Hello everyone!

Yesterday evening I was still thinking about how today’s stage would turn out. And now I know and that part of the day is already history. Actually, things went just as I had hoped. I was still in the race after the mountain, and for the third time during this tour I was able to compete against stiff competition during the final part of the race.

Today was another day with long transfers: 125 km to the starting line, 201 km on the bike and then another 150 km back by bus. So we were on the go the entire day. It was really good to hop on the air-conditioned bus after the stage. There were times today when it felt as if you were being roasted while on the bike. If you kept a bottle on the bike for a bit too long, then it turned into tea water. It was scorching hot today – I drank a total of 10 bottles, which equals five liters.

With temperatures exceeding 40 degrees, the warm-up phase today was of course cancelled. The initial nearly 40 km before the first sprint classification were covered at an average pace of 50. A few riders were still bunched together at the top of the general classification, so they were trying to claim some more bonus seconds. But after the frenzy at the start, no one was in the mood to ride fast. An eight-man group took off without any resistance. Things were kept under control on the 15-km ride up the mountain to the plateau, and most of the peloton was busy looking after their food and water intake. Once we arrived at the top, the race started all over again, even with 140 km left to go. According to the road book, the profile after the mountain as well as  the last mountain classification 30 km before the finish were described as a steady downhill ride. As is so often the case, the reality of the situation was different. After reaching the top, there was indeed a decline for a while, but then there was a countless series of ups and downs and yet another uphill section. On top of that, there was a brisk wind that had a selective effect on the field, shrinking it and even breaking it up in part. Unfortunately there was also another major crash. During the other stages there had also been some pull-outs, but today most of the riders involved in the crash had to retire. Of an original 176 riders, only 139 will be competing tomorrow.

The breakaway group was caught up with 15 km to go, and it naturally looked like we were headed for a mass sprint. But there was to be one final process of elimination. With 8 km to go, there was a sharp, challenging left-hand turn. In the end, there were exactly 60 riders left. As we were covering the final 2 km in town, I noticed that my back tire was unfortunately slowly leaking air. Even though it was a less-than-perfect situation, I still was set on finishing the final part of the race as well as possible. With the support of my teammates, I had already worked hard for more than five hours in order to reach the final stage of the race as fresh as possible, so I didn’t want to simply be pulled out.  Once again, I finished in 11th place, crossing the line with about 3 or 4 bar of air pressure left in the tire. Flat tires are a part of life for cyclists. Of course, it’s more annoying when it happens during the final part of the race, rather than at some other point during the stage.

Tomorrow is already the last day of the tour. With an easy start and finish in San Luis, we’ll be heading more or less in the direction of home on Monday morning. But we won’t be facing winter right away. We’re flying to Madrid and then on to Palma, where we will be staying several days until the Mallorca Challenge. And after that I’ll finally be heading home. But before the return trip begins, at least in the direction of Europe, we first have to cover an up-and-down 167-km course with a sloping home stretch. 

Best wishes,

Grischa