A lot of people would assume that being an athlete the hardest thing we do is compete. But the truth is we live for competing and all the things it involves. Training is hard and races are even harder but when you push your body hard and it responds there is no better feeling in the world. On the other hand…when you push and the body doesn’t respond or worse responds negatively, that can be the most frustrating and difficult thing an athlete can face. This past week and a few select days prior I have been feeling super fatigued, a blood test revealed all as being well so I should up here at Haut Var hoping to push through whatever was going on. Instead the opposite happened. I went out and pushed hard today and in return my body decided to make me pay. I spent the day throwing up battling stomach cramps and by kilometer 145 of the race I was dangling off the back of the field.

Seven and a half minutes after the first riders crossed the finish line I came crawling up the last kilometer swerving side to side from lack of food and water. Completely ruined from the days effort. I felt like someone had stripped me of all my energy leaving only a few droplets for me to ration. On a day that saw the majority of the field finish together (an indication that the stage was not the most difficult) I felt like I had just finished a grand tour. The hardest races of my life are never the ones I perform well in.

I am glad that I made the effort to finish (although at dinner I found out that my team doctor isn’t going to let me start tomorrow). Right now the doctor seems to think that I have been suffering from a bacterial infection of the stomach. I will be heading with him to Milan tomorrow to under go tests to get to the bottom of this. It has been a very frustrating last couple of weeks and with things at their worst I am struggling to keep my spirits up. I am just praying that this will come to a quick resolution.

On a more upbeat note Jure finished 10th today and the guys rode well as a team. I wish I could have been there to help them.

Go to the Source – http://www.kielreijnen.missingsaddle.com/

Its been a rough week leading up to Haut Var for me, nothing felt right on and off the bike, it just wasn’t clicking. Chalk it up to a thousand different things, maybe its just something you have to go through when you uproot your life and move to the other side of the world. But enough whining….I’m here, I’m gonna race hard and if that gets me a spot on the podium or last place at least I went out swinging. We are staying in the “hollywood” of France my roommate Ruben’s has told me. Its very beautiful and we have an awesome view of the Mediterranean from our mini apartment (see picture). Upon arriving yesterday the sky had opened up and rain poured down all day and all night. Luckily this morning I had the treat of waking up to perfectly clear skies and an amazing view. Now the sun is settling casting an orange hugh over the coastline. Not a bad life at all…..

Today we rode along the coast and cut inland passing along the local vineyards. It was a rather pleasant ride and a nice opportunity to take in some of the sights I am sure to miss tomorrow when I am hanging on to the peleton for dear life.

Tomorrows stage is a grueling 165km with 4 categorized climbs and a 1.5km uphill kick to the finish it sure to be a selective day.

Go to the Source – http://www.kielreijnen.missingsaddle.com/

With all the recent articles surrounding the Ricco case, Floyd Landis’ allegations and other negative press it is hard not to be discouraged. When I read this quote from Floyd Landis: ”If you want a role model look at your mum and dad and if you have bad parents find someone else. You won’t find it in an athlete” I have to admit I was more than upset. Why can’t athletes be role models?

If you go to your favorite cycling website right now I’m willing to bet that over half the articles are related to somebody who is either returning from a ban, receiving a ban or currently banned, but that is totally skewed, half the peleton isn’t currently involved in a suspension?!?!?! These articles involve a very small percentage of professional cyclists and I want to know why the other 95% don’t get talked about. These articles get replayed so many times its ridiculous its the same story delivered three different ways.

Floyd wasn’t right when he said that athletes are bad role models, but the media seems, for the most part, to give attention to the ones that are. I don’t want to hear about Floyd’s latest rant or Ricco’s second positive, or so and so’s involvement with this or that. There are plenty of athletes out there who aren’t making headlines that are more than worthy role models and I want to read about them. I could fill an entire book with all the inspiring athletes I have met over the years, individuals that I continue to model myself after. The problem isn’t that athletes aren’t capable of being good role models, the problem is that no one is paying attention to the ones that are.

I hope the next in depth cycling story I read is about the sports top domestics or maybe young riders tackling their first grand tour instead of the latest speculations from an Spanish newspaper’s anonymous source. I wouldn’t be in this sport if I didn’t believe that was filled with role models and heros.

