| Winning the Giro TT Stage |
| Saturday, 11 July 2009 | |
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WooHoo! How cool was that? I have a great appreciation for where the Giro d'Italia stands amongst the big races in the sport and also with the Italians, so . . .
I certainly enjoyed the podium celebration and the chance to wear the pink jersey, the green jersey, and the purple jersey after winning the Time Trial stage last Sunday. In addition to the whole Giro factor, add in the chance to start and win in Italy as the Campeonesa del Mundo. It was a moment that I will always treasure. So yes, as you can tell, I really enjoy every chance I have to race a TT, especially in the rainbow stripes. There is no extra pressure, only great honor to be one of the few to get to do it. I was certainly motivated to go for the stage. Day 3, stage 2 was the 15km point to point ITT. Before the start, my teammates and I piled into the car to drive it. It would have been nice to ride it completely, but I needed to make sure that at minimum, I saw it. And it was a good thing that I did. The final 3km consisted of 2km's of twisty downhill and then a sharp 180 turn around onto the final 1km climb up to the finish. After seeing it, I let my mind work on a pacing strategy, while I warmed my body up. I rode the first part to get a feel for the wind and how the course rolled early, but I couldn't get a second look at the downhill or climb. I did ok, though. I had a good ride with good rhythm. I rode the downhill conservatively, since I didn't have it memorized, but that was safer than erring on the opposite side. I finished the climb strong and crossed the line as the leader. There were still a handful of strong riders to come, but I managed to hold everyone off. Like I said, WooHoo!!!! I had the chance to pop two champagne corks as the winner of the stage and the new leader of the race. It was fun! It smelled terrible, but it was fun. After the podium, I went to the doping control and then with my team director to drive the next day's climbs. It wasn't the ideal recovery, and maybe it was a mistake, but it was the only chance that I had to see what was coming. After a long day out, it was back to the hotel for dinner and a rub. |
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