THE Vuelta Stage 15: chewing on the handlebars

I’ve been fortunate thus far to roll out of bed each morning with fairly fresh legs. They were aware that they’ve been punished repeatedly over the past two weeks, but still started each day with a vigor and eagerness for more. Today, that changed. I got out of bed and immediately thought, “oof.”

Over-analytical me immediately thought this was a bad sign. Then I thought, “Hey goober (I sometimes call myself goober in such situations), you’re two weeks into one of the hardest bike races the world has to offer. It would be weird if your legs DIDN’T hurt, especially after yesterday’s stage. Besides, sore is good. It's dead legs that you need to fear. And yours aren't dead, so quitcher complaining!"

We started under sunny skies, but knew that it would change at some point. With luck, we’d stay dry until the final climb. In either case, I was wearing my rain socks. I’d heard that the descent to the final climb could be treacherous if wet, so I let a bit of air out of my tires on the start line. It also made for a slightly more comfortable ride (my underside is also aware that we’re two weeks into the race, after all).

We again wanted to have a rider in the break if possible, to guarantee that someone was there for Warren before the final climb, which is one of only two HC climbs in the whole race. Feeling sore from yesterday and intimidated by tomorrow, I allowed myself to follow exactly one attack: the first one. It didn’t go, so I settled into the field to save energy for later.

Everything was going fine for about 15km, at which point I was caught up in a crash. I almost saved it, but when I came to a stop I had nowhere to put a foot down and fell over the guy next to me. I’m not sure that even counts as a crash, but there’s no need to pick nits. You know you’re okay if your first thought is, “Aww man, I didn’t have the camera on!” Side note: I’ve had a camera on my bars for the past few stages, hopefully I got some nice footage.

I chased back on without incident, getting back to the field just as another crash happened. I was eager to recover a bit from the chase back, but the next 20km were cross-windy, rolling, and twisty. The field was almost completely single file, and I was suffering. I just kept telling myself, “Everyone’s suffering, just hold the wheel. Just hold the wheel.”

Finally, mercifully, a group of 5 got away with John inside. He was excited to ride in a break for the first time in his pro career, and while he was up there, he took the sprint points to further pad his lead over Valverde. We just might be able to hold on to the green jersey to the end!

Things were easy for a while, and we managed to get our rain vests from the car just as the first drops started falling. Then a lot of drops started falling. We got soaked, and it kept pouring all the way to the bottom of the cat 2 climb. Koen and Johannes got Warren to the bottom in perfect position, while I was a bit further back. I made the front group, though, as the grupetto was forming behind. I felt good for a while, then all at once I was done. I was down on myself for a bit, thinking that I simply wasn’t very good today. Post-race analysis says: nope, I was pretty good again today, we were just going really really hard.

I got over the top in a small group somewhere between the leaders and the grupetto, which is where I wanted to be. I got to do the descent in a small group at my own pace, which was very nice, because that descent was Sketchy with a capital ‘S’. The pavement wasn’t good, and most of it was shaded. Translation: it was mossy and slick. I had spun my wheel twice going UP the climb, so I knew the road was not to be trifled with.

My tires and skills delivered me to the bottom safely, and our group set about getting up the last little hill. Just 12-ish kilometers at 10-ish%, no big deal.

If you watched the race at all, you know that Warren felt good today, attacking the biggest names in the sport several times. He went on to literally climb himself back into the top-10 on GC, and we’re all pumped for him.

Tomorrow is going to hurt. Like, really bad.  And we’re going to get wet again. Everyone is hopeful that maybe, just maybe, the big hitters will wait until the third climb before they start launching bombs. But I’m doubtful.

15 down, 6 to go!

THE Vuelta Stage 14: a real kick in the pants

Today’s stage profile had a menacing shape. Even with only 3 categorized climbs, we knew that we could be in for a day of suffering, depending on how we raced it.

We anticipated another big fight for the break, and wanted to have somebody in it. If the race exploded on the first cat 1 climb, we’d at least have one guy on the other side to help Warren into the finishing climb.