Go to the Source – http://www.kielreijnen.missingsaddle.com/

Jelly Belly cyclists describe what they’re wearing during a cold and rainy stage of the 2009 Amgen Tour of California.

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Photos:

Go to the Source – http://www.kielreijnen.missingsaddle.com/

Go to the Source – http://www.kielreijnen.missingsaddle.com/

Sorry about the delay on getting the last write up out, but after the race there is plenty to do. Packing bikes, eating, washing clothes, repacking bags and of course the closing ceremonies, but I am getting ahead of myself, first the final stage.

The last day of this Tour was a particularly brutal one, rolling terrain all day and a a whopping 220km. The plan for the day was to fight for the three remaining bonuses in the hopes that I could move from 4th up to 2nd overall only 2 sec away. Astana having a 19 sec gap to 2nd place was pleased just to let a break roll for the day and soak up the bonuses so if we wanted the race to stay together for the intermediate sprints it was going to be up to us to ride the front. In the first 20km a break of three non-threatening riders managed to escape, shortly after Danny barked orders into our earpieces. “Will and Sean to the front hold the gap at 1 minute and bring it back on the short climb just before the first sprint”. I patted the boys on the back, gave them my bottles and up to work they went. Riding the front of a bike race is not an easy thing and I knew that these two guys would probably ride themselves right out of the race today in an effort to keep me fresh and ready for the sprints. That is a lot to ask but as I said before this is a team sport and their is not a guy out there who wins without the support of his team.

Will and Sean rode the front steadily bringing the break to 1 minute. The first sprint was at 113km and a 3km long rise at the 105km mark seemed like the best place to reabsorb the break without more attacks coming from the field. Like clockwork Will and Sean reeled them in on the rise and over the top everything was together. Now it was up to Brad, Sergio and Bernie to make sure I had lead out to the line. The other teams battling to keep us from jumping over them had their trains ready to go as well. The speed ramped up as we approached 1km to go, I yelled ahead to Bernie to step on the gas. He peeled of a Brad came through putting me on the right wheel. With 200 meters to go I stepped out into the wind and put my head down, it was going to be a super close sprint we were six wide coming to the line all within a wheel length. I pushed as hard as I could and in the end I was 4th to the line. It was heart breaking. Bonuses go three deep, 3 sec of first, 2 sec for second and 1 sec for third, it was a huge effort for everyone on the team and I wasn’t able to seal the deal. The competing teams had send their sprinters to battle me for the bonuses, a move that I hadn’t anticipated. (In other words the GC guys from the other teams knew they would have a tough time beating me in the sprints so rather than risking it they sent the strongest sprinters from their team up to absorb as many of the seconds as they could so that I wouldn’t have a chance at jumping them in the GC. With most of the sprinters minutes down in the GC it essentially nullifies any effects the time bonuses may have had.) A quick reassessment and Danny was on the radio again. “Okay boys, I know we were close on that sprint and the next sprint is only 20km further, Sean and Will use whatever energy you have left to keep the field together until then and we line it up once more.” Everyone took a deep breath and dug in once more. Will and Sean gave the last of their energy to keep the attacks at bay while Sergio, Brad, Bernie and I got ready for another high speed sprint. It was almost the exact same scenario as the first sprint and it was all I had to manage 5th. Again no bonuses. At this point Will was now dropped and slogging along minutes behind the field and Sean was hurting just barely hanging on to the back. It was time to go to plan B. Rather than waste Bernie and Sergio going for the third sprint we decided to save what energy we had left to make the category 2 climb as hard as possible. 220km is a long day in the saddle and with the climb coming so late in the race (190km) there was a chance to break the race apart. We downed as much food and water as we could heading into the climb and when we hit the lower slopes it was all out to the top. The climb was very short and VERY steep. Over the top I looked back, a handful of guys made it over the top together while the field right behind was single file and small gaps were forming. Astana was very quick to respond and before any major damage could be done they had the front under control. Maybe the climb was too short or maybe I just didn’t have enough in the tank that day but either way it looked like it was going to be a bunch kick to the finish. Time to start focusing on Brad. Bernie and I made sure he was topped off with fluids and gels and when we hit the coast with 15km to go we placed our selves in a line near the front waiting for the 3km to go sign to make our move. Down to just three of us it was going to be tough to do a proper lead out but it wasn’t going to stop us from trying. With 3km to go Bernie hit out, myself and Brad on his wheel, with 2km to go Bernie swung off and I dragged Brad the last few meters to third wheel behind Ukraine. With 500meters to go I hit out one last time on the right hand side. With 400 meters to go I swung off, at the same moment a surge from the Japanese team on the left hand side swarmed the field. Brad lost position very quickly without protection, only managing 18th place across the line.

