An unusual start

Stage one done. That was a weird way to start the Tour de France. It’s been over forty years since the race wasn’t launched with a prologue. I think it was missed, and that’s not because I can sometimes go fast in them, but because I think it creates a buzz and more of a spectacle. I can understand the desire of the organization to make it a little different though and it did end up getting quite spectacular those last 1.7 km. It’s a pity we needed 195 km beforehand to make it spectacular!

I can’t really remember seeing much. I had decided Cunego was my man. The two of us were moving up, then all hell starting breaking loose and I lost valuable seconds before I realized Cunego was blowing up. Then it became a chase to the line. I thought I was going to get caught in a split but Peirero came round me in the last 50 meters and filled the gap between myself and Friere (my big tip for the win yesterday).

Afterwards, I had a random doping control and on the drive back down the emptying hill, as they were taking the barriers down, I had to ask Prentice if there had been many people watching on the side of the road. I had not seen or heard anything! Proper tunnel vision. Valverde is one hell of a bike rider. Devastating when he is at 100% and he has one of the best teams in the world. So I’m glad they’ll be controlling the race the next couple of days. They know how.

It was a typically nervous TdF day. It’s such a different race to the Giro. The Giro has a fairly stress free peloton and laissez-faire attitude (it’s the pre-post race shenanigans that stress the Giro out). The race orientates around clearly defined moments, normally dictated by terrain (hills), and it’s always the rider’s choice to make it stressful or not. You have options at the Giro.

The Tour is different. There is so much energy present, it buzzes, you can feel it all around you. There is a constant background noise and you know that if you disengage from it for a moment, you can lose everything. This energy depletes as the race goes on, but this first week is electric. T-Bag (Trent Lowe) said after the race that he was already shitting himself in the neutral. It was about as sketchy and nervous as the final of any other bike race, which puts it into perspective.

T-Bag amazes me though. He’s a real climber in stature, but he races at the front of the bunch with the best of the them. Makes me proud he does. I’ll never forget seeing him at Paris-Nice holding his own in one of the most horrific crosswind days I’ve ever experienced. Although he does say that day has scarred him for life. He’s not alone. I think Christian had his most shameful day on a bike that day which he will readily admit. He can tell that story though.

So into stage two. I’m in a good position and now need to protect it till Tuesday where Christian and I shall be cut loose. We’re looking forward to it and it’s going to be a fun day. In the mean time, I shall try and observe odd little goings on to report in my diary entries. I’m very focused this year, so it is a little harder for me to channel it into writing, but I will try my best.

I do have one funny little anecdote though from yesterday:

I found myself next to Robbie McEwen for a minute in the bunch. We exchanged pleasantries and that obviously led to the weather, which was incredibly windy and storm like.

RM: ‘I bet there isn’t one guy racing today who woke up and looked out the window and thought, “YES, YOU BEAUTY!”’
ME: ‘Yep, this is shit…’
We both pause.
RM: laughing ‘Well actually, Jens probably did.’
Then we both start laughing and say at exactly the same time,
RM + ME: ‘YEAH, HE DOES THAT EVERY DAY!’
RM: laughing ‘Animal.’
ME: laughing ‘Freak.’
That had us chuckling for a few more minutes and says so much about the man, the machine that is Jens Voigt.