(BEND, Ore.)—Chris Horner, a world class road cyclist and resident of Bend, Oregon will kick off the first Cascade Gran Fondo fundraising cycling event in Bend this August. This announcement comes on the heels of Horner’s best season, which was highlighted by a top 10 finish at the Tour de France, road cycling’s version of the Super Bowl.

Gran Fondos are long-distance, mass participation cycling events popular in Italy. They’re open to recreational and competitive cyclists alike.

“I’m excited to be able to host the Cascade Gran Fondo in Bend this summer,” said Chris Horner, professional cyclist for Team RadioShack. “It will be a great opportunity for riders from all over the world to come together and explore one of my favorite rides, as well as enjoy all of the fantastic things Bend has to offer .”

The Cascade Gran Fondo will take place August 18-20, 2011 and is expected to draw more than 1,000 riders. Thursday, August 18 will include a Q&A session with Chris and other members of the cycling community. Friday, August 19 will involve a VIP dinner for participants, community members, sponsors and top fundraisers. Saturday, August 20 will be the big ride in conjunction with an all day expo and outdoor festival. Proceeds from the ride and the fundraising efforts of the riders will go to support Livestrong, Mount Bachelor Ski &

Education Foundation, and World Bicycle Relief.

“Visit Bend is honored to partner with the Cascade Grand Fondo and we’re thrilled Chris would choose Bend, Oregon as the site of this exciting new event,” said Doug La Placa, President and CEO of Visit Bend. “This is a great opportunity to introduce Bend to cyclists from around the country, and provide a significant economic boost to Bend’s economy.”

Bend, Oregon is no stranger to national recognition for its extraordinary outdoor recreation opportunities. In recent years, Bend has been named America’s Top Adventure Town (Men’s Journal), best trail running town (Outside) one of the country’s Top Five Ski Towns (Travel + Leisure), and #1 mountain biking town in the United States (Mountain Bike Action), “bona fide climbing town” (National Geographic Adventure), and one of the Top 10 Fly Fishing Towns in the U.S. (Fly Fisherman).

Contact: 

Megan Elliott, Motion Initiatives, LLC, megan@motioninitiatives.com

About Visit Bend: Visit Bend is a non-membership, non-profit economic development organization dedicated to promoting tourism on behalf of the City of Bend. For more information or to order a complimentary Official Visitor’s Guide to Bend, contact Visit Bend at 1-800-949-6086 or visit www.visitbend.com.

All week long, I saw the team suffering to keep Jani in yellow.  With each climb we would lose anywhere from 2 to 4 riders by the summit, only to have them fight back to peloton to immediately take another pull on the front time and again.  It hurt me to see Tomas, who didn't make the time cut yesterday, feeling bad this morning.  He spent more time on the front then anyone in the race, working day after to day to keep the rest of the team that much fresher for the later part of each stage, and yet still felt bad about being unable to help today.   

At the start of today's stage, it was once again all out when a group of 8 escaped.  Three teams chased the break with everything they had, going through the valley before the first and only big climb of the day, which began 30 miles into the stage.  As we hit the climb, the break was only 45 seconds in front of us, and every team was trying to send riders across to it.

For Team RadioShack Paulinho was putting on a show.  We had lost everyone on the team except Paulinho, myself, and Jani, who of course needed to stay protected and save energy for the general classification fight.  Paulinho drove the pace steadily up the entire climb, while I would follow any attacks that might put the team in danger of losing the jersey.  After each attack was neutralized, Paulinho would just continue riding his tempo past everyone that had attacked us, while I would return, tucking back onto his wheel until the next attack came.  Finally, we got the break we wanted established, allowing us to ease off the pace and recover just a little.

Markel, G4, and Ben fought to return to front once again to take over the work from Paulino and I.  When the break gained too much time, the other teams began pulling on the front to protect their own leaders’ places on general classification, or perhaps, thinking about the one last shot at winning a stage in this year’s race.  The Dauphine was nearing its end, but not before they threw one last obstacle at us.

