The Winds of California

The last two stages have been riddled with wind. In stage 5, it brought out some unexpected excitement. With about 60km to go, our whole team was riding in the front part of the peleton to be safe and protected. We could feel and see that the wind was blowing hard, so in a spur of the moment decision, we decided to try and split the peleton. The chaos that ensued was nothing less than crazy, and when the dust settled, there were 18 of us off the front. For our team, Jens, Markel, and I were there, along with GC threats Tejay, Michael Rogers, and Cameron Meyer, who each had several teammates as well. Our group worked well together and managed to take a minute out of the chasing peleton before the day was done. It was an awesome stage to be a part of because we had created a split that worked out greatly to our advantage by moving me up on the GC, plus Jens made a crazy Jens-esque move in the last 5km to take the stage win. It made the long transfer to San Jose much more enjoyable!

Stage 6 was the individual time trial. The course was a challenging 32km with two really good climbs, and two other sections of false flat that really tested the legs. The finishing climb was a gnarly 2.5km at 10%. I think most people were dreading that part, but for me, it was the "easy" part. There was no secret at that point, either you had it or you didn't. You had to find your own rhythm and suffer to the finish. For me, the hardest part was the long, flat, headwind section before the climb. I know I lost a lot of time there. I was constantly fighting to find a good rhythm, always between two gears, and never able to find the good cadence. When it was all said and done, I had finished 15th on the stage, but had lost two gc spots, falling to 6th. It's an obvious disappointment to lose a couple spots when I was really hoping to move up one, but I rode the best I could and felt strong, so I have to hope that I will still have good legs on Mount Diablo and have a chance to try for something there. Thanks for the continued support!

Three and Four in California

Since the searing heat that we faced in stages 1 and 2, we have had two stages of much more beautiful weather. Overall, they have been relatively uneventful. Stage 3 presented some danger with crosswinds in the beginning that split the field. It did come back together on the first KOM, so the excitement subsided at that point. From there, it was relatively calm. Stage 4 was relatively calm all day. It was "short and sweet" and fairly easy. Our team did decide to make a little excitement with about 20km to go, but it fizzled pretty quickly. We were hoping there was a bit of a crosswind, but it wasn't really there, so we simply created a bit of stress in the field. Shortly after, there were some big rollers and Jens began the attacks again there. It was full gas for a few km following that, and I'm pretty sure there was some suffering! I was hurting, that's for sure. In the end, it was a sprint finish, and things remained status quo. The team's been doing a great job of keeping me out of trouble, so thanks to them. Tomorrow is another longer stage, that will likely be a sprint. Then it's onto San Jose for the next pivotal point of the race, the TT. Ciao!

The Tramway of Heat

There is no debating that the conditions of today's second stage were brutal. I don't know where you draw the line on excessive or potentially dangerous, but I guarantee the conditions of today were very close to that line. The distance and heat made the already tough parcours much harder. In any case, the stage was pretty "boring" until the final 6km climb. The break was given a relatively long leash of about 12 minutes, but they were reeled in before the base of the final climb thanks to a combined chase of several teams. Our goal for the day was to protect Andy and me as much as possible and deliver us to the base of the final climb in a good position. The team did a good job of getting us there, then it was up to us. Unfortunately Andy wasn't feeling it, so it was left up to me. Laurent made a great effort actually with an attack at the bottom of the climb, but it was short lived once Mathias Frank of BMC began his work. He single handedly rode the group to 5 guys with only one, Philip Deignan, up the road. I hung on as best I could, but when Tejay accelerated at 2km to go, I was cooked, literally. I slowed to a crawl by the finish line and was so happy to be finished. I sat on the scorching blacktop and slammed waters and sodas to try and regain my composer afterwards. The final climb was super deceptive. The stats said it was about 10%, but it did not look that steep as I was riding it because it was a wide, straight road. As I reflect on the final climb, I can remember seeing signs that said "steep grades, turn off A/C", and all I could think was how nice it would be to have some A/C and "shoot, steep grades?!?!?" In all seriousness, I'm obviously disappointed that I lost contact with the leaders, but I know I went to my limit. There's a lot of racing left, and I know I can move up a few spots by Sunday, so I'm definitely not giving up! For now, I'm happy to have the A/C on in my room, a comfortable bed to sleep in, and a few "easy" and hopefully cooler stages ahead. Good night.

