My luck with the piano yesterday ran out quickly. I went
down to play before dinner only to find some sort of party going on in the next
room with their own music. So I decided to wait until after dinner, at which
point other guests were dining next to the piano…which normally wouldn’t have
been a problem, but their meal was a giant leg of smoked and dried ham. That
ham leg was parked 12 inches (25.4cm for my metric readers) from middle C. I
awoke in the morning to find the same dead animal obstructing my out-of-tune
relaxation. On to the next hotel, where maybe my luck will turn around.
The stage would be a tough one, at 185km. Rain was forecast
from the midpoint on, which had me a bit less than excited. I don’t have a
problem getting wet—it’s the roads that worried me. The bartender at our hotel
said the last time they saw rain was May. If it was going to rain, it needed to
RAIN…anything less than a complete downpour would just turn the descents into
warzones.
I need to confess something that I’m not proud of. Everybody
does it at some point, but most try not to acknowledge it, instead pretending
as if nothing happened. But I admit my mistakes: after the last climbing stage
finish, my sock got a solid chainring mark. I was trying to move out of the way
to allow room for the motos and other finishing riders, and knew as soon as it
happened what I’d done. So I hurried down the mountain before anybody saw it.
Unfortunately, it didn’t wash out. What I’m trying to say is that the decision
of which socks to wear in the rain today was an easy one.
Our plan for the day was based entirely around protecting
Warren as long as possible for the tough climb to the finish. With no interest
in the break, we all just floated in the field during the really fast start. We
had a mild tailwind, but the first 50km were also false-flat uphill. Attacks
were going like crazy, and we covered 48km in the first hour.
A huge group of 30 got away, and Nikias managed to jump on
to give us representation. Behind, things became more controlled, but we were
still moving fast: 47kph average for the
first 2 hours. As we neared the first real climb of the day, the sky started to
look a bit more ominous. I think my legs are still coming around anyways, but
the cooler temps had me feeling really good on the climb when the pace was
clearly high. We reached the top and it became clear that the mountain was
holding the storm on the other side. 1k into the downhill, we were completely
soaked. We could at least be certain that the roads were clean. It was more
than a downpour—the descent was fast, making the rain hit us so hard that it
was really painful.
We reached the bottom safely, and then the task became
getting Warren to the penultimate climb at the front. Things got a bit chaotic
and I lost the guys when they worked their way to the other side of the road.
Thankfully Koen was there to get me back to the front just as the climb
started. The pace was high, but controlled, and I was still feeling good.
Tobias was making sure that Warren never touched the wind,
while I was keeping an eye on them both from a little further back. Tobias was
done after the plateau, after which I stayed with Warren in case he had a
problem. Everyone sprinted over the top to start the crucial descent at the
top, but I lost speed when somebody dropped anchor in the middle of the field,
so I started too far back in the group. Warren, at least, was near the front.
In the rain, of course some gaps opened, and my chase group
had to use a bit too much energy in the 2k before the climb. We almost got back
to the lead group, but not quite. I was Warren’s last support, so I had to go
full gas until the team car passed me. Then he was in their hands. So for 9
minutes I dangled just 15 seconds behind them. Around 6km to go, I was able to
back off and ride a good tempo up the climb. I wanted to take it easy, but I
wanted more to get out of the cold rain.
In the last few kilometers, I chatted with Tony Martin a bit
about how anytime I wanted to feel like I didn’t exist, I’d just ride next to
him. Seriously, every spectator we passed said his name like they thought he’d
forgotten it. He told me that 5 years ago, he felt the same when riding next to
Philippe Gilbert. So maybe they’ll shout my name someday!
Half of the break managed to finish ahead of the main field.
Nikias was able to protect Warren for a bit after he was caught, before the
real attacks began. Warren had another great climb to stay in the top-10 on GC.
The finish was at nearly 2000m altitude(~7000’), but the bus
was at the bottom of the climb. We immediately put on a few jackets and headed
back down the mountain.
Some fans had painted my name on the road and were very
excited when I climbed by, but seemed quite upset when I didn’t stop on the way
back down. If you all happen to read this, I want to say that I’m sorry about
that! I wanted to stop and take a picture with you, but I really needed to get
out of my soaking clothes that were getting colder by the minute. It just
wouldn’t do to get sick!
And with that, we have reached the first rest day!
9 down, 12 to go!
