It's been a hectic last week. Sunday (a week ago!) was the last stage of Tour de Med and we had high hopes going in with Riccardo only 4 seconds in arrears of the yellow jersey. The final stage presented a semi-difficult 192km parcours with a difficult summit finish to Mount Faron above the seaside town of Toulon, France. The team rode great to protect Riccardo throughout the stage and had a lot of confidence in him going into the final climb, but the cards didn't play out in our favor. Despite the team's best efforts and Riccardo's own valiant effort to preserve and/or gain on his 2nd place in the general classification, it wasn't to be. At the end of the day Riccardo lost a little time and ended up in 3rd overall. It was still a great race for the team and a respectable showing for Riccardo in his first race of his neo-pro season. He has big talent and a bright future. My final stage and overall race was focused on the best result for the team. Ill-timed mechanicals and incidents throughout the race led to me losing unnecessary time, but I'm not concerned. Despite my losses in time, I feel confident in my fitness level and am happy. I have a good level to continue to build on throughout the Spring.
Immediately following the race, I was on the bus on the way to Marseille airport. This time though, I wasn't catching a plane to Girona (or Barcelona), I was going to Marrakech, Morocco! Lisa and I have been saying for a good while how badly we have wanted to see it because many of our friends have had rave reviews on it, so we finally made it happen. It was a nerve-wracking "dual" arrival for Lisa and me because I was flying from Marseille and cutting my time schedule very close, while Lisa was flying from Barcelona and just waiting in limbo outside of customs to make sure I made my flight. Thankfully the bus arrived "on time" enough for me to literally run into the airport, frantically find the check in person, and beg in my limited French to let me on the plane. Basically I said "s'il vous plaît" over and over until she felt bad enough to let me go. Plus I'm sure I looked pathetic enough and frenzied enough that she just wanted to get rid of me! Happily everything worked out, I made my plane, Lisa made hers, and we met in Morocco :)
Come back soon for the picture story on Morocco!
Immediately following the race, I was on the bus on the way to Marseille airport. This time though, I wasn't catching a plane to Girona (or Barcelona), I was going to Marrakech, Morocco! Lisa and I have been saying for a good while how badly we have wanted to see it because many of our friends have had rave reviews on it, so we finally made it happen. It was a nerve-wracking "dual" arrival for Lisa and me because I was flying from Marseille and cutting my time schedule very close, while Lisa was flying from Barcelona and just waiting in limbo outside of customs to make sure I made my flight. Thankfully the bus arrived "on time" enough for me to literally run into the airport, frantically find the check in person, and beg in my limited French to let me on the plane. Basically I said "s'il vous plaît" over and over until she felt bad enough to let me go. Plus I'm sure I looked pathetic enough and frenzied enough that she just wanted to get rid of me! Happily everything worked out, I made my plane, Lisa made hers, and we met in Morocco :)
Come back soon for the picture story on Morocco!
1 comment:
Well... Did you make it back from Morocco? Your adoring fans await!
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