Record Temps at Cali

Hello everyone, I'm still alive! Apologies for the hiatus, life's been a little chaotic since returning to the US after Liege. Lisa and I were in the process of moving into our new house, so between that and training for Tour of California, time was tight! Nonetheless, I'm at California now, and we completed stage one in record temperatures today, or so I was told. Evidently one of the towns we passed (Ramona) hit a record of 98'F today. I guess that would explain why it felt so hot out there! Other than it being impossible to drink enough to stay hydrated today, the stage was relatively uneventful. Things got a little "heated" on the final KOM of the day, and I'll admit that I felt quite under pressure as we rode it, but I felt much better about those sensations after the top when I looked back to see maybe 20 guys left. The group swelled after a few kilometers as guys chased back, and then it was a gamble to see if we would catch the breakaway. I was quite unsure myself because they had a sizable gap, but in the end it did come back and it was a late race attack that led to the eventual winner. I was there when the attacks began but unfortunately I hesitated, being concerned about not expending too much energy on the first stage, knowing there are much harder stages coming. Whatever the case, I finished with the main group 6 seconds back from the winner so there wasn't too much damage done. Tomorrow's stage is the longest at 200km, is supposed to be at least as hot as today, and features the first real test of the race: a 6km, ~10% climb for the finish. I have no idea what the climb will be like, but I'm betting there will be lots of suffering! I'll report my findings after the race tomorrow.

La Doyenne

Known as La Doyenne, “the oldest”, Liege-Bastogne-Liege is one of the five big classics known as “The Monuments”. It is arguably the toughest, too. I’ve been lucky to do the race three times now. I raced it each of my first two years as a pro, but I was absent from the race last year. Going back this year, I felt like a completely different rider. I’m not sure what the explanation is for that, but I entered the race feeling much more prepared to compete in it. Admittedly, I felt less than ideally prepared for it though given my week of sickness following Basque Country, but realistically that week of training wouldn’t have done anything for me except allow me to feel my regular routine. In any case, I entered Liege with definite hopes of racing, rather than simply participating. In 2010 and 2011, I think I was completely overwhelmed and still learning. I tried to reflect on my experience those first two years for knowledge to draw on this year, but all I could remember was being dropped on La Redoute. For whatever reason, I simply couldn’t remember anything. I guess maybe that is part of the whole experience thing people always talk about. I’ve raced in the Ardennes in other races now, too, and the climbs/area are becoming more familiar to me, so there is a great advantage in that.

Our team entered the race again without a clear favorite, so we needed to be opportunistic as in Amstel and Fleche. We were putting our finishing hopes in Tony and potentially Ben (Hermans), but with nothing guaranteed, we needed to look for the mid-race attacks. Fleche was a good race for us as a team because we raced together, animated the race, and were at least present. Liege was a step backwards for us though. We didn’t race as well together, and we weren’t very well prepared at key moments in the race. The first of those moments was with 100km to go at Cote d’ Wanne, where most of us were way too far back. After Wanne is Cote d’ Stockeu, then immediately Haut Levee, where there are usually attacks. Ben did a good job to be in a big move toward the top of Haut Levee, but the rest of us did not do a very good job of helping out. The next 60km were fast and hard fought still though. I did manage to get to the front after Haut Levee to be on guard for any attacks that would go on the climbs before La Redoute, but the pace was simply kept high by SaxoBank and Sky. It was all down to La Redoute with 40km to go. This is where the final big selection is made, then it is survival from there. I made it a goal of mine to see the race past La Redoute this year, and I accomplished that; although, I believe the race was different this year, and the number of guys that made it over was larger than in the past. Nonetheless, I was happy to make that this year.

After Redoute, I wanted to do what I could to help Tony to the finish. The course was changed a little this year due to construction. A very steep, decisive climb was removed, and a longer, steadier climb was added in its place. The field was pretty large when we arrived at this climb, and I was in the back trying to watch after Tony. With this climb being only 15km from the finish, the attacks were flying. The field stretched and guys began to drop. Being at the back is a bad choice at that point, and I lost contact before the top. Somehow I got stalled by a few guys who were being dropped and had to regain some momentum, while Andy, Haimar, and Tony managed to avoid them. I chased hard over the top, but I couldn’t make it back with 245km in my legs. I’m not sure what happened with the guys working for Tony from there. We had bad luck, too, with Ben getting a flat before Redoute and Maxime crashing at the bottom. It’s really hard to come back from those mishaps at such a critical time, though it wasn’t for a lack of trying. Overall, I think Liege was disappointing for us.

I find the classics really interesting. Yesterday especially, I kept thinking about how the mentality is so funny: “Let’s first ride 160km, then we can race the last 100km.” Seriously?!?! I guess that is the nature of the one-day classic though. In any case, I enjoyed it, and one of these days, I will be there in the end. For now, I am happy to say I am back in the USA to prepare for Tour of California. Thanks for checking in.