As easy as it is to look at the day and be a bit disappointed, I can’t be. I had a whole team of guys ride their hearts out for me and I know that I gave everything I could in return to try to change the outcome of the race. Simply said: “no excuses we played like champions.” Rather than settling for what we had we made a huge effort to aim higher and the reality is that sometimes it doesn’t always work out. After the race a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders, regardless of what happened it was the end of a very successful season for Team Jelly Belly and we couldn’t be happier about it. I want to thank everyone of my teammates and staff for giving 100% all year. We rode selflessly all year and because of that we won a lot of races. I couldn’t have asked to race with a better group of guys.

Next year is going to be a big change for me, with the recent announcement of my move to Team Type 1 I have a lot to look forward too. Racing in Europe is going to be a serious challenge but after this year I am going into next season with a huge amount of confidence and I owe that the team.

You’ll never be able to guess what we woke up to this morning! Rain, again. This time it was light rain though and the outlook was much better for later in the stage. After a flurry of attacks a break of five went up the road. Unfortunately for us two of the five were a threat to our third place on GC. Again there were three time bonus sprints out on the road and if the two riders we were worried about picked all of them up we were going to have a problem on our hands. We decided to bluff and hope that the break would be reeled back before the final intermediate sprint. It was a gamble, but if we put the whole team on the front then we would have no one left to lead out Brad for the sprint. All we could do was cross our fingers that the threats up the road didn’t win the bonus sprints. The gamble worked out somewhat.

As the peleton rolled its way along small roads the break held steady at 3:30 minutes a reasonable gap to close before the finale. The weather steadily improved as the kilometers ticked off and by kilometer 150 the sun even started to break through the clouds. With 30km of racing left it was time to pick up the pace and reel in the break and set up for the finale. Skil-Shimano, Fly-V, Astana and us all put riders to the front to chase. The gap quickly began to shrink and with 10km left the escapees were re-absorbed. With 2km to go a sharp left hand turn marked our attack. I was on the front of the lead out train and just before the turn Bernie yelled at me to take them up and over. We entered the turn first and exited with all six of us lined out, the field glued on behind. I slowly cranked the speed up to 60km/hr to keep other teams from swarming us. I pulled for about 700 meters until I started to slow, I quickly swung off and Bernie came through with the rest of the boys on his wheel. My job was done so I tucked back into the field and crossed my fingers that Brad would have good legs in the kick.

It turned out he did, coming in second place. It was an awesome team effort and we were all pleased with how the finale played out. Of course a win is always nice but when the team executes a successful lead out it is a good feeling. Coordinating six riders and navigating through a charging peleton of 150 cyclists is not an easy thing to perfect. When things go right it is a huge confidence boost.

The bad news of the day came after the race. It turns out the russian that won the stage was only 9 second behind me on GC. The stage win gave him a 10sec time bonus bumping me to fourth place over all. I am still only 2 second out of 2nd place but now 1 second out of 3rd. Tomorrow there are three more intermediate sprints on the line so we have a shot at gaining some places back but it will be a very tough fight.

The reports are calling for clouds tomorrow and no rain, however a super typhoon (no joke that is what the news called) has been forming over the Philippines and is heading straight for us. If it moves faster than predicted we could be racing underwater. If not the flights could be grounded the following day…either way its not an awesome situation.

With yesterdays stage neutralized and cut short as a result of flash floods on the course the legs were a bit blocked up this morning and waking up to the. continuing hurricane was not a welcoming sight. The rains had persisted all night long and further flooding put today’s stage at risk of being canceled. Let me say that cycling is one of the. hardest sports in the world, not just because of what it demands physically but also because of the terrain and. conditions cyclists are willing to compete in.