We entered the 7 mile circuit that we would do 5 times, with everyone on the limit from the pace of the teams chasing.  The weather was unpredictable – with rain on the descent and dry on the climb, making the day even more difficult.  And the circuit itself was not going to be an easy one.  It had a mile and a half long climb that averaged 9%, but the second half had to be closer to 11 or 12% - in other words, HARD.

As we hit the climb each lap, the pace would increase, decreasing the size of the field at the same time.  The descent wasn't any easier, with each wet turn causing the field to split apart even further.  And, at the bottom, it was a full sprint out of the last corner to hold the wheel in front of me as we crossed the finish line each lap. I can’t image how hard it must have been for the non-climbers to close the gaps to the field after each descent, since it was hard enough in the group – all I could think was “Thank God I can climb!”

As we hit the climb for the last time, riders started attacking immediately right from the bottom.  Astana took over the front and set a blistering pace that allowed no one to get very far.  Just as we neared the summit, one final hard attack came, and what was left of the field blew apart.  I had to pass 4 riders to stay in contact with the front group.  As we flew down the descent, an AG2R rider was taking every risk possible to catch the break that was only seconds ahead of us at that point.  After a few turns, I hard a big crash just behind me, while Tejay van Gardener came flying by me to close the gap that was just front us.  From there on out my job was done for Jani, and I could ease up just a bit and take it safe to finish line.

It was a fantastic race, and I can't be happier to see Jani win.  He has been my teammate and roommate now for three years, and I can assure you no one works harder or deserves it more!  So congratulations Jani and Team RadioShack - overall winners of the 2010 Criterium du Dauphine! 

We had one category 3 climb six miles into the race that blew the field apart, and before you knew it, a large group had escaped.  Team Footon had missed the break and was driving the pace so hard to bring it back that the field was stretched to the limit for the next 10 miles.

When we hit the cat 2 climb that was almost 12 miles long and only 20 miles into the race, riders were everywhere.  Some tried attacking, coming right back one after another to the field as teams that missed the break each time chased hard, only to reshuffle the deck time and time again.  Finally no one had any energy left to chase, and three groups escaped on the climb.  They were chasing each other until they finally became one large breakaway of around 20 or so riders.

Right away, Astana and RadioShack got together and started driving the pace, since there was no time for chess games if we were to have any chance of keeping the break close.  On the twisty descent, the pace was incredible, and when we hit the flat section before the HC (hors categorie – or top category) climb of the Glandon, the field was still single file.

The pace eased for only a bit at the start of the Glandon, as the guys driving the pace on the front needed a little time to recover.  But, at 12 miles and 7.2% grade, they weren't going to get much of a rest.  With 5 or 6 miles to go to the top, Alberto put his climbers to work.  I was doing almost 400 watts and at my limit, while trying to give Jani any extra draft I could by riding just a little to the side of Alberto.  With the wind changing direction with each switch back, I had to change my position behind Alberto with each turn to give Jani the best draft possible.

Over the top of the climb, Astana continued setting a crazy pace on the descent.  As we flew into one corner at 50 mph that was followed directly by a left hairpin turn, I hit the brakes hard.  The wheels locked up on me as I hit a bunch of bumps on the road.  Meanwhile, Jani was right in front me and slowing down three times faster.  I went flying past him, yelling something to the effect that this might be it for me!  But, somehow, I got the bike under control just in time to not go flying off the edge – not to mention saving the race organizers some money on a memorial plaque in my honor, with something like “Kids, Daddy loves you” on it! 

At the bottom of the climb, Paulino returned to the front, and was once again riding all out with the Astana boys.  We had only 12 miles of flat roads before we hit the legendary Alpe d'Huez.  In that time, I went to the car twice for drinks, gels, snickers, and of course Cokes for Jani, Paulino, and myself.  As we neared Alpe d'Huez, there was a little fighting in the bunch for positioning before we hit climb, but in all honesty, the Glandon had destroyed most of the legs so the fighting was pretty half-hearted.  I did one big jump on the left side of the field, and was back on Jani's wheel for the start of the climb.