Fleche Report

We may have left Wednesday’s race with little to nothing in hand, but it definitely wasn’t for lack of effort or good teamwork. We entered the race again as an underdog, so it was not in our best interest to just wait until the final. That meant we would be on the offensive from the start. I tried hard to get into the break, but a couple factors were not in my favor. One, I felt quite bad in the start, so jumping to the moves was really hard. And two, a lot of guys wanted to be in the break, so I couldn’t cover every move. I was in a few moves that seemed good, but they were reeled back in by other attacks. Three guys finally went clear, so I was content to try and recover from my efforts.

The course for Fleche Wallone is typically not as tight and technical as Amstel, but it certainly had its moments on Wednesday. There was a 20-25km section of the race following our first ascent of the Mur de Huy (the finishing climb) where we were on single lane, farm roads. Cramming 200 guys onto these narrow roads raises the tension and stress levels immensely, and I’ll be the first to admit that I am not a big fan. Following this narrow section of roads, the course opened up a bit again, and it was time for us to go on the offensive. There was a lot of chatter in the radio from Kim (our director) and the other riders, but I was having a hard time understanding most of it, so I didn’t know exactly what the plan was. I did hear something about “Laurent and Matthew” though, so Laurent and I got ourselves to the front before we turned onto the next narrow section of road, which we were now familiar with because we had previewed it. I was still unsure of the exact plan, but I was guessing it involved attacking on the upcoming climb. I followed Laurent’s wheel, still unsure of the plan, but when his hand came back and counted down 3-2-1, I knew it was time go. Laurent jumped with me shortly behind. I actually was lagging behind because I couldn’t get into my big ring. I did eventually get into the big ring though, catch Laurent’s wheel, and then pull through while a few others from the field caught onto us.

Our group swelled to about 10 riders, and we quickly established a small gap of 10-15 seconds. We raced over the top of the climb and ripped down the descent, hoping to open our gap a bit more, but the field was chasing hard. I believe Movistar closed the gap to us pretty quickly knowing the danger of letting a group go and because they had missed it. We hit the next climb very shortly after our catch and more attacks went. I jumped onto the next attacks, following the wheels where I could. As we were about to crest the top, it was fairly strung out, and I was dangling off the front with some of the attackers. I was kind of in “no-man’s” land as I struggled to follow the wheel of Laurens Ten Dam toward the top, but I was still in front of the peleton. As luck would have it, Ten Dam and another guy stayed away, and the field sucked me up, killing my chance to be on the offensive. I was disappointed for sure, but I was also happy to be doing my job for the team and opening the race up.

The second and penultimate ascent of the Mur was not too long after my attack, and I expected I might struggle a bit to make it with the front guys because there is usually a flurry of attacks before the final 30km lap, but I did make it over the top safely. At that point, I hoped I could launch another attack on the false flat section following the Mur because guys are usually trying to recover and there is almost always crosswind, but I was unable to make my way back to the front of the group, so I had to just follow. Max made the move for me instead, but it was immediately shut down. BMC was racing full gas to make sure that Gilbert arrived to the bottom of the Mur with every chance possible to launch his signature attack in the last few hundred meters, but there were two more climbs on the final circuit that put a bit of sting in the legs before we would arrive to the Mur. I dangled on the back of the peleton over the top of each and was with the main group as we entered the bottom of the Mur, but I was content at that point to ride my own rhythm to the top, knowing the all too common mistake of guys going full gas at the bottom and blowing to bit on the final, steep slopes. In the end, the team came away with no real results, but we did race well as a team, so the morale was good.

So that brings us to our preview of Liege today. We rode the final ~100km of the course, which encompasses the majority of the climbing and the most critical points of the race. I’ve done this race twice before, passing the first critical point of the three climbs Wanne, Stockeu, and Haut-Levee each time, but then getting dropped at the second critical point of La Redoute both times. This year, I hope my experience and growth as a rider will help me pass both those critical points and get me deeper into the final of the race. This is undoubtedly one of the hardest races of the year, and one I really like, so each time I race it, I hope I can get closer and closer to being in the mix. We’ll see what happens Sunday!