At breakfast we got word the part of the days course had actually washed away. and another 10km portion was a meter underwater. The race director and race organizers decided to have us load into. buses, drive past the bad parts of road and see how the roads looked in the second half of the stage. This meant we had to get kitted up and head downstairs at the usal time. Once the race is thrown off it is very hard to convince yourself to stay motivated. The team boarded a bus at 9:30 AM and we shoved off unsure of what awaited us. After an hour of driving up, down, left, right most of us were car sick as well as convinced that there was no way we could race with the roads so bad. The rain came in spurts five minutes of torrential down pour, followed by three minutes of drizzle, followed by four minutes of rain coming in sheets sideways. Finally two hours later at 11:30 the bus came to an abrupt halt on a small twisty road, the rain was just a steady pour at that point. The lead official informed us that the roads were clear from that point on and we would be racing 64km to the original finish line. Plenty of groaning and moaning could be heard from the riders as we piled out of the buses and over to the bikes.

The gun blasted a few minutes later and just like that we were back to racing. Astana was unwilling to let a break slip away and there was very little effort amongst the other teams to force the issue. It seemed that the one intermediate sprint on the road would be up for grabs.

With 5km until the sprint line the field was strung out. I sat about 15th wheel surrounded by my teammates. With 1km to go we took over the front and I had on heck of a lead out from the boys. We still don’t know the result, it was a photo finish for first and second so we will see but wither way I gained a few more bonus seconds and moved a bit closer to 2nd overall. For anyone who doesn’t understand cycling tactics I can’t put enough emphasis on the fact that it is a team sport! Those who win have a full team committed to sacrificing their chances in the race for their team leader after the sprint it was a mere 30km to the finish and the bunch was filled with fresh eager legs. Racing in the rain always adds a bit of danger and increases your chances of hitting the deck, but add to the rain a short race and you can almost guarantee disaster. When the race is short many riders are fresh coming to the finish and everyone thinks they have a shot and winning. When you have 150 guys who are all trying to win the sprint stupid thing happen. Coming into 10km to go the whole team was lined out on the left hand side, still riding blind as the rain relentlessly came down. With 3km to go we started to make our move for the front but we weren’t the only team with that idea and before we could change directions we found ourselves in the left hand gutter banging up against the curb. Bernie tapped the wheel in front of him as we skidded across a gutter and just like that our momentum was gone. Brad and Sergio managed to squeak by to our inside and continue to battle towards the front. Bernie and managed to stay upright but with all of our speed gone it took a while to wind the pedals back up to speed and try to make our way back through the group. Once your momentum is gone that close to the line there is almost nothing you can do to help your sprinter but Bernie and I had to be careful to stay near the front in case the group split and caused a gap in the GC. Sergio continued to bring Brad towards the front but as luck would have it Brad double flatted with just over 1km to go. Just like that our chances in the sprint disappeared. With 500 meters to go Bernie and I had to swing wide as a a huge crash on the left took down Sergio and a handful of other riders. Everyone else made it across the line safely and Sergio will be okay to start tomorrow, but he has some road rash and a few deep cuts, not much fun.

The rain is still coming down outside our window, over three days now without a break…We aren’t sure what the plan is for tomorrow but something tells me we will be out in the rain again. Only two more day remain and honestly I just can’t wait to be done at this point. We are really close to moving up to second overall so I have to stay motivated and concentrated on that but waking up to a hurricane everyday takes a toll.

Today’s stage again was shortened due to the flooding, however we were greeted at the starting line by a light drizzle rather than a torrential down pour. The first attack of the day seemed to satisfy the peleton and almost immediately we sat up. It was a very nervous few minutes for Team Jelly Belly as we were not represented in the break and my GC position was under threat if the break swallowed up all of the time bonuses. Fortunately for us Footon-Servetto felt their third place in GC threatened as well and went to front just it time to swallow up the break before the first intermediate sprint, Astana sensing the danger took over the lead out to the line. Sergio and Bernie where out in the wind just behind Astana protecting me. As we hit the 1km to go banner Sergio came through in a hurry with me glued to his wheel and in one big push took me up to sixth wheel. As we hit 200 meters to the line I came off Sergio’s wheel head down and all out. It was a good enough effort for 2nd place and another 2sec bonus.