Alpe d'Huez hits hard right from the bottom and gets steeper in every turn.  The heat at the bottom from the sun wasn't doing anything to make me feel any better as Astana was driving on the front with every rider they had left, trying to destroy the field and set Alberto up for the win. With only a few riders left in the group I was just about to blow up and drop off the pace.  I went up to Jani and gave him my last water bottle and told him to keep it - it would be last thing I could for him until tomorrow.

After leaving the front group in the wrong direction, I latched onto AG2R's rider, Christophe Riblon, with a QuickStep rider who didn't stick around too long.  I was on the limit to stay with Christophe, when the wind finally started blowing a little harder, allowing me to recover in his draft.  Sanchez and few others caught us from behind, and the pace went up again.

Somewhere on the climb, in one of the switchbacks, I could see Jani up the road in front of us, holding onto Contador’s wheel as he was attacking him to try to gain some time and the win, but Jani was hanging tough.  Meanwhile, Sanchez was riding on the front of our group, as close to the side of the road as possible.  We were passing within inches of every RV and spectator that was on the road – his tactic for trying to drop us all.  At times I had spectators jumping off the road as we came straight at them.

With just about 2 miles to go, we caught up to the young American, Tejay van Garderen, who is having an incredible Dauphine.  Keep your eye on this kid for future!  He had been in Contador’s group for most the climb and was just now coming off the back.  He is fighting for a podium place in the Dauphine, so I opened up a space in line for him to get out of wind.  From there to the finish, the road stair-stepped up to the summit.  Personally, I was happy to see the last corner arrive - with Jani at the finish, and yes, still in yellow!  

Tejay and Chris after the finish. Photo courtesy of Graham Watson (http://grahamwatson.com)

Jani and Chris at the finish. Photo courtesy of Graham Watson (http://grahamwatson.com)

I was on Ben's wheel, but the plan was for me not to work this early in the stage, unless it was really needed.  My job was supposed to start on the second climb of the day, going from there to finish.  Ben was drilling it on the front to keep the large break close, and the field was feeling the effects of the high pace, as riders began dropping out of field one by one, unable to stay in the group.  The gap to the large break hovered at around 35 seconds.  They too were having problems with the high pace on the climb and began to split apart.  I could see a group of 4 or 5 riders riding away from the rest of the break, and at the same time 4 or 5 riders were going in the opposite direction, soon to be back with us.

Just then Ben started to fade, and I thought that Team RadioShack might be trouble, as the gap to the lead four or five had increased just a little.  Just in time, Paulino arrived to the front to take over from Ben and save the day.  He was riding a steady pace that was bringing the group back little by little, but, with only half a mile to go to the summit, we were running out of time to bring them back.  If they went over the climb before we got them, we were going to be in trouble, since chasing 25 or 30 riders working together on a descent and through the valley would have destroyed the team. 

I hit it as hard as I could on the front to close the gap before the top - going numb in the process but reducing the gap to about 10 or 15 seconds as we reached the top.  It hurt, but would save a lot of energy in the long run!  A few moments later, G4 arrived at front, taking over for me. By bombing down the descent at 60 mph and hammering through the turns, he brought the group back together again, and Team RadioShack was looking great, with only 4 or 5 riders away in the break.  More importantly, the team was together at the front once again.

After a long descent through the valley, the next big climb of 12 miles arrived.  We hit the climb, holding a steady tempo, with G4 taking over the pace.  The climb was another monster at 12 miles long and gradient of 7.5%.  The first attacks had no real effect on us, as each attack would go up the road a short distance and then come back just as fast.  G4 rode the first 4 miles until Paulino, who was having a great day, took over. 

