Vallter 2000

Today's queen stage in Volta Catalunya took us on many familiar roads for those of us living in Girona. It ended with the 12km hors categorie climb to the ski station Vallter 2000. At 180km, the stage was the longest thus far of the race, and it included two category 1 climbs prior to reaching Vallter. There was nothing of serious note for the stage really. Everyone knew the important part of the stage was the final climb, so it was simply getting there. The pace ramped up as we approached it, then it was a simple dwindling of the field as we climbed up to the snow. I did my best to stay in the mix, but I lost contact as the accelerations happened in the last few kilometers. I'm hoping that I will find better legs for tomorrow's king stage, 220km with ~5000m of climbing. It's going to be hard, no doubt. Our team will have to be aggressive and try for a stage win now that we have lost almost all hope of a gc contender, too. Perhaps I'll be in the break tomorrow?!?! All we can do is try!