SSTraining_FrischkornAction Wow… After some solid time in suspense, I’ve just recently learned that my name is on the Garmin-Chipotle roster for the Tour. Talk about exciting… and a bit overwhelming at the same time! The Tour is what every cyclist dreams of when starting out and to be there is a pretty wild feeling. Now to get ready…

The next week of prep, while as relaxing as it can be, is still a bit crazy. With the rebranding process of the team on top of normal tour prep there is a LOT to be done. Fortunately, most of that falls on the staff. And we’re lucky to have an amazing crew. As far as training goes, it’s more quality than quantity. It’s all about just touching up little areas than need attention and freshening up for the HUGE block of workload that lies ahead.

The Tour will be my first three-week race, and having not done anything longer than twelve days in the past, it’ll undoubtedly be an adventure. I’m there primarily to hunt breakaways and help out the protected riders on any given day with anything they might need. Then hopefully there’s Paris and all the experiences and changes to your body that a three-week tour bring. After that, it’s time to celebrate and take a little vacation!

Now the big question is: What to bring? Other than the obvious and a few comfortable things to chill in while on the road, hmmm…All of the new clothing is arriving last minute, by hand, to Brest on the day before the race. No need to pack anything there… I think a few jars of good peanut butter, a couple bags of good coffee - along with my hand-crank travel grinder, press, and mug - a few books, and the massive collection of electronic goodies and their equally impressive tangle of power cords should pretty much fill up the rest of the suitcase.

Now a week - not even that before we head north! - left to freshen up and get ready to rock. Amazing how fast it’s coming…