Just then, Danny Navarro from Astana attacked with an impressive burst of speed.  It was so strong that no one tried to go with him, and we didn't have to either, since he was a ways down on the general classification and not a threat to Jani’s lead.  Paulino continued riding the front for next 7 miles, leaving me as Jani's insurance card to play if trouble hit.

With no real threat up the road as we went over the top of the climb, I went to work with Paulino on the front of the group as we descended to the finish.  We rode a steady pace, since we had no need or intention of catching the group of riders up the road. 

Danny Navarro had caught and passed all of the original breakaway riders and soloed in for a great win.  Behind him, Team RadioShack had done a great job of protecting Jani all day, bringing him to the finish with his lead still intact.  Tomorrow's stage finishes on the legendary climb of Alpe D'Heuz, where I’m sure the real action of the race will come!!

At the beginning of the stage, we were on narrow roads with strong crosswinds.  With 130 miles to cover on the stage, and the first big mountain summit finish coming at the end of the day, it was going to be a hard day on the job for Team RadioShack.  The first 40 minutes of the stage were intense, with hard battling for position at the front of the field.  We had the entire RadioShack team on the front from the start of the race to control the field.  We wanted a break to go with no more then 10 riders, and if possible less then 5.

The crosswinds split the field into pieces within the first few miles of the race.  The team did a great job at front, staying together for the first 10 miles.  After that we kept one or two riders on the front at all times, while letting the others recover in the field from the big efforts they putting in chasing the attacks down.

It was amazing to see how well the team rode together, even when they were on the limit.  No one wanted to let Jani down, and each did more than their fair share of work to get the job done.  At times we had only one of us on the front sprinting all out to chase 20 guys who had escaped from the field, laying everything on the line to keep the race under control. 

After about 25 miles of intense racing, we got what we wanted when a break of two riders escaped from the field, including Danny Pate.  For the next 90 miles there wasn't a lot going on, but once again, we had some great scenery to check out along the way.  We kept two RadioShack riders on the front all day to control the breakaway, holding them at no more then 10 minutes lead throughout the stage.  We then tried to keep the rest of team as rested as possible for the finishing climb.        

On the approach to the final mountain, the action returned in full force.  We hit the climb hard, right from the bottom, with riders attacking from all sides.  Liquigas riders were super motivated to win the stage, and they were the first to light things up.  As soon as the climb got steep, I went to work on the front to control the pace and keep the attacks to a minimum.  My job was a simple one on paper - keep Jani from being isolated.  The original two riders from the break were still up the road, and there were another 4 or 5 riders chasing each other just in front of us.  I got some great help from my teammate Ben Hermans, who took over the front for a few crucial kilometers, giving me a chance to recover.

Photo courtesy of Graham WatsonI got my second wind and a little recovery just as next group of attacks came.  I took over from Ben and started setting into a rhythm on the climb.  On the headwind portions, the front group remained uncharacteristically large, as the riders behind were using a lot less energy while sitting in my draft.  While pulling in the headwind sections, I would ease off just a little to give myself a chance to recover, and then after the hairpin turn when the wind would change to a tailwind I would increase the pace.  

That tactic would help to string out the group behind me, which in turn meant that when we hit the headwind section, if anyone wanted to attack, they would have to use a lot more energy just to get to front again before they could even try to get away.  At that point, the team car was far behind, caught in the traffic of dropped riders, meaning that I had to stay just below my max.  If anything happened to Jani I was his last line of help, so I was doing everything I could to save energy and make the job a little easier.

With each attack, Gallo was quick to tell us who they were and how far behind Jani they were on the general classification.  I let each attack go and stayed in rhythm, gradually bringing back rider after rider.  When we hit about 2 miles to go, the big attack came.  Alberto had all of his guys hit it hard, shattering what was left of the group into pieces.  I had to let the groups go by me as I was hitting my max and needed to recover from my effort on the front before I could go again.  