I made sure to be on the front line at the end of the neutral section—you know, just in case it was the first break that went (a guy can hope, right?). The attacks kept going, and I was doing my best to hold myself back. My legs felt good again, but I had to be smart to not destroy myself and then not make the break, in case the race blew up later. I would only go with one or two attacks at a time before taking a breather in the field. After about 15km, I made one real attempt at the break, nearly matching my 5-min power record. After that, I gave up hope on the breakaway. It was hard enough just sitting in the field.

When 30km had passed by without the break being established, we decided to take control of the front to keep things together for the intermediate sprint in 5km. The field welcomed a brief respite while Tobias and I set a good tempo. Everyone knew that the break would go just on the other side of the sprint, so Johannes was resting up for it. John won the intermediate sprint, padding his lead over Valverde with another handful of points.

Sure enough, a group of 24 got away (with Johannes in it) immediately after the sprint. Tinkoff was still setting a pretty good pace to hold the group around 6 minutes.

After the cat 2 climb, I saw that I was already at 2500kJ burned, and we were still at the bottom of the stage profile! The pace Tinkoff set for the first 10km of the giant climb was manageable. I had started in the center of the field and drifted back as guys worked their way up the sides. The climb was gently rolling upward, so I was looking for a flatter spot to make a move back to the front with the others. Before I could do that, OPQS took the front and proceeded to shred the field. I was able to get to the front group as guys continually peeled off, but the effort to get back to the front was a bit too much for me.

The group I found myself in as we crested the top 4-5 minutes behind the GC group was about 30 riders, including Koen. We had 60km of low-grade descending ahead of us. For about 40km we actually had the whole group rotating through. It wasn’t so hard to pull through because the group had so much momentum. With all of us working, we were steadily making up ground on the GC group. Eventually some guys got too excited and upped the pace when we were just 1:30 back, at which point only a half-dozen riders were still working. Oh well.

Suddenly we found ourselves just 3km from the finish of a really tough day. We could see the 1km to go banner waaaaay up on the mountain, and couldn’t fathom how it there was only 2km of pavement to get there.

Then we reached the proper climb. That son of a gun was steeeeeeep. It took 360w for me to turn a 34x28 at 55rpm. It was the sort of climb that wears your arms out as well as your legs. I watched as a handful of guys from our group got pushed halfway up the mountain by spectators, but I’m proud to say that I got to the finish completely under my own power!

Up the road, the plan had gone perfectly. Tobias got over the top with Warren, and they were joined by Johannes when he sat up out of the break. They delivered him to the steep slopes with the GC favorites and let him go on to another solid finish.

All was not well, though. Lawson has been in the hurt locker for days and found himself in the cars early on. He fought all the way to the top of the cat 1 climb until he was talked off the bike. We’ll definitely miss him in the final week, but he can be proud of all he’s helped us accomplish so far.

As for me, today set personal records in TSS, kJ burned (5800), and power records of 4.5-6 hours. 

Good thing the last week of the Vuelta is the easiest, right?

14 down, 7 to go!

THE Vuelta Stage 13: A doozy of a stage

When I stopped to pee in the neutral section (anticipating a big fight for the break and no chance to pee for a while), I failed to consider that I might not be able to get back to the front before the start. Every other neutral section has been fairly easy to start at the front if you wanted, but lots of guys wanted to be in the break today, and the road wasn’t very wide. It was a complete logjam, and a crash and many close-calls in the neutral evinced the excitement in the field.

Immediately a big group got away, but Movistar was chasing it full gas, as it contained a number of big names. It took me 7km to get to the front on the twisting road, but by the time I got there, I was warmed up. We were on a long uphill drag, so I just kept my momentum going and jumped across to a group that was halfway across the gap. I was halfway across when it struck me just how quickly I was getting there, while lots of other guys were going backwards. I actually thought, “whoa.”

If I’m honest, I was worried that I was too under-trained coming to a race like this. I had heard (and been told) that it’s the best way to arrive at a Grand Tour, but I was still nervous. I didn’t think that I could really race into shape, but doggoneit, that’s exactly what’s happening. My “whoa” feeling corresponded with matching my 3-min power record. Tinkoff chased our group back, and the break built their gap to a minute. I wished I was in it, but I was encouraged by how good my legs felt.

