A quick post tonight because it’s 21:35 and I need to get serious about recovery.

Today’s first day was a pretty brutal beginning – much longer than in previous years – and has set the stage for the rest of the week, I think. Tomorrow, for example, is shorter, but there is more climbing. Everyday is hard this year.

I felt…dull all day. Definitely not the ‘fresh’ I was hoping for. I think I went too hard on my taper last week, but maybe I’ll experience that magic ‘bounce’ tomorrow. Please!

I also cramped pretty badly on the last climb (as did nearly everyone I talked to, it seems) and got passed by a good number of riders in the last 10 or 15 km. One of them was Mark, who ended up finishing first from the team. Just after this I saw ahead of me a sight I can only describe as ‘unimaginable’. There was Rob, looking pretty grim. I caught him, had a chat, and rode to the finish line with him. We were the 2nd and 3rd to finish from VC.

The official results tell us that we finished 114th and 115th respectively (with Mark coming in at 100) out of nearly 600 starters. Our Team is 31st out of 91 teams. Not a bad beginning, I’d say.

Just a word on the ‘competition’. Unlike the Etape du Tour, there aren’t any fat riders! Trust me, I looked. I suppose it makes sense, given the extreme nature of the event.

I am finding it hard to swallow that we need to do this all over again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day, etc. Get ready for some drama on the blog this week.