Survival

The 1st phase of the Giro wrapped up today with tomorrow being the 1st rest day and from my point of view most anticipated day for the entire 1st week. Since getting crook on the eve of the race the plan has simply been to survive the first week and hopefully improve in the process and use the rest day to reset and recharge and start phase 2 of the giro in a whole lot more comfort! Most importantly without bronchitis.

On paper todays stage 9 had breakaway written all over it and with this type of stage also had pain and suffering written all over it in the first 30km before a break would form! True to the script everyone was lined up early for a good position on the start line and of we went a bullet a gate. There were the usual crashes as overly eager riders tried to pinch an extra position further forward that was only half there and as usual this added to the stress. Attack followed attack and finally after 20km vincenso nibali, the race leader, peeled of to the side of the rd for a nature break signifying he was happy with the group up the rd and the rest of the day would be controlled by his astana men in light blue. I woke this morning feeling a little better than yesterday and was certainly looking for a chance to get up the rd. Unfortunately my lack of bit in my bark for pushing forward meant I did not a chance to stretch the legs of the front of the bunch but I was happy that I did atleast see the group form and got a bit more of an idea of how and when these very selective breakaways form. To give you an idea the group formed at the top of 10km drag between 3-5% and at the time the peleton was split into 3 groups so as we were only 20km into the stage highlights how ferocious the pace can be at the start of a bike race. I did make one push to chage forward in search of that freedom but my lungs quickly reminded me there would be no charging around the peleton at 600+ watts to attack of the front today. Yet again I consigned myself to another day of recovery knowing that really the race is really just beginning. With the break gone and astana on the front the cannondale train swarmed to the front around our GC captain Damiano Caruso who had shown 2 days ago that should the race get hard and scrappy in the final km then he was a hard man that could handle those conditions and was keen to again mix it with the best.

Once we hit the first of 2 longer climbs I finally started feeling good. Felt like I had done for the first part of the season where I have been enjoying every climb I come across. The same could not be said for this week however and this week I have been reminded oh to heavily of the rate at which fortunes can change in this sport especially regarding you condition. 10 days ago I could barely feel the pedals, since then my legs have literally felt like concrete. Anyways todays was an awesome feeling to feel those good sensations again and I can only prey that it continues. Atop the first climb all was tickedy boo, damiano was in a perfect position up front and I began my stressless role down the other side. At the bottom we had no longer hit a flat section of rd when we immediately headed uphill again. I must have been feeling good as it was not until 3km from the top of a 9km climb that I actually realized we were on the climb. I immediately rolled up toward the front and only 1km from the top I was sitting in a perfect position next to the Astana train on the front, damiano in close proximity and all was going as well as possible in the pouring rain in May in Italy. At this point my day started to go pear shaped. People started to get edgy for front position on the decent and the pace started to surge. My heartrate started to spike and immediately my chest bit me hard and I felt like I was choking. All this happening just 500m from the top of the climb. I retreated to the back of the bunch hoping to recover which I did and once the rd pointed downward I was ready to rock on again. Unfortunately I had had my last view of the front. The rain was teaming on the decent and riders were being gapped left right and centre. From the safety of last position in the main field I had no idea if I was 1min or 10min behind the front! With 10km of these wet rds to descend I was pretty well aware of the the fact that by the time I got the bottom the front would be long gone. And so it was, sir wiggo had taken the cautious option down the decent and his rivals teams decided to try and put the nail in his coffin. As a result my leisurely dordle down the hill meant I was further back than full back quicker than I could wipe the mud and water from my glasses to see what was happening ahead of me. So the final 25km resembled the same as most days this week, a gentle stroll to the finish in firenze. The good news was damiano was safely in the front selection and was galantly waving the Cannondale flag amongst the big stars of the race. At the line the early breakaway would occupy the first 4 positions and damiano sprinted to an impressive 9th possi after such a hard stage so was great to see him finishing the week so strongly.

