to him starting an hour after us all, and naturally if he was there we would have quit the joking, and atleast looked motivated so it lifted him up some more.

For teejay, today was an important day… He did a good ride, but not quite what he wanted im guessing.. but as ive said many times before, the race is not over till the fat lady sings.. i still believe he can win this race, and im super motivated, along with the rest of the boys to do all we can to get him that win.. most think the race is over, due to the nature of the course not being as hard altitude wise as the previous stages. well on paper that is.. but there is 4 teams who can threaten levi.. who by the way rode a great tt today, along with vandevelde. BMC, Garmin, the colombian team, and teejay are all threats.. Radioshack are already down to 7, and had to ride hard yesterday.. they have a few young guys too which means they probably wont have the legs all day long, chasing breaks.. mind you george bennett probably has…. so its going to be an exciting race.

oscar sevillas team dont seem as strong as they were in utah, which is a bit of a shock to be honest. so tomorrow i expect them to light it up from the get go, with radioshack having to take up the work.. good scenario for us, and garmin, so stay tuned to see how the race unfolds.

We have 3 stages left in this tour.. tomorrow is only 130kms, and any stage of this length in europe would mean war! so it could also be the same here.. id love to be in the break, so we will just see how it goes.. mentally i feel on top of the world, it helps having a team that is both serious, but able to also have a laugh about anything and everything.

ill update tomorrow,
thanks for reading
roly

Hi there,

Well today lived up to the challenge being the queen stage, i can assure you! 2 mountain passes over 3500m, one on a dirt road, and then it decided to rain full gas on the climb and the descent..

Teejay confirmed today as to why he is one to watch for the future.. He is now leading the race, which is bloody great! what it means for us, is a massive amount of full team work in order for him to win.. Tomorrow we have a time trial, 16kms, and uphill so its safe to say ill be using this as a training ride, rather than a full gas effort to save as much energy for the days following.. the rest of the team will be similar, and its important we are at our best come the last 3 stages.

The race started with a hiss and a roar, with the first hour covered in a rapid pace.. We had a number of cattle stops that we had to ride over, all clearly marked, but the first one had a gap right down the middle so naturally, someone hit that gap, and boof, down a whole heap of riders went.. at the time there were breaks going, it was right on the end of a really hard stretch too, but the peleton decided to sit up and wait.. well apart from a few heros thinking it was their chance for a bit of fame.. when youve got jens calling a time out, you just follow that guy.. i mean, its not like these guys crashed through their own fault, and if you ask me it was more the fault of the organisers, not laying some some sort of carpet or whatever over this particular cattle stop… not long after it was full gas again, and the break went.. Phew!

We had danny pate, the local boy in the break which was perfect… Then we just chilled out while radioshack controlled the front of the peleton.. It would have been super hard for them, alot of headwind and also being up so high i think it took its toll big time… the break was caught not long before the last climb, then it was on!

I felt good again, not as easy as yesterday but still super strong.. I dont have that initial punch to follow the climbers when it counts at the bottom of the climb, but once i got going i was flying.. i felt great, found my rythem and with that, was happy finishing where i did.

It was a tough day out for all… the dirt road dragged on as if it was the 90 mile beach too! but it was only ridden as tempo, so that was good! up the last climb it started raining, which meant for a very sketchy descent into aspen… but we all got through, which means we have 8 riders ready to work for our leader teejay in the coming stages.

can you believe we are now in aspen, basically the dream town for anyone into skiing, snowboarding or whatever.. the rich and famous live here, and when a few boys walked into team dinner they were frowned apon, as if it was too good for them. hahah we had to laugh, teejay was like your kidding right! but its all like 20 star here, so when your kicking around in a tracksuit, you hardly look the part!

so for tomorrow, there are two ways of looking at it.. just ride with no stress, save the legs but maybe block the legs also.. or give it a blast till your legs blow up, opening your body up ready to fight the next day.. i prefer to just ride, but ill see how i feel.. i feel strong though, so we will see. for teejay this is the stage that will possibly win the race.. he will be super here i just know it, and anytime he can put into his competitors will be welcomed by us thats for sure..

Its going to be a hard last few days but still really motivated to do whatever is required.. our team here is super cool.. even though we are serious, there is definitely a relaxed fun atmosphere in the team bus, and at dinner and breaky.. it makes the race more enjoyable.. no egos, just good guys, enjoying what they love..

righto, i got to sort a few things out with my suitcase.. its like a bombs gone off, then sleep time..

will update tomorrow regardless of how i ride.. with some good news regarding teejay…

thanks for reading, and big big thanks to my supporters..

on a sad note, i just heard the news that selwyn bain, the massage therapist from chch passed away… man it come as a shock to all i think, but may he RIP..

cheers
roly

hi again

yesterday i had the srm live tracker on my bike. i think i have it on again today, so if you go to the srm website, i think youll find the link to see all the data from the riders, and maybe myself..

i wont be looking at my srm today though! probably just the tire in front, or the bunch in front, lol..

cheers
roly

Hi there,

Well all i can say is thank god i did ride the tour of utah, or today would have been alot harder!

It takes time to adapt to this altitude and today i felt as if we were at normal levels, which means the body has found what it needed in terms of adapting to altitude… which is a massive relief heading into tomorrows very tough stage which goes over 2 3500m passes..

Today i really felt good, easy. Again i played the cautious card, trying to keep the heartrate low by not spinning to much on the climbs. its harder on the legs, but better at this stage of the race for me.. I was really pleased with how i felt though, so now intsead of dreading tomorrow im actually looking forward to seeing how it unfolds.. It still wont be easy, but i think i will be alot better. just taking it day by day, you just never know how it will go. We are also sleeping at 3000m which means its harder to recover, but everyone is in the same boat which is a good thing. Sleeping tonight will be key to recovering well, so out comes the melatonin!

Todays stage was 160kms, with a 5k climb to start, then a 15km climb up to over 3000m.. The boys did a great job controlling the race, i didnt have to ride, but i did my fair share of bottle duty and just being there in support of our leader teejay should he require anything..

The race finished up a nasty 2km climb.. I was in the front, but got shuffled back heading into it.. I panicked, then at the base of the climb i really tried to move up.. it cost me huge and in hindsight i should have just stayed where i was cause most of the front group stalled a bit after it started.. hindsights a wonderful thing though, and even after so many years racing i learnt something else today.. dont panic! as a result i loaded the legs up with lactate, and was in the wind, so it cost me hugely.. but i battled on, finishing 90s back.. still i was happy, but just wished i could have had a bit more patience!

We lost the lead, which probably isnt a bad thing heading into tomorrow.. It takes the stress off our shoulders, and with tomorrow being 209kms, stress is not what you need.. It will be survival for most, but for teejay its a super important day so we will all do as much as we can to support him..

the first climb is around 30kms long, but on a dirt road! what!!! then we descend down into a valley, then back up another 30km climb which will be where the big guns start firing. I hope to be good, and these type of climbs are better for me.. the short fast high power climbs i hate, just with being heavier they really hurt!

right its time to relax a bit, try and sleep a bit, then its back on the road again.. Ill update tomorrow, with hopefully some good news re teejay.. heres hoping..

thanks for reading,
roly