I raced a 2 day race which features 4 stages. A team time trial and then a road race in the afternoon. The following day we rode an individual time trial and then a road race in the afternoon. Both road races were on lumpy courses. Stage 4's road race hurt like crazy and featured a 14% climb and 7% climb. I remember riding in the peleton and seeing 4 laps to go and my brain said "what, I don't think I can face 4 more times up those hills".

Even now 2 days later my legs hurt when I walk down stairs. My shoulder cramped up really bad on both road stages and I kept riding but that caused a searing pain on Monday evening that couldn't be stretched out. I visited Magic Matt (of Team Garmin) who went to work for about an hour on my shoulder and gave me pain killers so its sort of better. But Matt is Magic. He's touched the legs of Dan Martin and Kristian House.

All in all a good race. 2nd in the Team Time Trial, despite our team of six only being able to practise the time trial on the ride out to the start. We averaged 25 mph over as 8 miles, on a windy and rainy course.
I'm pleased I won the sprint on the line in my group which finished 4 minutes down on the leaders.

In the individual I rode hard but not so I couldn't breathe because boy did I need the legs for the road stage.
Stage 4 I stayed with the peloton until 2 laps to go, then I snapped and fell out the back with 10 others. Then really snapped on one to go. Stupidly then I had to ride like crazy into a nasty head wind to stay away from a large group of 20 riders so I could keep my top 30 place in GC. Yeh top 30, that's bad.

Good race and well organised.

Thanks again to Spesh for the TT helmets matching our Black and White team kit.
Big thanks to the team for sending me to the race.