Rest days are often preceded by long transfers and this evening was no different. 350km on our luxurious bus awaited us after the finish which did not worry me one bit. A chance to chew the fat with the boys, catch up on some internet and of course refil the tank after 5hrs in the tuscan hills and rain! What impressed me most about the trip however was the efficiency of our incredible staff and in this case the masseurs. They work like absolute trogen horses day in day out, generally surviving on between 6-7hrs sleep for the entire 3 weeks. They don't miss a beat and are such an integral part of the smooth running of the team. An example was today during our long bus trip when we stopped for dinner at a truck stop or as they are called here, an autogrill. While all the riders rushed inside to feed there faces I spotted the masseurs putting our dirty race cloaths in the washing machines which are underneath the bus. By the time we had fed our faces and returned to the bus for the final 100km of our journey our washing was cleaned and waiting for us in our washing bags at each of our respective seats on the bus which we commandere at the beginning of races we attend throughout europe. I am sure its a small thing to the staff but to me seeing this commitment and organisation really gave me a whole new appreciation for these legends. Seeing things like that really stick in your mind and I will be certain to use there dedication and commitment to helping us attain success on the road as added motivation next time I am needing to ask Myself the hard suffering question in a race.

Race data

180km 4hrs 50min

Average heart rate 133

Average power 235 watts

CJW

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TT

I am pretty sure that this was perhaps the most anticipated TT I have experienced in my years racing a bike. The course on paper had many guessing what may or may not happen with the big favourites today and in the end I don't think anyone would have guessed how it all turned out. The rumours of how technical and difficult the course was were rife, who it may and may not suit, and most of all everyone wanted to see what the next chapter in Sir Wiggo's dominance against the clock was going to be.

As it turned out the british did win with young alex dowsett. His victory and the presence of so many specialists including turbo durbo durbridge from australia in the top 10 proved that it was a true TT course however also had a bit for the climbers to ensure they had a chance to avoid loosing big chunks of time. All in all I think it was an excellent course and had you done your home work then you could have really capitalised on the techniqual sections.

In Casa cannondale today was far from an objective. Only one of us, paolo longo borgini had seen the course and it was just a case of getting through and taking advantage of an easier day in the saddle. Having said that it is never easy at world tour level as if you go too slow there is a risk of missing the time limit so its important to maintain a solid rhythm to ensure your kicked out of the race at days end. At 54km in length it was by far the longest TT I had ever done and even had a designated feed zone to reload on gels and a water bottle after 30km, this was certainly novel! The course started very techniqual with more up than down for 20km and never a straight section of rd in sight, they seem to do a good job of building twisty up and down rds in this part of italy! After 20km the rd opened up and was certainly a final 30km for TT specialists with big wide straight roads and a couple of power climbs thrown in for good measure. The most interesting part of the course for me however was save for the final km which pitched up to 16%, it meant that after plowing along at 50-55kmph for the past 20km you were all of sudden flat out doing 12-15kmph and taking 2minutes to climb the final 400m! That was a real good little trap! So all in all it was a fantastic course and most importantly offered a little bit for all.

My goal was simple. Get from start to finish as quickly as possible without crashing, burning too much energy, and ensuring I don't aggravate my bronchitis which was almost gone this morning so did not want to jeopize my recovery. I did an nice casual warmup, 30minutes easy on the home trainer and figured I would warm up properly once on course in the first 3km which all went uphill. I also wanted to ensure that I maintained the same power throughout the day which I decided would be between 370-400 watts when I was pushing on the pedalable sections. I started and felt great and instantly was pushing a little harder than was my objective! My legs not wanting to suffer Karma would quickly slap my in the face as I nearly overshot the first corner. From that moment 500m into my ride I reverted to plan A and took all corners a little slower than tourist pace! I was confident I could push well on the flats so was not going to risk anything on the corners. On a course like this if you have not done your recon you have to simply swallow your poison and take it steady to avoid any dramas.