At that point, even with Jani up the road, I couldn't relax because I knew that if he had a flat or some kind of problem I would have to be there to help.  I jumped from one group to the next, recovered then jumped again to the next, leap-frogging my way back to the front.  With each effort my lungs were burning and the legs were on fire, but when I hit the 500 meters to go sign, I could final ease up and call it a day.

Jani did a great job of following attack after attack from Alberto all the way to the line, and even increasing his lead on the second place rider in the general classification. It was a hard day, but with several more big stages to come, it’s going to be a great Dauphine!

The TT course was about 31 miles long, so we didn't ride the entire course in order to save some energy for later.  Instead, we drove the first third of the course and rode the rest of it, starting with the climb.  The profile showed the climb as being just under a mile long, but from bottom to top it was probably closer to three and half or four miles long, with a big headwind.

When we got to the finish line, we jumped back into the car and drove to the start again, where the team bus was waiting for us.  As Jani and I were getting on the bus, the rest of team was heading out.  They all had earlier start times as a result of the crash on the first stage, so they were getting ready to go already.  Jani and I had at least three hours to kill before our start would come.  The team had lunch out and ready for us to eat when we got to the bus.  It was nothing fancy - just the usual rice and chicken, and a Coke on the side for me.  Jani's lunch was even a step further down as he had just a big bowl of rice.

With the entire rest of the team already gone, the bus was like a library inside.  Jani was playing with his computer, while I watched two episodes of Entourage.  After an hour and half of waiting, it was finally time to get back to work again.  After getting kitted up for the second time that day, I warmed on the trainer for a half hour to get the legs rolling just before it was time for me to head to the start.

Second times a charm, right?  That's what I was thinking as I got on the start ramp again.  This time, I was completely prepared to leave one minute after the rider in front of me, only to find out that the race was using two minute intervals between riders this time.  Now I was running a minute early as opposed to the minute late in the prologue.  I still just couldn’t get it right!

My plan was to ride the start hard and then just play it by ear from there.  The first part of the course was slightly uphill with a strong headwind, but it felt a lot like Paris-Roubaix, because the road was in need of serious repair.  When I hit the climb, I could already tell that the legs weren't great, and it was time for Plan B - to save a little and hope that Jani would have the legs to ride as team leader for the week.

Photo courtesy of Graham Watson

After the climb, the wind was so strong on the descent that I was all over the road fighting to stay upright.  I over shot one turn, going off the road and into the gravel, barely keeping the bike from going down the hillside.  And I was playing it safe!  I began to wonder how many crashes there would be today, since I knew many riders would be going all out and taking huge risks to stay in the hunt.

After the descent, the drama wasn't over with 15 miles of riding still to go.  That section was fast - crazy fast - and I was doing 35 to 45 miles an hour.  As I hit each open section between the trees or buildings along the road, a huge cross wind would hit that would have my front wheel going sideways.  When we weren't fighting the wind, we had to stay completely focused to avoid crashing on the speed bumps and roundabouts that we were taking at 40 mph.

When I crossed the line, I thought I had nothing to be happy about, since I knew my time was nothing special.  BUT, not long after, Jani came flying in with a time that was looking like YELLOW!  After two more riders finished, it was official.  Jani had taken the stage win and the race leader’s yellow jersey.  And he did it all even after having to change bikes on the climb when one of the aero bar extensions came loose.

Great job Jani!  The rest of the week should hold some interesting stories, as Team RadioShack fights to keep Jani in yellow! 

Right away, I noticed that I hadn't come out of the crash unscathed.  My left shoe buckle had been torn off by the spokes, while my rear derailleur had been through a fight of its own.  As a result, I had lost the 11 and 12 tooth cogs.  At that moment, there was no time to fix any of the problems as the first climb of the day at 6 miles into the race was coming up fast.  With no break off yet I knew the climb was going to be interesting, as I was at the back of the group riding a handicap bike with only a shoe and half to work with.  Guys around me were on the limit as the field began stretching out with gaps opening up all around me.  It was a good thing the climb was only a mile and half long, or I might have been in some serious trouble!  As it was the top of the climb came just soon enough that the gaps that had opened up weren't too difficult to close, all things considered.