First Europcar chased full-gas, but the gap only went out further. They gave up and half the field stopped to pee, at which point Orica took up the chase.

Orica held the gap at 3 minutes for most of the stage, slowly chipping away on the climbs. On the second and third climbs, we caught some riders that had been dropped from the break. As the race wore on, I didn’t feel quite as good (that’s usually how it works, anyways), but I was never in danger of getting dropped on the climbs, while the field gradually got a bit smaller.

At the bottom of the final descent, we had me, Warren, Nikias, Tobias, and Koen together. The final 2k would be tough, so we worked together to keep Warren fresh and deliver him to the key turn at the front. He had good legs in the finale, but was a bit too timid when the attacks started (his own opinion), finishing with all the other GC riders.

We’re excited that he’s feeling so good, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him off the front on the crazy-steep finish climb tomorrow. The race book says sustained grades of 19%, but guys who’ve ridden it say it’s more. I’ll have a 34-28 gearing, hopefully that’s enough!

According to the power analysis, today was the hardest stage of the race so far (highest TSS). For all I know, my form could be headed toward a blind cliff, but I’ll just keep taking it day-by-day and enjoy the good legs while they last!

Oh, and today's finish was in a zoo. We saw zebras and hippos. It's easy to forget to look around once in a while.

13 down, 8 to go!

THE Vuelta Stage 12: Adding to the tally

I couldn’t believe it when I learned at breakfast that the conspiracy theorists jumped on Ryder Hesjedal’s crash as evidence of a hidden motor. I’ll leave the physics out of the argument and just say this: if he had a tiny motor hidden in his frame, it would definitely have a very limited battery life. Why, then, would he be using it in a slick downhill corner, when he wasn’t even on the front?

Anyways, we were excited to have our own bus back for today’s stage. You don’t realize how spoiled you are until the toilet and showers are taken away from you!

There was no doubt in anybody’s mind that today would be a sprint stage: 8 laps of a relatively flat circuit. With a tough week of stages looming, everyone wanted a fairly easy ride today, which is why it took 3k before anybody attacked. Even then, only one Cannondale rider was willing to fall on the sword.

With only one rider to chase down 160km later, we were in for a very easy day. For 3 hours, the hardest I worked was getting back to the field after one of my four pee stops.

With Lawson on the front sharing the workload with FDJ, the gap steadily fell over the last 100km. With nothing interesting going on, Tobias asked over the radio if he could swap out with Lawson and do some work. I couldn’t help but laugh when’s Lawson’s reply came over the radio, “Just let me be happy, Toby!”

Over the final two laps, the speed steadily increased. With 10k to go, we were at the front before the short descent. Everything was going to plan, until it wasn’t. Due to some miscommunication, half of us ended up at the front too soon, with the others all fighting on their own to join us. We were still trying to find each other at the moment that we had planned to make the big move to the front, and we never properly linked up. Due to skill, experience, and a bit of luck, however, John and Ramon were together very near the front when the field strung out for good with 4k to go.

Nikias and I were fighting to get up there to help until about 1.5 to go, then pulled the plug after accepting that we wouldn’t make it. When the barriers narrowed at 1k to go, some riders tried to force through a gap that wasn’t there, and the crash spread across the road. I was relieved to see no Giant-Shimano jerseys among the fallen, and continued on to the finish, where I learned that John had taken his 3^rd stage win after a superb leadout from Ramon.

Just to give you an idea of how motivated we all are: we got the stage win, but most of us are left a bit unsatisfied, wanting more. The end result was achieved, but not in the way we had wanted, and for that we will work harder next time. 3 stage wins is not enough—we’ll fight every day!

We aren’t sure what we’re in for tomorrow…it could easily be a stage for a big breakaway, or possibly a another field sprint. After a relatively easy day today, it could be really exciting.

12 down, 9 to go!

THE Vuelta Stage 11: Getting over the hump

Today, we were reminded that the race does not happen in a vacuum (fun fact for the day: did you know that that expression comes from physics?). Just as in real life, where your car never breaks down when it’s convenient, our team bus had some issues. While it was off in Bilbao being serviced, we were supplied with a normal coach. With a seat-to-person ratio of 6:1, we had plenty of room to spread out. My biggest disappointment was that I only managed to photobomb 3 of my teammates’ photos of the bus.