It came as no surprise to me that a Movistar rider won as I was caught and passed by juan hose cobo on a technical section and no quicker had he flashed passed he was out of sight I split second later. I began to pull him back on a flat section as the course opened up a bit but after a few more technical sections he was out of sight again. His team had obviously done considerable homework on the lay out of the course and it in the end it showed that this preparation helped to deliver a stage win. Sure the riders aboard there bikes are also supreme athletes but seeing cobo hit the corners and stories of other Movistar riders on the techniqual sections that have circulated since the race was won and won would indicate that going the extra mile so to speak has really shown out on the results sheet. Its really impressive to see teams doing this type of recon and research which historically I hear has not been so much a part of professional cycling. Its often been seen that the anglo teams lead the way with this but certainly the Spaniards from Movistar showed today that attention to detail is spreading thick and fast through the peleton.    

So after having my helmet sucked off by cobo I continued on my tentative way when required and opened up the throttle a bit on the flat straight sections. All was going to plan and I was still sitting in my power zone while pedalling and at the end of the day would average 356 watts. The average is a little lower than my target power zone due to the fact that there was a considerable amount of time that I was not actually pedalling! Anyways with a 155 average heart rate I achieved my objective of getting to the finish as quickly as possible without suffering to much, staying on top of my bike, and most importantly not antagonising my bronchitis so I was a happy little vegemite at the finish line.

Tomorrow we hit the first longer mountains so I am looking forward to getting stuck into that.

CJW   

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Back to reality

When there are 100 riders lined up on the start line 40minutes before the start in 30 degree heat you know your in for quite a solid day on the bicycle! Today's stage on the map looked like a set of crocodile teeth so it was fitting that the crocodile man himself, Adam Hanson scored a very popular victory at days end.

And sure enough from get go it was on like donkey kong, one of those starts where you don't even think about moving from whatever wheel you find yourself on and are simply waiting in very anxious anticipation for the guys up the front dishing out all the pain to slow down. Attack followed attack, through in a few tired riders struggling to stay on the wheels and to concentrate and consequently crashing, a 15km gradual uphill just steep enough to know your climbing but not steep enough to keep the speed under 40kmph, and it was an absolute suffer fest. One other thing that you realise very early on one of these days is that whoever does make the breakaway is one seriously tuff turkey as until goes all bar the select GC superstars are literally chocca block with lactate and can't wait for a breakaway to finally get clear. I managed to slide into one good little group and we quickly started to skip away. Unfortunately the of gianni visconti who holds the mountains jersey did not want me up the rd threatening his jersey and they reeled us back in. I was not going to waste anymore energy attacking or ruining potential breakaways with the movistar team watching me like a hawk so I resigned myself to a day off in the peleton and hopfully with burning a few less calories might be able to kick this bronchitis once and for all. I am just about right, this morning I felt a huge amount better so the combination of sun and regular tempo yesterday must have worked wonders! It still lingers a bit and I was quickly reminded of this with the accelerations within the peleton so I knew that today was a day to be smart and get myself as right as possible ASAP.

So the break finally formed and within this group of hardmen fittingly was the hardest man in the peleton Adam Hanson. Once he had 7min I knew they would never see him again. Not only just he have the horsepower of moto gp bike but he is also incredibly smart. When it comes to riding back breaks and understanding what's required to do so there is no one in the peleton more knowledgeable at this than Adam Hanson. He would have had it planned out to the km so it was so awesome to see a man who uses this incredible knowledge to assist his team mates at every race to finally get the chance to use it on himself. As I said before that is a victory that is very popular and I am extremely happy for him. It might also be worth noting that adam once told me "when you are off the front you only have to ride as hard as the man on the front and to not get caught just ride harder than the man on the front" I have thought about this a few times the past days when I have been off the front. It does not matter if there are 10 people taking turns to ride you back the theory does not chance, very simple, just ride harder than the guy on the front. That pretty much sums up adam, no nonsense just common sense and get the job done! He is an absolute legend!

So resigned to my quiet day my role for the day was very simple. Go as easily as possible and when elia drops to save his legs for the upcoming sprint stages I do the same and look after him and also save my legs and my health! So we set up camp on the front as as I said before todays stage resembled crocodile teeth and one of those days where you are going uphill a lot more than you ever seem to be going downhill! Through into the mix that you rarely where not turning left or right and it did not take albert einstein to figure out that the safest and best way to save your energy was to be at the front. So in light of our GC captain Damiano Caruso looking to perform well on a stage perfectly suited to his characteristics we did all we could to keep a nice safe spot in the front of the peleton for him. Once the break formed after 35km we did this extremely well for the next 90km before the rain and sharp steep climbs began to liven up the bunch!