Only 20km after the first sprint line came the second. This time however the field had allowed a lone escapee to dangle ahead, so the sprint would be for 2nd. Astana began the lead out and again Bernie and Sergio where there to protect me. This time Sean was in the line up as well but as the field strung out with 1km to go I found myself on the perfect wheel, the yellow jersey, so I told the boys to sit up and I got a free ride to the sprint line. I had enough to finish 2nd in the sprint again (a rather frustrating place if you ask me) for a 1sec bonus. With 80km’s down the teams began thinking about the final sprint which was going to be a rough one. Lots of turns through town opening up to a huge bridge at 3km that went uphill for a km then downhill for a km and exposed to lots of cross winds. It was a battle royal and just to add to the excitement the rain picked up as we swung into town.

The team knew we needed to be very close to the front of the field before turning onto the bridge otherwise cross winds were sure to ruin our chances. We moved hard up the left side coming into the final turn, all six of us in a line. We slotted into 20th wheel or so and hung on for dear life as the winds practically swept us away. Behind the field was exploding into shrapnel we keep pushing up the left hand side as riders peeled off in front of us. It was like dodging bullets (not that I have had the opportunity to do that, but it felt pretty sketchy). Off the bridge and into the final 2km Sergio put me right at the front just as I came through the sprint started coming from the left hand side, I glanced over to see Brad flying by….? I guess he lost my wheel on the bridge and got gapped off. He was able to catch back on the downhill side an wound up on the right hand side. It would be an understatement to call field sprints organized chaos. It is more like a cross between playing soccer on a mine field and trying to run across a busy six lane freeway.

Brad ended up a respectable 5th in the finale not the win we were shooting for but it could have been worse. The other good news is that the field exploded on the bridge into three main groups. Many of my GC rivals missed the split so the gap behind me has opened up a bit taking some of the pressure off. Thanks to the intermediate time bonuses the team helped me pick up during the stage I moved up two places to 3rd overall just 3 sec out of 2nd.

After the stage we booked it to the hotel to fill up on some grub and get out of the rain. Now as I lay here in bed the lightening and thunder have picked up and rain is coming down sideways. I am starting to wonder if tomorrows stage might be changed after all. We will have to wait until tomorrow AM to find out I guess.

Only four days left! Then the off season begins!

A nearby hurricane that has been threatening the cities here on the island of Hainan and has already damaged hundreds of homes and towns, forced stage 4 to be shortened today to 100km. A bit of relief as yesterdays efforts took a bit of a toll. We woke at five this morning to thunder so intense it was shaking the hotel, the lightening seemed like a strobe light even through the heavy curtains. It was enough to makes us nervous. A couple of french presses and a bowl of cereal with water and it was already time to kit up. We stepped outside into a torrential down pour. The starting gun blasted, and the field hesitantly rolled down past the start line in three inches of standing water….

Astana was quick to the front as we blindly rode into what I am sure was the storm. The rain seemed to only come down harder as 20km ticked by. It was roughly the equivalent of putting your spandex, helmet and sunglasses on and putting your face in front of a shower head on full blast. The first intermediate sprint came at the 26km mark, the rain was still so heavy that I never even saw the 1km to go sign, but guys started winding up for the sprint so I started sprinting. Practically by dumb luck I managed to cross the line in second place adding a 2 second time bonus and bumping me into 4th overall. In fact I was so confused about where the sprint line actually was that I only stopped sprinting when I looked back and saw that everyone had sat up 50 meters earlier. Astana continued to drive the pace keeping the attackers at bay and time bonuses up for grabs.

