I think I spelled it right this time;)  The Bira stage race took place last week in the Basque region of Spain.  Bilbao was the biggest town in the area, and I think one of the few that didn’t have an “X” in it.  (I am not very familiar with the Basque language, but I think there are as many “x’s” used as there are climbs!)

What a beautiful area, and what great terrain for bike racing!  We had a good mix of everything within the 4 days of racing, including short climbs, flat, and even a long climb. Although my Flexpoint team has raced here many times, I was making my first visit… and it went fairly well.

The first stage had a Cat 2 climb and finished with a Cat 3.  It actually turned out to be a bit of a strange race.  Hausler from Nurnberger went hard on the Cat 2 climb and created a small selection.  I followed stuff over the top, when the sprint for the QOM happened.  On the way down, a few more people rejoined.  I think we had 12 or 14 riders at that point, and there were still about 20km’s of riding to the finish.  With most of the riders having a teammate in the mix, there were attacks and counters, but it was really strange when Vos and Keller were allowed to just roll of the front.  I thought for sure that Nurnberger, represented by 3 riders, would do something to bring that back, but they didn’t.  Those two stayed away, and the group went to the final climb together.  I paid the price for riding too much in between, but I wasn’t willing to just let the race go up the road. 

The second day looked like it was going to be a flatter stage, but it turned out to be up and down all day, typical of the region.  My teammate, Mirjam, attacked about 30km into the race and proceeded to stay away solo for about an hour.  Meanwhile, Iris, Jacobien, Saskia and I tried to protect her from behind.  Although she was riding like a motorbike, it was just too long and far for her to make it alone to the finish.  Everything was back together when the next move came within the final 10km.  A group of 4 split off and stayed away to the finish. 

The third day was a double day.  We had a 13.5km time trial in the morning and a relatively flat stage in the afternoon.  The TT went well for me.  I had some digestive issues the day before, but thankfully, I was starting to feel better.  Anyway, I had a solid ride, and if I had stayed on the pavement and avoided the dirt and weeds in one of the early corners, I would have been on the podium.  That’s ok, though.  No excuses.  That’s bike racing.  Vos won the stage, and I think she convinced her national federation that she was worthy of a TT spot at the Olympics.  The rest of the top 5 included the reigning TT world champion Hanka, Mirjam, Trixie, and me.  The afternoon stage was fast.  Iris and Jacobien tried to get in a break, but DSB kept everything under control, and the race finished with a bunch sprint.

The last day was fast and aggressive from the gun.  We started with a downhill and then rode along the coast before climbing up a Cat 3 and re-entering the start town.  The first major obstacle of the day, a 10km climb, started there.  Before this, though, Iris was all over the front again, while Mir and I saved our legs for the climb.  Basically, the group was together when we started the Cat 1 climb.  Shortly into it, though, the fireworks started.  Luperini instigated the action, and eventually, it was just Hausler, Vos, Guderzo, Worrack, and I that were with her.  Over the QOM, there was a small split with myself, Luperini and Vos, but the others were quick to come back.  The 6 of us rode hard together for 30km’s downhill back to the finish.  At one point, we had 2min, but at the finish the charging chase group was only 35 seconds back.  Vos won the sprint for the stage.

I finished 4th in the overall.  It was a good, hard week of racing and training for me.  Considering how I felt in the second stage, I was happy with how things finished out.  I also felt like the race provided a solid start to my build up for the next part of the season. 

To follow up with my last post, we actually stayed in a small bed and breakfast on the top of a little hill.  We were completely isolated, but we had a very nice set up.  The family running the restaurant and the B&B was very friendly, and the food was great.  It was also fun to be in the local hangout while all the regulars watched and cheered for Spain in the Eurocup!  (Almost as fun as watching the Netherlands beat France a few nights later with my own Dutch teammates.)

I flew home after the race, and I am getting ready for the Giro d’Italia.  It starts on July 5th.