With around 45km to go the race really lit up and at this point I gave up my fight for the front positions. Damiano was safe, he had water and food and I had not interest in risking life and limb in these dodgy conditions and prolonging my sickness and began my daily drift back through the field to find Elia. Once I spotted him I sat calmly behind him and once he put up the white flag and surrendered at around 30km to go so did I and we found a nice large group of riders whom obviously had a similar objective to us. So all in all my objectives for the day were met! One way or another. In the end Damiano galloped to a fine 5th place from the group of favourites who hit the line just over a minute behind the hero of the day, the nice guy, the crocodile man himself, Adam Hanson.

So its was a nice day off of sorts, a bit of suffering at the start but nice to then get some good recovery in for the following 4hrs. The day unfortunately does not end with the race as now we are in the midst of a 240km transfer to tonights hotel. Its not all bad, we are travelling in utter luxury on our Cannondale Pro Team bus, have had a belly full of fresh pasta, and I am stretched out on a nice long lounge that perfectly fits my 184cm from onto it. For comfort I have my Australian flag travel pillow, I brought the aussie flag one to save me having to name it! Normally spending hrs on the autostrada would be a drag but in reality I may aswell be laying on my bed in the hotel such are all the creature comforts us cyclists are treated too. Nice hot showers following the race, fridges and cupboards stock full of the food and drinks you need, and most importantly great company. Team mates, directors, the press man, and most important our bus driver liucu who ensures he gets us safely from point a to point b as comfortably as possible. As much as I enjoy every second I spend on the bike, in varying degrees of enjoyment off course! I really enjoy my time on the team bus. Put it this way if you don't you are in for a very long giro as if you like it or not the time spent on the bus for the 3 weeks is not too far behind the time spent racing! Just one of the little realities of doing a race that circumnavigates Italy in only 21 days on a bicycle!

Todays race data

176km Time 4hrs 40min

Average power 238

Average heart rate 132

TT tomorrow so will do whatever I can do there! Will be the longest TT I have ever done so am excited to find out what's it like.

CJW

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Why not?

So today worked out completely unplanned on one hand and completely almost perfectly on another! Firstly I had no intention on going the daily breakaway as our team and it seemed every other teams objective for the day was a bunch galop and a rostered day off for many! In the end the sprint of course went to the script and our missile dressed in green went head to head again with mark cavendish and taking another fine second place.

So how did I end up the break? Simple!! I was at the front of the peleton speaking with cavendish and wiggins and cav desperately wanted a break up the road so he decided to attack and try and spark some action! Sure enough it did as jack bobridge and a bmc rider reacted infront of me and figured why not follow! Once we were up the road cav put on the hand break and retreated to the peleton and soon after the bmc rider decided it was a stupid idea and also put up the parachute. So that left bobridge and I, what do we do we said to each other! By now the breaks were on in the peleton and we already had a minute! I said if they are going to let us go while we are riding this easy we may aswell keep it rolling. Soon after his team told him to keep on going and that was it, we started our charge toward the finish.

Once we decided to go we decided it was a good idea to push hard enough to atleast reach the 75km where the course changed direction. There was a lot of wind as we followed the coastline so there was always the chance that if it swung up across the field it could split to pieces behind and we would then be in the prime position to help our team mates should a selection form at the front containing any of them. We were not stupid and said to jack we can let our heart rates go above 150 beats as we need to be fresh if the race comes to us or more likely we are caught by the peleton early in anticipation of a the bunch sprint. Also at that point we can still offer some assistance to our team mates as we will not have cooked the goose so to speak. So the plan was set, first get to 75km see what happens behind then reassess.