As the field sped towards the second time bonus the sky began to clear and rain finally subsided. An impressive team leadout from Astana saw them grab the second time bonus and still the pace remained high. Tensions remained high in the field and a pile up in the middle of the bunch broke Will’s wheel. Just as he managed to chase back on to the back of the field, I had a rear puncture. Sergio pulled off to the side with me and we waited for the team car to pull up, unfortunately the team car was extremely far back in the caravan as a result of Will’s earlier wheel change. Neil threw a new wheel on my bike and Sergio and I scrambled to chase back to the field. Will had seen us pull over and was waiting just up the rode to help with the chase. After a monster effort all three of us managed to latch ourselves onto the back of the field. It was only a short rest there before we had to start moving up in anticipation of the sprint. 100 km is a short stage and there were a lot of fresh rider still left in the field. Our plan for the sprint was similar to the yesterdays but we didn’t anticipate the finishing roads to be quite so narrow, or for a late crash in the middle of the field to take out Sergio (he has a bruise on his back but other than that he is okay). With 3km to go we surged on the left hand side of the field Will and Bernie taking us up to about tenth wheel. Just as it was my turn to take over the field swelled out to the left and Brad and I were pushed into the bushes. We managed to stay upright but lost all of our moment and Brad was barely able to squeak by to my inside to try and continue. Was at the back of the field at that point trying to get up to speed again but it was too late and Brad was forced to fight out the sprint himself in less than ideal position. It was not the finale we had in mind after tasting victory yesterday but it is impossible to control all the different scenarios.

Tomorrow is another day for the sprinters 130km of mostly flat roads, but you never know what can happen.

I am happy to reprot that stage 3 here at the Tour of Hainan ended in victory for Team Jelly Belly!

The day started with a couple of different goals. First, I was sitting only 1 point out of the kom jersey so we needed to score some hill top points to try and steal the jersey. Second, make sure we had representation in the breakaways. Third, lead out Brad and Sean for the finale.

It was a very nervous start to the stage as the 9km cat. 1 climb began less than a kilometer from the start. Sergio put in the first move once we hit the climb and took four others clear with him. We were happy with that situation but the kom leader decided to bridge to the move a couple minutes later. That was dangerous for me to miss so I had to follow, it took a fair effort but I was able to bridge up to him, and around the next bend the two of us caught Sergio and his breakaway companions. The situation looked good as I now had a teammate to help me battle for points and the kom jersey did not. Only moments later the kom jersey attacked, I followed but couldn’t hang on. Sergio and I set tempo in an effort to reel him back but we were unable to reach him before the top. I still scored points to keep me in the running but the jersey remains were it started the day.

The climb was a huge effort. Sergio and one other sat up (after sacrificing himself in an effort to put me in range of points) while the remaining 4 of us rode on in an effort to stay away. Astana must have sensed the danger because they upped the tempo and the 4 of us were swallowed up 20km later, but not before we scored some time bonuses on the intermediate sprint. I managed 2nd giving me a 2 second bonus to move into 5th or 6th overall for the time being.

The peleton made its way along the river on rolling terrain, as Sergio and I did our best to recover from our early work. A small break of three snuck away and Astana, who was doing the controlling seemed content to let them up the road. The second categorized climb for the day came at 75 km in. A cat. 2, roughly 2km in length. Bernard brought me up to the kom jersey and I glued myself to his wheel as his teammate stepped on the gas. The three of us quickly disappeared up the road away from the chaos of the field. It was going to be a manno y manno sprint for the final point. I waited until the last 50 meters and made my move. It was enough and I took the remaining point (unfortunately the majority of the points were lost up the rode because of the three escapees).

After the second kom thing in the field were pretty boring until we hit the 25km to go sign. Hard rain, which had started sometime after the second climb kept the attackers at bay as we swallowed up the three escapees. As the rain cleared and we came inside 20km to go and the pace picked up quickly, stringing everything out. We amassed towards the back of the field as planned and waited. Our hope was to save energy by sitting at the back of the race instead of fighting for position for the final 20km. It paid off and as we hit the 4km to go sign Will moved to the left side all of us on his wheel. Slowly he ramped up the pace until he was blown, at that point I came through and continued our progress until we were alongside the front of the race. I peeled off and Bernie came through to over take the front of the race, Sergio pulled through after that keeping the pace high coming into the final turn. At 1 km to go Brad and Sean were in perfect position but on their own to fight out the sprint. At 500 meters to go Brad hit out in an attempt to lead out Sean but apparently he went so quickly that a gap opened to the field and he stayed in front of the field all the way across the line!

We were one of the most aggressive teams out there today and although the kom jersey would have been good to snag a stage win is a nice consolation. It was a really solid show casing of team work and it paid off, not to mention Brad had an amazing sprint! Hopefully tomorrow will bring more of the same.