TdF Stage Six - Riding in the Rain...

Last night’s dinner, following the crazy stage, had quite a bit of story telling, with each of my RadioShack teammates telling their version of how the stage unfolded from their perspective. It was very interesting how each of the stories were so different from one another, yet somehow we all started and finished in the exact same place! Johan even had some crazy stories from the perspective of the car.

By the end of dinner, everyone had had a chance to tell their stories, but Popo had possibly the strangest story for the day. He was there to help Levi when he crashed, saw Jani after his crash, was there to give me a wheel when I flatted, and then somehow got squeezed between a car and an ambulance, sending him flying into the air. He got up with nothing broken except his bike, switched to a new bike, and continued racing only to crash again shortly later in the same round-about that I did. Ironically, that meant we must have just missed each other by only a few seconds! And, to add to the story, the ambulance driver came to the team after the race yesterday demanding that Team RadioShack pay for the dent Popo put into the ambulance in the crash... With almost two hundred riders, I’m fairly certain there were 200 different stories from the stage, each at least a little different – that's cool, but also helps to highlight just how crazy the day was!

During the races, I like to wake up a little earlier then the others, so I can enjoy my breakfast and morning routine with no rush. Usually I have my good friend and teammate Jani for company, only he wasn't there this morning after breaking his collarbone and getting a concussion the day before. I had of course seen him last night after he returned from the hospital and wished him a quick recovery, but it wasn’t until I was eating breakfast alone this morning that it really hit home for me that he was out of the race. Best wishes Jani in your recovery and hope to see you soon!

After another long transfer we arrived at the start of Stage 6. Along the way, I happened to see a Subway sandwich shop in what seemed like the middle of nowhere – it was very strange yet comforting at the same time! The finish of today's stage had us on wide roads for once before coming into a right hand turn, followed by a half mile long steep climb, then a somewhat flat road for another half mile to the finish line. Before that though, we had to fight the wind, rain, and slippery roads for a hundred and forty miles.

Coming into the climb, no team seemed to have the strength left after so many miles in the legs to take control of the field. Personally, I was also very tired from all the fighting and the mental stress I had been using to stay focused and at the front all day. On the flat the roads, the speed of the field had taken it toll on me as well, and I wasn't so sure how I would be on the final climb to the finish. With fifteen miles to go, I took a couple of caffeinated gels and a coke, and then headed straight to the front.

Just before the climb, we hit a couple of round-abouts and, luckily, I was near the front at that point. After exiting the round-abouts it was just a little safer and easier to stay near the front as the field was no longer curb to curb.

BMC tried one big lead out for Cadel just before the climb, but even they couldn't keep control over the field. Each team was lucky if they had more then two guys at the front when the climb started. When the road shot up, I couldn't see a thing from all the rain and dirt on my glasses. This being the Tour and all, I tossed them off (some spectator got a really nice pair of Oakley’s) so that I had nothing distracting me. Right away, it helped me to stay focused going up the climb. The legs might not have been feeling so good along the flats, but on the climb they were firing on all cylinders! I jumped and immediately passed fifteen riders, getting right back to the front. For just a moment I was thinking about attacking when I noticed that the road was starting level out with a half mile to go – not ideal for me. So instead, I slipped back onto a wheel and rode to the finish in the front end of the group. Not having the Oakley's on up the climb was not problem because I was never following a wheel, but that last half mile in the group had me dodging wheel spray and squinting all way to the line. In retrospect, next time it might be better to just bring the clear lenses and keep the glasses on! With one more crazy day over, we are one step closer to the mountains, and I'm starting to get excited!