Being in the breakaway with aussie and one of the greatest aussie cyclists at that is such a pleasurable experience. Firstly neither shirks on their turn at the front with us both putting in equal pulls all day.  We spoke a lot about the possibilities of what might happen in the race and at one point when we had 6minutes bobridge's eyes lit up as we figured if they gave us enough rope while we were cruising along and we got favourable wind we could turn up the ratchet and set sale for the finish in the final 50km. Unfortunately quickstep are a little to smart to let somthing like that happen and immediately got us back to a manageable gap of 3minutes with 100km still to race. As it turned out the wind died out and was not going to be a factor. Infact it ended up being our greatest enemy as I swung around mid race meaning an anticipated tail breeze was replaced with quite a tedious head wind. Anyways we had to swallow our poison and just go easy and wait for the inevitable which happened with 35km to race. There are limited sprinting opportunities in this years giro and the teams of the fast men were not going to take any chances.

Sure the breakaway was brought to a very premature end and we got no where near causing an upset but I won't forget the day in a hurry. The crowd support along the way was absolutely incredible! I don't know if nobody works in this part of italy on thursdays? It was siesta time? Or whatever but the were 100's of thousands of people scattered along the route. At times in the town centres it was like being in a cauldron, in fact the only time I can remember experiencing the amount of decibels these amazing fans were pumping out was that historic night at olympic park in the athletics stadium when cathy freeman won the 400m gold medal. That memory and following eruption of the crowd will live with me forever and today was not far off it. The only difference is you don't have everybody in a orderly formation in an assigned seat, you have people leaning that little but more than there meant to to get that happy snap and those all behind doing the same so you can imagine what happens! Through in some dogs on leeds and kids in prams that have found there way to the front rows and you really need to keep you eyes open and concentrate as hard as possible as the sound was just incredible.

Another novel thing that seemed to happen on many occasions today rose pettles being thrown infront of jack and I as we charged along. It prompted jack at one point to say while he appreciates the jester its not like we are getting married or anything! In a 115km 2 man breakaway those little comments are very amusing as you can imagine.

So back to the race and in anticipation of imminent capture of the peleton jack and I readied ourselves for some work for our team leaders. That meant firstly spinning the legs as softly as possible and then filling our jerseys with bottles and food to easily distribute to our team mates as we were absorb by the peleton! At this moment it dawned on me that this is probably the easiest way to do that all important final bottle drop! Its worth going in the break each day to have to deal with that stressfull adventure ever again I assure you! Back in the bunch and the plan was for me to ride the front and show cannondale meant business for the bunch sprint. I firstly distributed the bottles then made my way up the outside to the front ready to ride the front. At this point another thing dawned on me! How easy it was to be at the front when your caught by the bunch at 30km to go! You simply accelerate as they approach and slot straight in and hold your ground. Again I would happily spend 300km in the breakaway everyday to enjoy this unstressfull way of finding your way to the front late in the race.

So now I am up front inside 30km to go champing at the bit to crank up the tempo a little and behind is a big crash. Immediately our green machine locomotive Fabio Sabatini came up and pulled me off and told the other teams to stop riding, its not a situation you use to your advantage as it will certainly come back and bite you on the arse one day when you have a troubled moment in the race. For the next 10km it was a bit of a stale mate as around 140 riders found there way back to front. Once all back together the race was back on all be it a lot more nervous than before. Into the final 10km and I was in a good little spot, probably about 40 riders back so I started to weave my way to the front to provide one last pull on the front in the final km to ensure no little breakaways skipped away and spoiled the day for Elia to go head to head with Cav. At 5km to go it was finally on the front again, just the open rd ahead, just how I like it! I set my eyes on the 4km sign and dug as deep as I could. It was a block headwind and we were at 50kmph so I was between 550 and 600watts to keep the pace up. I finally hit the 4km marker and put up the white flag to surrender. As I swung left I could barely believe my eyes to see none other than Sir Wiggo himself pull through after me to take a turn on the front. He was not taking any chances either with crashes and wanted to ensure he was up front and out of trouble, no better way to do that than being on the front! Also inside 3km if there is an incident you get the time of the group your in and to the GC riders this is somewhat of a safety net to the often crashed filled final km's.

Anyway once wigga swung off the stage was set for the big showdown and when our green locomotive fabio sabatini hit the front within the final km it was certain to come down to a viviani cavendish showdown. Viviani had craftily found cav wheel while he tried in vein he could come past in the final m's but can hold his head very high for taking the fight to the worlds greatest sprinter for the second time in a week.