We expected another big fight for the break today, and we got one. Movistar was instigating most of the moves to put pressure on Tinkoff, and the field was excited and fresh after the rest day and TT. It’s actually my favorite way to start a race, with a long fight that just keeps going. We weren’t trying to be in a break, but if we followed the wheels and ended up in one, so be it. So 4 of us were surfing wheels while the rest kept Warren out of trouble.

Then there was a crash. A move had just been brought back, causing the field to swell at the same moment a moto was trying to squeeze by. We had been going fast, and I wasn’t able to slow down quickly enough. I managed to stay upgright, putting a foot down (hard enough to crack my cleat) to maintain my balance when I slammed into the saddle of another rider with my wrist, which is a bit swollen now. I’ll definitely have a nice bruise later. As it turns out, this was the crash that caused Quintana to abandon, so I came out pretty well.

By the time the field finally agreed to let a small move get away, we had covered 70km. We’d done nearly half the stage in 80 minutes. We had barely had a chance to eat, and we were already at the feed zone.

The stage was uneventful after that. We worked to keep Warren at the front on the category 3 climb, then focused on delivering him to the final climb in the perfect position. I was with the guys in the fight for position, but was separated when we went from the left to the right side of the field, starting the climb a bit too far back. I chased for a while, trying to stay close to the leaders until the team car passed me, but the climb just didn’t suit me well. It was either flat or steep, constantly changing pitch, but that perfectly suits Warren. He had another great climb to finish high on the stage, while the rest of us finished safely in the time limit, covered in salt.

Although the last climb didn’t go so well for me, I’m pleased with how my legs felt today. I was definitely fresh, with my heart rate shooting up quickly after a hard effort, but I felt good, and the power numbers confirm it. Lawson, though, had a rough day today—the rest days affect everyone differently. Hopefully he can bounce back quickly, as tomorrow is another perfect opportunity to get another stage for John.

11 down (we’re officially over the hump!), 10 to go!

THE Vuelta Stage 10: Pretending like I'm time trialing

Time trial days are always strange, because everyone is on a different schedule. The logistics for a day like today are surprisingly complicated. The race start was an hour away from the hotel, and the race finish was 1.5 hours from the next hotel. So riders are coming and going in waves along with the staff and team cars. Eventually, we all end up at the same place.

Like I said before, this would be my second time trial ever in which my only goal was to finish safely within the time limit. Time cut today was huge, at 35%, so as long as I actually pedaled I’d be safe. I did plan to go somewhat hard on the climbs to wake my legs up again, though. I was very relaxed while getting ready, and quite ambivalent towards the warmup. Seeing as it was the longest TT I’ve done in nearly a year, however, I knew that I’d appreciate a decent warmup after nearly an hour in my aggressive position.

The start was really bizarre, on some sort of bike path through/around a castle. I just kept wondering where the heck I was going. Finally I popped out onto something resembling a road and settled into a hard tempo that I’d hold all day.

I wasn’t completely blind on course thanks to video that the guys took during their recon yesterday. They said there were a few dangerous corners, so I took a look at those beforehand. I would be taking zero risks during the TT, but it’s always good to be prepared.

As such, there was only one time today that I was a bit scared. Just before the final climb at the top of the course, there’s one really fast downhill with a little whoopty-do at the bottom. I lost all downforce when I hit the whoopty-do at over 90kph, then the really strong winds came underneath me and I could barely get the bike to lean over through the next turn.

I took it easy on the descent that Quintana crashed on later. The next 15km were really fast, moderately technical, and really bumpy. They had freshly resurfaced a bumpy road, so it looked nice but my arms were definitely tired by the end. I had a deep front wheel and was really fighting it in the winds on that bumpy road, and knew that the little GC riders would really struggle there.

I finished in 52 minutes, 5 minutes down from Tony Martin’s winning time. I felt really good all day and was never going hard, so I’m excited about the days to come. I haven’t had a chance to talk to Warren yet, so I don’t know how he feels about his ride, but he dropped to 15^th on GC and will certainly be looking to climb back up into the top-10 in the next week. I’ll be doing everything I can to help him.

10 down, 11 to go!

