Algarve Stage 5

After a hard week of racing, it was a disappointing end to Algarve for RSNT. We had solid performances on the whole, but we fell short of any victories, stages or gc. It was a tough tt with some steep climbs and technical descents. At the end of the day, Team Sky proved their strength winning the stage, the points jersey, and the overall. Seriously a big congratualtions to them and Richie Porte on an impressive performance. For us, Tiago did his best, but it was not in the cards for the overall or stage. At the end of the day, he was 17th on the stage and 6th overall. Jesse gave us hope for awhile holding the best time until guys like Wiggins, Martin, and Porte came and smashed the tt. He did awesome, but again RSNT came up just short.

For me, I felt like I pushed myself hard. I actually felt pretty good I think considering my long, hard day in the break the day before. At the end of the day though, I was well back. I don't really know how those guys can go so fast! It is incredible. I don't want to make any excuses here, but I do want to share just a bit of frustration for the stage. When organizers make a race, they need to ensure the rider's safety. Yesterday, I did not feel safe. During the course of the tt, I had no lead vehicle/moto and a poorly marked/enclosed course, so I took 2 wrong turns, had 2 or 3 dogs come into the course, encountered pedestrians crossing the street, had a pedestrian car drive past me only to be pulled over by a police moto, and experienced commissaire/camera motos coming the wrong way on the course through turns and straights. Yes these distractions cost me some time, but I care a lot less about that than my safety. On the whole, I really enjoyed my first experience at Volta Algarve, but I definitely left with a small bit of a sour taste in my mouth. I do hope I can go back in the future though.

I am back in Girona now and happy to take a small recovery. Lisa and I will definitely enjoy an adventure or two. Today we are going to finish our bike rides together, which is always a nice treat. I'm not sure of my next race, but I believe I will have quite awhile until I race again, so it will be a big training block until then. Thanks for reading!