Shortly after the climb a group of 5 escaped off the front, the pace in the field mellowed out, and it was time to do some damage control.  My team director, Gallo, who was driving the car that held my replacement shoe and bike, had everything ready to go when I stopped on the side of the road.  The car stopped just behind me as I was off my bike bent over and removing my broken shoe.  I yelled to the mechanic Juan as he stepped out of the car to toss my shoe to me before grabbing my spare bike.  While he was getting the bike, I was changing my custom insoles from one shoe to the next.  I had the shoe on just as my bike appeared and in no time at all Gallo was pushing me down the road once again, where I had two teammates waiting to take me back to the front. 

We started flying down the twisty wet descent, diving in and out of the corners, passing the caravan of cars with inches to spare.  As we passed each director’s car they would honk the car horn to warn the car in front that we were coming by.

After a few turns I realized that all was not right with the new bike.  The rush job to get all of the new bikes ready in time for the Dauphine had left something forgotten.  While I dove through one of the tight corners, the bars had started to turn in a direction of their own!  Now, some problems you can live with and get through the day, but a loose stem isn't one of them!  I slowed the bike, carefully maneuvering it to the side of the road, and waited for the second team car, driven by Jose Azevedo, to appear, since Gallo was still way behind repairing my first bike.

Ace looked at the problem for a second before he realized that between himself (our second director) and the team doctor, who was his only companion in the car, and with no tools between them, that we were going to have to improvise.  Ace grab Tomas' bike - which is at least two sizes too big for me - off the roof and off I went again.  I think it was almost a toss up to decide which was less dangerous to ride down a technical descent, with the too large bike coming out just ahead over the loose stem.

I made it down the hill and back to the group on Tomas’ bike just as Gallo radioed to me that he had my first bike up and going again.  I stopped again on the right side of the road as Gallo's car came flying to a stop just behind me.  Juan came jetting out of the car once again, and before I knew it I was back on my original bike in the group and pedaling along as if nothing had happened, with only my single red shoe cover showing evidence of the day’s drama.

The rest of the day was much calmer with only great scenery viewing to pass the time until it was once again time for final fight between the sprinters to the line.  But one HTC-Columbia rider had his own story to tell as we were all fighting for space on the road with less than 5 miles to go.  I watched him drop off the road into a two foot deep ditch, flying end over end with his bike launching up and into the air.  It was unbelievable! 

The original break was reeled in with less than two miles to go to finish.  They came through the field at us like parked cars in the middle of the road.  Riders were going in every direction but straight in order to avoid them.  After they all passed through I was next to Alberto Contador.  We looked at each with the same thought reflected in our eyes, “Let's get out of here!”  But, having survived another stage, tomorrow’s individually time trial should hopefully be a little less dramatic!  

The break finally escaped about 25 minutes into the race.  After that the pace in the field dropped to an easy tempo as no one seemed too interested in chasing on the front all day.   With a hard 2 mile climb coming right before the finish of the stage, the sprinter teams weren't showing any faith in their respective riders being able to make it over with the front group to contest for the win, meaning they were also unwilling to do the work on the front to keep the break in check.  That left race leader, Alberto Contador’s, team Astana doing the bulk of the work.

But even Astana was not willing to spend all day on the front alone, so the gap to the break grew to over 9 minutes.  At that point, the chess playing began.  Alberto and his team were willing to give up the stage and even the race if some help didn't come soon.  Garmin was the first to start riding, and then other teams joined in the chase. Astana's gamble was paying off, as they no longer rode the front, saving their riders for the work that would come later.

With 50 miles still to go and 9 minutes to bring back on the break of 5, the pace was fast and for some reason overly nervous.  Sure, it was important to be at the front right before the final climb, but until then the back half of the field seemed to be the place to be.  I saw guys bumping into one another and almost crashing left and right as they just managed to keep the bike upright.

