Was all systems go at the tour of beijing today. The smog had as if by the flick of a switch decided to go and hover some place else and the was out enough to create perfect conditions for bike racing. It's was truly fantastic that all could go ahead as planned today as the course was simply spectacular. We passed through and around the great wall twice and while we were traveling at warp speed everybody took a brief second to check out the mega structure and admire what's a global icon. Apart from the great wall there was plenty to admire on our 170km journey today with in my opinion the perfect mix of ups and downs and twists and turns and road sizes you will ever come across in a bike race. The terrain to reminded me much of the mountainous range that's sits behind nice and the italian boarder. There was a vast network of rivers we rolled along beside, densely tree lined smooth roads, and perfectly manicured concrete guide rails that could have easily made you forget you were in china and not europe. The profile offered something for everyone with climbs and technical decents close enough to the finish that if we decided to race flat biscuit up and down the peleton would have exploded. Equally the climbs and decents were manageable enough that if a more passive or gentlemanly approach was taken then we could go to the finish line in a happy big bunch for a group sprint. In the end this is exactly what happened and big hats off to the American Tyler Farrar from garmin to breaking the finish tape first on stage 3.
For the cannondale clan and myself it was a pretty uneventful day to be honest. The goals were pretty simple, keep GB and alberto close to the front on the climbs to ensure they had a chance at the sprint should it all stay together. I was to keep my witts about me and stay alert to any selections that formed on the climbs and keep myself in GC contention ahead of tomorrow's mountain top finish. We rode really well as a team all day and when the final short climb began with only 15km to the finish we were all at the front, well on it to be precise out of harms way and in the best spot to avoid being dropped. Jean Marc, french specialist manuvere man did an awesome lead into the final climb and as it ramped up was in command of the group. As soon as the climb began attacks from the climbers came thick and fact and I quickly ensured I covered them. The climb was neither hard enough or steep enough to dislodge the sprinters and at 35-40kmph on a 4% grade the group sucks along pretty quick. As expected our attacks were absorbed and large group all be it a very long and alightly tired one plumeted down the decent and into town for the sprint. Again GB had himself positioned perfectly heading into the final km's thanks to motorbike marongoni and krisek guideing him into place as reliably as ever so great job by them today.
I felt quite good again which was a nice feeling. Slowly but surely getting my legs going again at this race rhythm. Reacting to the attacks on the climb was a nice feeling as lately I have been afraid of opening the gas too often through fear of blowing up!! Must admit today the man who instigated the attacks was none other than the croc man adam hansan. That guy is a beast and when he goes he really goes so you legs and lungs know pretty quickly who on earth your trying to follow!! Still Today I seemed confident to give it a go so fingers crossed it's opened me up a little ahead of tomorrow's queens stage and mountaintop finish.
So with that all being said time for me to get a little rest and get ready for the fun and games tomorrow afternoon!
Cjw
Race data:
Time 4hrs 15min
Distance 170km
Peak 5min power 470watts
Peak 30sec power 780watts
Peak 1min power 591watts
Kcal Burnt 4000
Ave power 240watts
Ave Heart Rate 134BPM
Final climb speed 2.3km @ 36.4kmph @ 4.8%
Final climb Ave Power 444watts
Sent from my BlackBerry 10 smartphone.
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