First road stage down and we are leading the team GC. When you consider the quality of teams that we are racing against this week, this is pretty damn cool!

The stage followed the script to the letter. Three Spanish guys escaped and Astana rode tempo, gradually reeling them back. It wasn’t an easy day, mind, with quite a bit of climbing. But the warmth of the sun made it a nice day in the saddle.

Though there was a 1 km cobbled ramp with 2 km to go. I made the error of being a little too far back. The climb was no problem, but under the pressure of Christian and his monumental effort to close down the gap and provide the lead-out for our fast-man Tyler, a few gaps opened up. Jason and I were unable to close after some Spanish dude left a gap and lost nine seconds that we shouldn’t really have lost.

Meanwhile, Tyler was the fastest out of the peloton. He passed three of the eight men in the breakaway, showing he definitely has the speed to be in the mix. Tomorrow’s flat, sprinters’ stage should be ideal for him. I just hope the sun is here to stay.