I arrived two days before the start to find that management had selected nine riders who showed up for the season’s premiere race (yes, the Tour) with only one minor issue among them. Martijn Maskaant had a “tickle” in his throat and that was it. 48 hours and several doses of Emergen-C later, even that is gone. Thanks to Magnus Backstedt though for whacking his knee cap against the shower door in the bus after the race, our illness/injury count remains at one.

With today’s anticipated chaotic initial stage, I’m extremely pleased and optimistic to report that our guys finished well and with no crashes, something many teams aren’t able to say as they wind up their Tour de France 2008 Stage 1 day. Cross your fingers for us and wish us good luck… one down and 20 to go.