Hard opening races

That was a really hard opening of the season. Full gas from kilometer zero. 40 men away early. Not even time for the obligatory nature break. Five hours with the lower handlebars. At the Vuelta Ciclista de la Region de Murcia there were only a few riders at the end within the time limit. I came in as 26th and really had to go deep. At the Almeria on Sunday it was a little easier. Actually I would have wished it was the other way around. That is, a flatter race to start off with and then the hillier one. But I am actually pretty satisfied with how it went and don’t regret stopping off in Spain on my way to the Algarve.

In the meantime I am in Portugal. We spent seven hours in the team car and will acclimatize ourselves here, before on Wednesday I start my first real form test, complete with time trial. I have already won this stage race, so I have good feelings for this race and the great region.