All in all it was a good day for the team and a very enjoyable one for me. You can often tell what sort of day it was on the trip to the hotel on the team bus and today the Cannondale Pro Cycling team bus was rocking!!

Race data

170km 4hrs

Heatrate average 137

Power average 287

Max power 1000

Will sleep very well tonight

CJW   

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Giro stage 5

Another pretty quiet day for me here in stage 5. With a sprint highly likely it was another great opportunity to do as little as possible and continue on my road to full recovery. Fortunately the day worked out perfectly with one of our members of the viviani's green locomotive, alan maranga marangoni jumping in the early breakaway and putting all the pressure on the teams to do the chasing. That meant our focus switched to elia and keeping him as fresh as possible for the hard but not difficult final 15km which included a few short climbs for him to survive through.

The only glitch in what would normally be an easy relaxing day and straigh forward sprint was firstly cross winds and secondly rain. That meant a whole day riding at the front or atleast close to it and staying alert. When the rain came down I rode next to the teams working on the front to bring back maranga the motorbike and keep elia and caruso up front out of danger and most importantly protected from the wind. Basically doing this work is exactly like riding on the front but 10-20 behind as you don't want to contribute to any pace making, just ride there pace and keep your men safe and sound. So its pretty thankless work as when you ride on the front firstly you are generally getting a rest every km or so while other team's riders contribute to the pace making and secondly there is an exciting adrenaline boost you get when you know you are towing along 200 other blokes and chasing the rabbits up the rd!

So anyways I did this for around an hour so a day without fatigue was now a day with a little fatigue and again now that I was a little tired the race kicked of in earnest within the final 20km with the challenging little climb between us and the finish. I ensured elia and damiano were up front then started my daily drift back through the bunch as atleast from behind if they have any dramas I can quickly see and help them out.

I had no intention on pushing hard again so if I could not stay up front easily I simply trundled along at my own pace. I spotted cavendish and decided I would role along with him and if he happened to be in the front after the climbs then I would be there too and if not I would enjoy a nice final 10km cool down to the finish. As I panned out cav was dropped on a climb and while we almost regained contact at about 7km his team surrendered and so did I and has a nice 15min cool down to spin out the time at the front and rain in the legs. In the end it was not cannondales day in the finale with both elia and caruso caught up in the crash and not having a chance to stretch there legs in anger. Tomorrow should be another sprint so elia will get another chance and I will get another quiet day to recover some more. I am almost right, just a little congestion and annoying cough so won't be long now ans I will be able to happily board the pain train again!

Todays stressful stage reminded me of a couple of little habits I have on these such days. Firstly and not only on stressful days but everyday I always carry enough food for the entire race. A couple of reasons. Firstly I like to know I won't ever go hungry! Foods very important to me. And secondly the feed zone is quite a stressful section of rd with team staff attempting to hand out feed bags to a bunch of tired, hungry, and often grumpy riders! Also feed zones tend to mark the middle of each stage and generally prior to the feed zone one way or another the race is reasonably controlled. Once everyone has some fresh bottles and a belly and pockets full of fuel the race generally cranks up immediately and its on for young and old. For this reason by carrying all my food it is not urgent for me to take my bag. Infact I will only take it if the group is going nice and easy or I am in a good position to grab it. There are often crashes with bottles, bags, food, and riders flying every which way and I often use it as a great opportunity to move right up to the front while everyone else is sorting through there feed bags for there little can of coke, gell and favourite energy bar. So a day like today where the pace is high due to motor bike marunga up in the breakaway and stress of crosswinds is one where my little habbit really pays dividends as I did not need to grab my bag if I did not want to. As it turned out we slowed up and I was able to grab the bag easily from my forward position, grabbed out the bottles, put an extra one in my back pocket for a team mate if required and a can of coke in the other pocket. Now I was face with another dilemma! We were rocketing along and I wanted to drink my coke but I don't dare take my hands off the bars in these circumstances. I finally found a moment that seemed great time to snap it open and slam it down and after only one glorious mouthful a speed hump appeared infront of me and I had no choice to abort the mission and toss the coke and grab hold of my handlebars! Another little reminder to me of how unpredictable and sometimes frustrating the whole feed zone process can be! Suffice to say I want be changing my habit of always carrying a little extra just to be on the safe side. My motto is I carry it all in training so may aswell do it in the race!

