Wow… that was an interesting week.  I think I was on both ends of the emotional spectrum.  I had a chance to experience the highs of winning a stage, wearing the yellow jersey for two days, and in being in a position to win the race, which is what I was aiming for.  All the way to having an unexpected and unpredicted . . .

The prologue went very well for me.  It was a flat, 3.9km effort.  I held my own.  I was only 3 seconds off the winner.  I was where I needed to be.  The legs felt good, and I was ready to ride hard for 9 more days. 

The second stage ended in a bunch sprint which gave Ina the all time l’Aude stage win record and the leader’s jersey.  It also set up the big showdown between teams for who would be the next to wear it since the team time trial was to come.

And, it went super for us!  We won the stage, upsetting the favorites.  Despite our only practice being a single warm up lap before the race, we managed to use our individual experiences and strengths to flow together.   The sum of our whole was incredible.  We motored to victory.  It was fun to stand as a unit on the podium!  I also enjoyed the chance to represent in the rainbows.  As a side note, I honestly have to say that the team time trials that I have been a part of winning (l’Aude and la Route de France with Flexpoint, and now this time with Nurnberger,) have hurt just as bad, and maybe even more, than the ITT victories I have had. 

In addition to the stage celebration, the win brought us the leader’s jersey.  And since I was the highest placed in GC at that point, I was the recipient.  It felt good to be in yellow again.  It is always an honor.  However, I knew that there were many days of racing left.

The next day, my team was fantastic in controlling the race and the breaks, and we finished with a bunch sprint.  I maintained the yellow by a few seconds. 

And then there was Castelnaudry, day 5/stage 4.  Looking back, that was the day we lost the race.  Again, my team was fantastic in neutralizing the dangerous moves in the early and middle part of the race.  When we hit a short, hard climb, the attacks from Cervelo started.  I controlled both, and over the top, we had a small group of all the GC contenders along with a few others.  (11 total.)  Cervelo used their numbers to be aggressive in the flat after the climb, and they were able to catch Trixie and me sleeping.  We missed the split, and instead of being in the move, we were chasing the move.  Hausler went up the road with her teammate Bruins, Vos, and Cooke.  As they raced away, Trixie and I chased with zero help from the other GC threats.  We were unable to close the gap, and in the end, we lost valuable time, time that we could never get back. 

I was disappointed and feeling a little funky, but I was determined to keep on fighting.  Trixie and I were both still capable.  It would be very difficult because the others were super good, but it was still bike racing, and there is always a chance.

We raced hard the next day in the Amelie les Bains region.  The team was very aggressive and a little bit playful.  (Someone snuck a salami into my back pocket!  I found it about an hour into the race when I reached for a GU.)  And even though, the climbing wasn’t as hard as the GPM description made it seem, it was still hard enough to get a group away in the end.  Again, it was Trixie and I with the Cervelo duo of Hausler and Armstrong.  After a series of attacks and counters, I attacked and took Armstrong with me.  I had orders not to ride with her, so I didn’t, but she was motivated to get away from me, and I followed.  In the end, she won the stage, while I was second.  However, I moved 40 seconds closer to Hausler in GC. 

Osseja was next.   This was one of the days that looked like it had some real climbing on it, so I was excited to see what would happen.  I certainly did not expect what did.  On the first HC climb that started about 11km’s into the race, I split off with Trixie, Armstrong, and Hausler again.  Everything was looking good.  However, a few km’s from the top, I had some unusual issues go on, and I had to let go.  My left quad was not responding.  I tried to stay close, but I could not stay close enough to get back on after the top.  I was in no man’s land, and eventually went back to the chase group.  That was the end of any GC hope that I had.  The good news was that Trixie fought off the two Cerv’s and won the race!!   She was still in a good GC position, and I was certainly ready to do everything I could to help her.

We set things up the next day.  After lots of attacking and pressure, we hit the final 5k climb.   We drilled it.  Then over the top we launched Trixie with Vos and Hausler.  Despite the chase by Armstrong and Bruins, she stayed away.  This was good because it would move her up one spot in the GC.

We had two days left.  Trixie was in second.  Hausler was sitting in the yellow where she was super good, and her team was very strong.  Things would be difficult, but we would still look for opportunities.  Unfortunately, there weren’t any real fireworks.   A break went away on the long downhill after the first climb.  The small group behind didn’t ride hard again until the final climb where again it was their two with Trixie and I.  We ended up riding together to the finish. 

The Limoux stage was extremely uneventful.  I don’t remember the last day EVER being that easy.   There were no changes to any of the jerseys.  Trixie finished the tour in second in the GC and with the mountain jersey.  Both of those are very solid results.

Although it certainly wasn’t what we wanted going in, we raced our bikes, and there will always be seconds with the victories.  We will keep fighting.  For now, my compliments go to Hausler and her team.   They all rode very well and earned their victory. 

I flew home on Monday after the race finished.  I am writing this as I sit in the airport lounge in Washington Dulles a few days later…on my way to Montreal… delayed because of the weather.  The World Cup is tomorrow.  Since my web guy went fishing, literally, this won’t get posted on my website until after.

I’ll write up the world cup next week.  And as always, I am motivated and my “passion bucket” is full.  I am looking forward to this race along with the next big ones to come.

BTW I am twittering if you are interested.  I did not send out invites, but you can find it via my website or twitter.com/amberneben.

Best,