Pre/Post-Amstel & Pre-Fleche

Here’s my best attempt at a catch up. Post Basque Country, I was originally scheduled to do Brabantse Pijl on Wednesday, but I was unable to race due to a sinus infection (my diagnosis). It all began after the fifth stage of Basque Country actually. I was very restless that night and woke up Saturday morning already feeling “off”. I rode a solid time trial, but I don’t think it helped my symptoms; that night I was feeling even a little worse. Sunday morning I was up at 530am to catch my flight home, which was nice because I was able to enjoy a homemade Sunday brunch with Lisa, but I was still feeling “symptomatic” and unable to even nap that afternoon. Worse yet, I struggled to sleep again on Sunday night, so I woke up Monday with whatever was now ravaging my sinuses. I laid in bed all day on Monday with Lisa doing anything/everything she could to help me (THANK YOU!). I wanted nothing more than to close all the blinds and my eyes to try and forget how I was feeling. My head felt as though it was going to explode from every angle. My eyes hurt, my ears hurt, even my teeth.

I woke up on Tuesday with the hopes that I’d feel good enough to go train a little, then hop on the plane to Belgium for my race on Wednesday. Well, I felt quite uncomfortable out training, which I relayed to the team doctor and directors. At literally the last moment (Lisa was already out the door to get the car), we decided I was not going to race. I was very disappointed to have to make the decision that I was “unfit” to race, but I know it was the right one because my body was telling me I needed the rest. Also, I didn’t want to risk my bigger goals of Amstel, Fleche, Liege, and California. I went downstairs to meet Lisa for our pick up, and rather than drive to the airport, we drove back to our parking spot, walked home, and I went straight to my bed again. Finally I was able to sleep a bit.

After a few more days or sleeping as much as I could and finally riding a little bit, I boarded the plane bound for Belgium on Friday night. Saturday morning we did a course recon for Amstel. I rode Amstel in 2011, so I recognized some of the area, but nothing was really familiar. Most of the finishing circuit was actually familiar to me because we raced it during Worlds last year. It was very nice to be back on my bike, but I had no idea how I would feel during the race on Sunday. I still had a lot of congestion, but at least the swollen feeling in my head was gone.

So the race on Sunday: Amstel is known for its small roads, steep climbs, and incredible fans. I was not assigned to breakaway duty at the start of the race, but I tried to stay up front in case I saw an opportunity to get into a move and make the day “easier” on myself by avoiding the constant battle for position. I never really had the chance, so I was going to ride the race from the field. Given the fact that our team didn’t have a strong race favorite, we had to come up with a different strategy to be a little more offensive. We decided to save Tony for the final, and the rest of us were supposed to pick some moments to attack before the race got too deep into the final. That plan didn’t really work out so well as Andy abandoned after a crash with about 80km to go, and Tommy didn’t make it back to the field after a crash with about 50km to go that Max, Haimar, and I were also involved in. The other three of us did battle our way back to the field, but by the time we made it, we had spent so much energy, that I don’t think any of us had the legs to try an attack (speaking for myself mainly). I was dropped and regained contact with the field no less than 4 times in those last 40km. I could ride in the field ok, but when we would hit a climb, my legs would just light up with fire (lactic acid), and I couldn’t push the pedals with the necessary intensity anymore. I would drop off each time thinking it was probably the last, but I would keep pushing at my own rhythm, limiting my losses. Over the top, I wouldn’t be incredibly far off the back, so I would chase and made it back several times. The final “ungluing” came the third time up the Cauberg. My group gave chase to regain contact, but we didn’t make it, so our fate was sealed.

It is really hard for me to describe the feelings I had on the bike during Amstel. Between hardly riding all week, having a lot of congestion still, and being unable to eat the necessary amount, my body wasn’t sure what I was putting it through. I finished the day as empty as I can remember ever being. It really hit me how empty I was when I was about 4km from the finish. All of the sudden I felt sick to my stomach and thought I might pass out. I quickly slammed a gel and honey waffle. Thankfully they kicked in pretty quick because I’m not sure I would’ve made it up the Cauberg that last time. I’ve had the hypo-glycemic (low blood sugar) feeling many times before, but this feeling was all new to me. I crossed the finish line just hoping the bus was close. Luckily it was, and I crawled on board just happy to have finished. I was completely exhausted.

The last two days have been spent trying to recover. Lots of laying on my bed, some napping, getting a massage, a little tv watching, chatting with people on the phone/Skype, and of course some good food. Last night a few of us actually went to a movie at the theater down the road from our hotel. We saw “Oblivion” with Tom Cruise. I’m not sure really how I felt about it. It was at least entertaining, and a good distraction from the racing. Today we drove over to preview the last lap of the Fleche Wallone course. I believe the course changed last year, so other than the final climb, I recognized basically nothing from my ride in 2011. I guess I’ll see it tomorrow! I expect it to be another difficult race. These three Ardennes classics are always some of the hardest races of the year. I like them and hope that each time I race I will become more familiar with them. A huge advantage to these races is knowing where you are on the course, and that comes with the experience. Come back later for the Fleche report. Thanks for reading!