Vande Velde, Martin, Farrar, Castilla y Leon stage 2 The race was really fast. 45 kph average even with the seven climbs in the last 70 km. We thought Pat’s break was gone as it was a very strong group. But the combined efforts of four other teams got them back.

The two important climbs in the last 15 km were set to decide the race. The team worked well to get Ryder and Trent to the front, as position was vital with narrow farm tracks and 15-18% grade. Sure enough, the peleton exploded on the final climb and I actually had a prime view of the action.

There were basically three groups of about 10 separated by 200 meters. Trent was in the front group, Ryder in the second and I was in the third. But Caisse d’Epargne had about four guys in my group, and chased hard till we caught the others.

The plan was to try something in the last 2 km, but the slight descent meant the speed was crazy all the way to the line. The sprint was chaos too as we were going so fast. I was only about three bike lengths behind the winner, but then you see 30th on the results.

Pity we couldn’t have made a difference. But I’m quite happy as the distance felt good and I am more confident that I will be useful to the team at the Classics next week.