Race data today

205km 4hrs 45min

210watt average 115average heart rate

Max power 1100 watts    

CJW

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Stage 4

Stage 4 of the giro d'italia was yet another role along the amalfi coast. The stage was surprisingly un stressful for a first week of the giro which gave us a chance to take in the view a little more than was possible during yesterday handlebar munching day. It was the longest stage of the race with 246km and fortunately the relaxed and constant pace setting by katusha literally made the km's fly by. I had forgotten from my first giro the signs to the finish that start from 225km out! Normally they only start at 50km which is the point at which you can be pretty confident if you grit your teeth you can survive for the final 1-2hrs depending on terrain.

On a day like today its best not to see the first 3-4 signs as they go in 25km increments! Seeing 200km to go when you have already been on the bike for 1hr is a little daunting! I remember back to my first giro and by the second week passing the 100km sign feels like you are basically finished, only 2-3hrs to go!! Such is the physical adaptation a grand tour does to your mind and body! Anyway fortunately I seem to have keep those adaptations as I am already thinking that way, infact today I even thought at 150km from the finish I was pretty much home as the climbs to animate the day all came in the final 50km and I was never planning on raising the heart above idle today. Again today team management had me under strict instructions to recover as much as possible and kick this lurgy from my system once and for all. Thanks to the barmy weather for a majority of the day and a nice gentle pace I think I may very well have sweated this thing out of me! For certain a couple more days I will be all good again!

The stage went as expected, little break up the rd and heavy control by katusha to protect the race lead. They rode extremely smart keeping the break in check to keep the jersey but not having to pull it back completely. Therefore in the final 50km others teams that sniffed a stage win charged to the front and effectively did katushas job for them. This meant the katusha boys could sit tight and save energy for when required in the final km's to retain there jersey. And that's exactly what happened as we hit the bottom of the final climb there were the usual fire crackers shooting off the front and katusha en massed on the front with 15km to go and safely retain there race lead. Like yesterday I leasurely sat at the back untill I could no longer do it easily before trundling up the final 12km or so at a nice leasurely pace.

So like everyday in the peleton I seem to learn some small things which makes me realise how complex this sport can be! Firstly yesterday It dawned on me for the first time that my timing for collecting bottles needs to be addressed. Well not only timing but knowledge of the rd where on and where the car is. For example if the car is number 1 in the convey you can go back anytime without drama. If however the cars number 20 and your on a rd as wide as a footpath then you could wait 5min at the back of the bunch for the car to show up. In that time in cycling anything can and does happen up front! So today armed with my newest knowledge of bottle collecting and yesterdays lactate filled refueling of my team mates experience I was very excited to get back to the car right at the right time! Also with bigger races comes greater stress in the peleton and with greater stress getting to the front is all the more difficult. Fortunately during the race!!! We are quite a polite bunch and a person carrying bottles for his soldiers is basically given a clear path through the peleton to search for his men at the same time saying "Service Service". After the chaos of yesterday I actually considered carrying a back full of empty bottles around with me all day so I could move up when I wanted!! Anyways today I used bottle collecting to my advantage and on the all important final bottle drop I picked my moment just perfectly. We were about 15km from the all out full gas final 90min and the rd was a suitable 3 lanes wide. I figured it was the perfect time to collect the bottles, get myself up to my diligent team mates who as always were right up the front, then casually drift back through the bunch knowing the congestion and stress in the peleton at this point in the race would not allow me to drift very far as your flat fiding room to breath!! Let alone drift back through the bunch. I started the climb in a safe stop about mid field and had a nice comfortable sit for the next 1hr before I finally put up the white flag. I was actually pretty chippa with myself as I knew the more convenient timing of my bottle drop had meant I was able to relax, recover, and really enjoy the final part of the race. That's enough talk on bottles, tomorrow I will think of somthing else to write about during stage 5.

