Utah TTT

Yikes is my word of the day today. For one, yikes did Garmin smoke that time trial. For two, yikes did that hurt! And three, yikes am I exhausted. Amazing actually how exhausted I am considering the race was only 22km/23mins, and I didn't even pull until lap #2! Why did I not pull until lap #2 you are wondering? Well, the original plan was for us to rotate all 8, but after pre-riding the course, it was evident that it was not a good plan considering all the turns. With that, we changed the game plan to start with only Jens, Joost, Ben, and Thomas pulling the first lap, then hang on/help as long as they could from there. Starting lap #2, George, Chris, and I joined in, while Oliver would stay on the back until lap #3. It was a great team effort with everyone doing their job. Ben was a superstar today because he made it to the finish with us, which was very important because the time stopped on the 5th rider. Without him, we wouldn't have had as strong of a race for sure.

We of course would've liked to have won the day, but Garmin was just too fast. With that, a smaller gap would have been preferable, but we gave it all we had, so we can't be disappointed. The time gaps are not giant, and in this race with so much climbing to come, we are definitely within striking distance. George, Chris, and I are 7, 8, 9 on gc at 38 seconds down. The next two stages should be relatively straightforward and uneventful, leaving us with the two weekend stages to decide it all. Stay in touch for the excitement!