Tim Gudsell

Hi Folks,

Well today what we the riders class as the real Vuelta starts here in Tarragona.  It’s been an interesting start to a Grand Tour to say the least.  Passing all the obstacles on the road and the treacherous conditions have been the biggest task, so I was very happy to arrive here in Spain unscathed after our sweep through Holland and Belgium.

I’ll start with the ugly, STAGE 4!  You may or may not have seen it on TV, though it surely wasn’t for the lighthearted.  It rained consistently for the last 200 of the 225km stage, as we looped around the Cauberg, made famous by the spring classic, the Amstel Gold road race. The carnage started as riders fought for position and soon found themselves sliding on and off the road all over the place.  As we descended toward the finish town of Liege, crashes were taking place on a regular basis; then the first biggy as we raced towards the finish line for the first time before doing a circuit of Saint Nichola.  I was fortunate enough to miss it! but got caught right behind it instead, however the effort to get back on the bunch put me right into the red zone just as we started to climb up to towards Saint Nichola.  Decision taken; time to pull the rip cord and roll quietly into the finish with all the others who were doing the same. However we were soon confronted by a scene of total carnage following a very very ugly crash with 3km to go.  It was not a nice sight, and lets just say everyone was happy to get on the aeroplane that night and forget it even happened.

The Bad.  The continued return of convicted dopers to our sport.  Obviously it is a very hot and touchy subject to talk about, as so many continue to claim innocence even though they’ve been confirmed guilty.  At the start of the Vuelta in Assen it really sparked some fire and anger with me, as I was sitting calmly in the team bus just before getting on the trainer to start my warm up for the prologue.  I looked out the window, to see masses of people crowding around an Astana rider, yes you know who I’m talking about Alexander Vinokourov.  It doesn’t even seem like he left the sport, two years is just not long enough, and I just cannot understand why people don’t ostracise these convicted dopers.  I know it is easy to become a little blase about who to forgive and who not, as there have been so many in this sport over past years, but for these returning riders it just seems too easy.

Ok lets get onto the good! First of all the rest day, what a treat that was after 3 very stressful days in Holland and a transfer to Spain, a sleep in was very welcome. We woke to a typical September Spanish day, warm and a little overcast though when the sun broke though you sure knew about it.  After a light breaky, we rolled out for an 1.5hour ride down the coast to loosen up the legs and try to get rid of  the toxins we had created in our legs from the last stage.  After a small siesta and a massage it was time to just relax, catch up with the girlfriend on the phone before eating again and getting some shut eye in preparation for kicking off again today.

There’s a 99% chance of a bunch sprint again today so we will be doing our best to get Seb Chavenal up there, though I must repeat Sarah’s words and the great result of Hendy two days ago.  It was so awesome to see a Kiwi finally crack a big stage win.

Will drop you all a line again soon, though I would like to say a big thanks to those who have sent emails, txts and comments with well wishes it is much appreciated.  Sorry I haven’t had time to reply personally, I will do my best to reply though maybe with a good result instead……….

And in reply to a question left about how much I drink in a 200km race, it really depends on the course and conditions.  On stage one I didn’t even get through 3 biddons as my hands were glued to my brakes most of the time, though when we hit the mountains here in Spain and the temperature rises into the high 30′s I could easily consume 15 or more biddons.

Thanks for reading,

Tim