The dream state I had been in at the start was now long gone and a state of survival had taken over.  As we neared the climb I was right at the front when the near misses we had been experiencing all day began turning into big crashes.  At that point, I heard a crash happening behind me, and I didn't need to turn and look to know that it was going to be a big one.  I stayed focused on staying at the front as the climb was coming up fast!

We hit the climb fast and furious as Garmin was using up a rider every 200 meters, with each one sprinting up hill until they blew and the next one taking over to do the same thing.  They did their job though, as the break was coming back to us quickly.  I was on the LIMIT and hoping that there was no way we could continue like this when finally the last Garmin rider dropped off the front and the pace eased up just a little.  

When Garmin blew, Alberto put his guys back on the front and showed that he was at least a little interested in winning the Dauphine, despite statements to the press to the contrary.  He had three riders driving the pace hard up the climb.  Attack after attack came and went as Astana just upped the pace a little with each move.  The attacks were having their effect on Astana, though, as they too were quickly losing guys from the front. 

Right at the top of the climb, Alberto himself had to cover an attack in order to keep things from getting too out of control.  Seven riders went over top a few hundred meters in front of us, meaning it was going to be a fast descent as the chase was on to bring it all back together again before the finish.

At that point in the race, Team RadioShack had Jani off the front with one other rider going for the win, while a group of five were chasing them, and what was left of the field were flying down the hill single file just behind.  We were taking each turn at full speed and full risk as splits between the riders started tearing the field apart, only making each rider go faster and faster through the curves in order to stay in contact with the group.

Once again, I heard a rider slide out just behind me, with his bike tearing across the road as he took the turn too fast, making it impossible to make it out upright.  That caused a slight gap to open up in front me as I hesitated just a little, a moment I paid dearly for.  As we hit the final straightaway, the gap was still there in front of me, and I had to throw everything I had into the pedals.  It was just barely enough to close the gap and get me back into the front group. 

With less then 500 meters to go all the groups were back to together to form what was left of the field, and the sprint was on for the win.  At that point, I backed off and let the others have their fun for the day as the odds of me winning the sprint was not likely in this group! 

Back in the bus I found out that the crash before the climb had taken down 20 or so riders, and it was a rough one for Team RadioShack.  We had Haimar, Markel, G4, and Ben all go down it.  Haimar left for the hospital to check on a possible fractured wrist, which was just confirmed, while the others all came out with major road rash.  With Haimar out, it means a loss of some serious power here as well as less help for Lance in the big mountains in the Tour de France – definitely not the day we were hoping for!  Now it's time to get some rest so we can do it all over again tomorrow!

When I got back to the hotel after seeing the course, I normally would have showered and then gone straight to lunch. Today however, we got back around 11:30 am and my start time wasn't until 6:28 pm - which meant that lunch wasn't going to be until 2:30 pm.  This seemed like a small thing at the time, but it would end up being one of many.  Each small change was going to add up and end up having a big impact on my race.

To pass the time between my ride and lunch I watched a DVD in my room.  This also seemed like a small change to my day, because I normally only watch DVD’s when my day is over and its time to wind for the day down and relax – a totally different mental state than trying to prepare for a short, violent prologue effort.  Then, I decided to have lunch about 1:30 pm instead of 2:30 because I was of course starving by that point and couldn’t wait any longer.  The only problem with that change was that I was finished eating almost 5 hours before my start time, which is too long.  I would have to eat something again before the race or start the race on empty – and neither one would be ideal – again, another small change making a big impact on my typical routine.

After lunch I went to my room and took an hour and half nap before it was time to leave for the course.  When I woke up, I grabbed my things, jumped into the team car and headed to the race.  We got to the race 2:15 hours before my start, so I took another 45 min nap in the bus before it was finally time to get ready.  By that point though I was completely out of race mode and was just going through the motions. This feeling might sound a little strange to some to be a little out of it just before a big event starts, but it is quite normal for me to feel this way before a TT since there is so much down time before you actually get to race.  What wasn't normal though was when I started to warm up I didn’t realize that nothing had changed during the warm up, and my head seemed to still be missing.