THE Vuelta: Rest Day Miscellanea

It seems the rest day has gone by as quickly as the past 9 stages. I’ve done a whole lot of nothing today and it’s now approaching dinner time. This is my first rest day in a race, and it’s a bizarre feeling. There’s the duality of “we’ve ALREADY done 9 stages/we’ve ONLY done 9 stages,” but I’m also confused by the concept of a day without racing in the middle of a race.

Normally, I’d be doing a short ride with a little bit of intensity to keep my body in the race rhythm before tomorrow’s time trial, but the plan has changed. Since I’m climbing really well right now, and seem to be improving daily, the team has asked me to pass on the opportunity for a personal result tomorrow and take a bonus rest day. It’s directly against my personal philosophy of passing up opportunities, but I have to keep in mind that my primary purpose here is support for Warren and John, and the best way to do that is to be as sharp as possible for the remaining 11 stages (after the TT). So today I took it really easy and will use tomorrow’s TT to wake my legs back up. To soften the blow, the short TT on the final stage suits me better anyways—and there will be no holding me back on that one!

I’m very encouraged to be feeling so good at this point in the race. My longest race this year was 8 days, and we’ve already passed that point. August is over, and the numbers show that it was my biggest month on the bike ever at over 100 hours and 2135 miles (3500km).

There’s not much else to say, it’s just a rest day, after all. So instead, here’s some miscellaneous stuff from the race that I couldn’t quite fit into my other posts.

Something that isn’t focused on much from the outside, but is crucial to our performance, is food. Normally, the race gives our hotels money to feed us, and it frequently goes like this:

“Here’s 30E per racer to feed them during the race.”

“What can we possibly give them for only 30E? Oh I know, how about we give them a meager salad, some pasta with red sauce, and boil some chicken and potatoes? That’s all cyclists need, right?”

The team travels with a big box of condiments to breathe some life and flavor into the meals, but at the core, you have a meal that gets old before it the plate touches the table. In the last week, I’ve averaged 3900kJ per stage. Including the calories I need just to get through the day, I have to eat about 6000 calories daily. To do that for 3 weeks requires flavor and variety—in short, good food. And that’s where Janneke comes in.

Janneke is the team’s chef, she comes to almost all the WorldTour stage races, and she makes life SO MUCH BETTER. Every night we’re graced with a spread of dishes, and I always have to have some of everything. My biggest problem is refraining from eating too much. From quinoa salads to bruschetta with goat cheese, steak and mashed potatoes, we’re never left wanting for food. Her delicious breads never last long at breakfast, even when supplemented with omelets and fruit-filled muesli.

I just wanted to take the opportunity to give credit where it’s due—in this case, a chef whose work is almost entirely behind the scenes. The mechanics keep our bikes running, the soigneurs maintain our legs, and Janneke fuels the engines that are running full steam for 3 weeks straight. Tonight she’s treating us to burgers!

On to another topic, one that’s been puzzling me. With 198 racers frequently all trying to be at the front at once, contact is bound to happen. Of all the bumps and grazes I’ve given/received in the peloton in the last week, I’ve been shocked—literal, electrical shock—4 times. All 4 were from BMC riders. They must be the source of the static buildup, because I’m not shocked every time I’m bumped. I’m just really curious as to the cause…is it due to one of the half-dozen battery-powered devices on the bike (which most teams have), or some sort of clothing interaction, like wool socks on carpet? And why are they the only team?

And finally, a story from Lawson’s crash a few days ago:

It’s no secret that spectators go nuts for souvenirs. I’ve seen a water bottle tossed into the middle of an unsuspecting crowd and been disturbed by the ensuing frenzy. I’ve heard that spectators will sometimes remove the water bottles from a crashed rider’s bike as they generously stand it back up for him. Well, it seems they are willing to go even further for a taste of what we’ve got. Lawson crashed in a roundabout while eating one of our soigneurs’homemade rice cakes. Naturally, he dropped it. Wanna guess where it ended up? That’s right, a spectator’s mouth. Lawson picked himself up off a road so dirty that it was literally shiny, while somebody else picked up his half-eaten sticky rice cake and enjoyed an afternoon snack.

That’s all for now!