Race data

245km 6hrs 25min

Average power 218 watts

Average heart rate 124

Nice cruise along the coastline!

CJW

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Giro stage 3

We ventured in the mountains on stage of the giro. Normally its the type of stage I love, long, hard, and a couple of climbs to shake things up in the end. Unfortunately for me considering my health I had strict instructions to go as easily as possible today and start the recovery process. Well as best as possible whilst racing the giro d'italia! Anyways I did as told and on the final climb took it nice and easy in a back group and I am sure my body will appreciate it.

The course today was spectacular, a 200ish km journey along the amalfi coast was pretty distracting all day. It was up and down and windy and when you combine that with a fresh peleton you always get a nervous stage. Fortunately despite a number of crashes all the boys in the green cannondale colours stayed upright. I will definately come back here for a holiday and to be perfectly honest there were moments during the race that the water looked so good I considered uncliping and dropping in for a quick dip in the ocean! Anyways I refrained and kept my mind on the job, coughing and spluttering my way though 220km and finally made it to the finish.

The stage ended up having more fireworks than expected and while I did not figure in the final climb I certainly in my own way enjoyed a bit of drama along the way. The final bottle collection is always the hardest one to do, everyone is tired, the race pace is ramping up and above everyone is thirsty! As I had the day off pass and strict orders to go easy on the climb I wanted my teammates to know I was there and contribute something. I knew this bottle grab would be an absolute dog fight to get back to the front, the rd was up down and never straight and all 207 riders were in a single line due to the fact that katusha at that moment decided to turn on the gas and line out the bunch.

Basically it meant onces I was loaded up with 8 bottles for my team mates I had a 5km prologue tearing my way through the bunch absolute full bore and at all times seconds from exploding completely, spotting a gap, sprinting full gas, then repeat and repeat and repeat until I finally got my men in green who were professionally riding right at the front. As our team captain damiano caruso was the first man I found to ensure he was ready for the final climb then distributed the rest about the boys. I knew this was an important bottle drop and no less than 4 of my team mates were out of water, a clear sign on a tuff day and not exactly easy to pop back and grab a fresh bottle!

So once I had dished out the bottles to all my mates, I settled down and started drifting to the back as planned and looked forward to enjoying a nice easy final climb. At this point I reached for a bottle and realised I had given my bottle to sabatini as he also wanted a malodextrine bottle aswell as water which I had on my bike. I knew at the time it was my last bottle also but in this situation you always put your team mates first and hand over whatever you have. Unfortunately today If I ever needed a bottle while racing my bike this was the moment! I was full block of lactic acid! Sickest I can remember being on my bike and I was just wanting that satisfying moment of pouring water down my throat and relaxing for the casual stroll to the finish. But I realised I had no bottle so a moment of relief turned to desperation as all I could think of was water. I looked back for the car but we were on the climb and riders where scattered all over the place and the cars way behind. So I went without till I saw a mechanic I knew from 2010 holding bottles and this was where I realised more than ever, never burn your bridges with people in the sport!

As politely as possible asked luca who works for another team for a bottle he was holding out for his riders. Upon seeing it was me he quickly thrust the bottle infront of me and I made no fumbles with this one, I grabbed it as smoothly as gary ablett marks a football and finally that satisfying moment of cold aqua to cool me down after such a let's say trying day. Content now I settled into a nice easy group and trundled along toward the finish with a little smile on my face at my good fortune.

So while today I learnt absolutely nothing about how the race was won and lost up the front I was reminded and learnt two very valuable lessons. Firstly never ever hesitate no matter how desperate you are like I was today to put your team mates first. Its highly likely that if you have this relationship with your team mates its because you know they would also do the same for you. And second never burn your bridges, luca probably saved me and health to some extent today and I will ensure I sort him out in the morning to say thankyou. What goes around comes around could not be more applicable to my final 40km today. Cycling's professional peleton is certainly not exempt from this age old addige!

Race data

220km 5Hrs 45min

Heart rate average 135

Power Average 235

Nice easy day (ish) just what my achy sick body needed. Fingers crossed tomorrow is the same!

CJW

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