Today ended in a bunch sprint, but the breakaway put up an impressive fight being caught only 5kms from the line…

The break of 4 was gone in about 10s today, I kid you not! Everyone knew it was going to be a sprint and with 2 very heavy days coming the peleton was moving very slow for the first 50kms…… I don’t know whether I like this or not, cause as soon as you do ride hard it hurts!

The sprint sounds all very well, and it probably looks easy. This is how it is…. The race starts to really ramp up from 60km out. The guys riding tempo now up it a level and the peleton has gone from a group to a single line… Then it starts swarming, guys taking risks to bring their leaders to the front out of trouble…. Sprinters teams all surf the wave keeping their sprinter near the front.. Then you have to negotiate the course, the corners the roundabouts knowing 100 guys all want to do the same thing.. It’s carnage. It’s nervous, even bloody scary…. Just coming back from a serious crash makes it even more nerve wracking. Then it really starts, the lead out trains are now full gas trying all stay together. All to deliver their sprinter to the line in the fastest way possible.. It’s crazy, but when you pull it off it’s a special feeling.

Today we had it perfect up until the 2nd last roundabout. Here I was knocked off the wheel and at 60km/hr it’s hard to get back there. The boys carried on like normal, I had to settle 10 back with both gossy and cav on my wheel. I launched with 800m to go, just to move the last 2 up level with the lampre train… Gossy jumped then cav…. He was fully boxed in though so never got a run, gutted….. He finished 2nd.

It’s so important to stay together, but it’s bloody hard to pull it off. Had I not been knocked off the wheel, we would have been position 3 and would have had control of the sprint….. It takes big balls to stay there though, something I’m still learning, but it will happen.

Still tonight at dinner we laughed. Had a wine, and today is now history. The next 2 days are very hard and will really damage the peleton… I personally am looking forward to them, I am better the harder it is.

So tomorrow we have 190kms. Hard climb close to finish. I wouldn’t mind going up the road if the right break goes. We will see.

Will write more tomorrow….

Ciao ciao