After riding the home trainer for a half hour it was time to go to the starting ramp.  When I got up to the ramp and clipped into my pedals the official said it was 30 seconds to go. Right then I started to realize something was completely off, because for some reason I thought each rider departed at 2 minute intervals. “Oh no, don't panic it's only a minute sooner,” I thought.  But I knew I desperately needed at least that minute to try to get into my race mode mentally.

When the official said go I left the ramp in body only, as my mind was still trying to catch up.  As they say, the light was on, but no one was home...  The whole race I felt like I was just going through the motions, waiting for my mind to click over to race mode and start really racing hard.  After each turn I would tell myself I needed to turn it on only to find myself holding something back.  Before I knew it the 6.8 kilometers (around four miles) was almost over, and I was at the 500 meters to go sign.  Suddenly, my mind got into the game but with only 500 meters left to the finish there wasn’t much I could do to salvage the day.  First thing I thought when I crossed the line was, “Now I'm ready!”  Definitely a little too late...  But on the up side, Jani had a great ride, finishing third on the day! 

I’m now hoping things are lined up and ready to go, since there’s still seven more days ahead of me which will hopefully go much better than today! 


The hotel was at the bottom of the climb to Avoriaz (of course, that depended on how you looked at it, since we were still 3,000 feet up at that spot), which is one of this year’s Tour de France stages.  In July, we'll be finishing at the top of the climb on Stage 8.  When I arrived, I went straight to work - grabbing my suitcase, heading up to my room, changing into my cycling gear, then heading straight to the mechanic’s truck to grab my new bike and heading out to see the climb. It took a few stops before my bike was adjusted to my liking, but then I was ready to tackle the climb. 

The first thing that I noticed was that the turns in the climb are fairly flat, but that each of the straightaway sections went up hard at a steep grade. Near the top of climb, on the last couple of miles, the turns became sweeping curves and the degree of the road became a little easier to handle. I was thinking that this was definitely going to be a hard stage, but with an easier summit, it looked as though a few riders would finish it off with a sprint between them to decide who would take the stage win.

The views from the climb were spectacular and getting better with each passing mile. I'm sure when I come up the climb again in July I won't have the same time to appreciate the views, but the knowledge learned today will definitely come in handy soon. After reaching the top, I headed back down the climb and straight to the hotel where it was time for a massage, a nap, dinner, and then off to bed to make up for some of the sleep that I lost in the trip over. 

The next day the team packed up and headed to our hotel for the start of the Dauphine. It was only an hour and half ride by bike to the hotel, which was near the boarder of France and Switzerland and right on Lake Geneva, near the town of Thonon. I stopped at the hotel and had a Coke and a snack then continued on my ride for another hour and half. It was such a great day that it made it hard to return to the hotel after only three hours!  There was so much to see that I feel like I could have ridden all day, but with the race starting tomorrow, I had to save some energy for the week to come.

The days of racing up the hard but short climbs this season are over for the next few months. The Giro d’Italia marked the start of the season of the grand Cols, where the climbs take an hour to get over instead of 20 to 30 minutes. This year’s Dauphine has two summit finishes, one of which is the famous Alpe D'Huez. With a prologue and a 30 mile time trial thrown in the mix, this year’s race should look like something resembling a mini Tour de France, at least on paper.   

For me, it’s already been a long season with not much time in between the races to rest and recover.  The up side of my program of races is that I only pick the best races (in my opinion) to ride.  The down side is that they don't leave me any room to use one as training or come into it unfit. After the Tour of California I was very tired and starting to feel the effects of all of the hard racing I had done so far this year. With only about 12 days off between Cali and Dauphine, and some of that spent traveling back home, I'm not exactly sure where my fitness will be for the Dauphine, but, regardless of my form, the racing starts tomorrow!