This stage was definitely the hardest and most stressful. The overall General Classification is separated by just seconds so no one in the top ten has room to screw up. There were plenty of times on this last day that I thought it was over for me; first starting with my chain dropping off my cassette and getting stuck in between the drop out and the free hub. At this point I couldn’t even pedal. I immediately dropped out of the main group which was not very many at this point and thankfully my team car just happened to be right there. It was sweet. When something like this happens you’re allowed to hang onto the car so as I was doing this Juan our Spanish Mechanic was risking his fingers to pull this chain out from the other side of my bike. He got it out and Benny my teammate helped me chase back into the main group. The second scare was in the second to last lap of the 10 kilometer finishing circuits that we were flying around. This time a rear wheel broke on me at the worst moment possible. I couldn’t even roll so I had to pull over waiting for the team car to give me a wheel swap. We did it with Craig and Benny strongly bringing me back into the race with only one lap to go. I have to admit I was pretty dam stressed in the last 50 kilometers of this race and just couldn’t wait for it to be over. I was in the top ten of a 2.1 stage race for the first time ever and it was only by seconds. Seconds are not that great of a cushion when you’re racing on dangerous Belgian roads but, Will and I managed to come out on top with Will coming in 6th and I came in 7th.

I’m back in Girona under a blue sky totally relaxing after a nervous week of racing. Next up, on Wednesday, we leave for Portugal for a big 4 day stage race. I guess there are 3 road stages and 1 time trial, so I’m stoked for that day. There’s going to be a lot of climbing and the time trial is long so this suits me very well.

My goal for this race is to keep my good form rolling and do whatever I can for the team. So far it’s been a great start to the year and I believe Team Slipstream has a lot more to come.

Tomorrow we have ASE blood testing (if your curious to learn more about the testing go to our team web sight at www.slipstreamsports.com or hit the link at the bottom left of my home page.) in the morning. After testing,the rest of the day is a rest day so who knows what I’ll do with myself. I wish I had a car so I could go fishing. Ah one of these days. For now its read, read, read and read, play harmonica, read, read, sleep, read, juggle rocks, eat cereal go to bed.

Thanks for supporting and reading. If only I could tell the race exactly the way they are. I guess if I was able to do that for these past Belgian races you guys would all

Steven

This stage was a hair raiser of a stage. It was a 180 kilometer stage out by the coast so there was a lot of wind but not enough to keep the group split up too long. I had to be on guard all day avoiding crashes and making sure to be on the right wheel going into the cross winds. Having two wheels break on me; the first one from a broken spoke and than the second from a piece of Belgian scrap medal that got shot up into my wheel. I new my bad luck had to be over. The race started to look like it was going to come down to a field sprint so we decided Brad Huff was going to be the man for the job. The two last finishing circuits were a total cluster mess because of the small roads. It was really hard to get everyone together to help Huff out so he was pretty much on his own. I saw him shooting all over the road trying to get on the best wheel leading up to the sprint. I would say he did about 8 sprints before the final sprint that landed him a nice 14th place. He is by far the fastest sprinter out there so we just need to work on getting him into a good position for the sprint. Will and I kept the same time overall and we both go into stage three in 6th and 7th place. Today is the last and hardest stage consisting of seven climbs, one with cobble stones know as the Kemmelberg; best known for being in the Gent Wevelgem classic race.

My goal for the day is to keep my 7th overall position by the end of the day going home happy.

Thanks for reading,

Steven

They should have called this race Three Days of Freeze Your Buns Off because stage one of this three day race in the Flemish speaking region of Belgium was everything but pleasant. We started off the 170 kilometer stage in the city of Kortrik. This was really nice because it’s where I spent most of my days when I raced back on the US National team. Before the start of the race I went to get a cup of tea at a shop I used to ride to just about everyday. Lots of memories came into my mind during this stage while racing over ground I had spent 4 years of my life riding and racing on. It was of course pouring cats and dogs at the start so we all made sure to dress extra warm. The extra clothes didn’t help much; I was completely soaked and icy after 5 minutes into the race. I felt like a popsicle. Racing in rain like this is like getting splashed in the face with ice water for 4 hours, not to mention trying to avoid crashes that happen quite often through the slippery turns and roundabouts. Days like this are super dangerous and you have to stay 100% focused the whole time. There were probably 7 cobble sections today hitting the same two every time around. We did a big lap of 70 kilometers, then a smaller lap of 35 kilometers and then another 3 laps of 20 kilometers. We got to see the sprint finish line plenty of times. On the last lap Will and I were feeling pretty good, so we both decided we were going to go for the sprint finish. With 3 kilometers to go we made sure to be in the top 15 riders going into a cross wind before the hill sprint. Riders in front of me were opening gaps here and there so within the 1 kilometer to go I closed maybe 3 gaps keeping Will on my wheel the whole time. With around 350 meters to go it was uphill to the finish which was perfect for me. The sprint started at about 300 meters to go and Will launched across the line in 5th place (I think) and I came in 6th or 7th for the day. Not bad having two guys from the team in the top ten at the start of a stage race. Tomorrow is going to be flat but probably windy since it is out at the coast. My goal for tomorrow is to improve on my overall (G.C) General Classification, take over the young riders Jersey and of course help Will try and get into the top 3 G.C.

I love Belgium for the racing but I sure can’t wait to get back down to the Girona Sunshine. With more from stage 2.

Thanks for reading,

Steven