Hi all,

Well kicking my own arse to get over yesterdays frustrations, today there was no time even think about it or feel the aches and pains from the spill. As we hit the first of 10 bergs after only 40km, so it was race on from km 0.

These are the climbs made famous by races like Tour of Flanders and Het Volk, 10-20% gradient on cobbles it makes for some exciting viewing for the spectators, but for us its pretty much just chaos. The fight for position starts a long way out and just getting to the foot in a good position is hard work let alone once you’re on the climb.

For me there were just a few too many climbs for my current form. The relentless fighting for position and intensive efforts on the climbs took their toll and I found myself off the back after around 120km. Though I was happy I was not alone, with a big grupetto of over 30 guys.

Hopefully today will be a little more low key, with a very flat parcour before Saturday and Sunday when we hit the Ardennes for more classics style racing.

Thanks for reading, time to chammy up here.

Tim