The first day was a bit of a shock to the legs, but the second day I started to settle in. I was involved in a small crash early in the second stage but chased back and then went back to the car to feed the team. The TT went fairly well, unfortunately I wasn’t able to use my TT bike because of those pesky UCI folk (it isn’t quite as strict at nationals). And then of course stage 4 was great until about 20 minutes in! I crashed out in one of the larger crashes of the week. I landed on my head and was knocked out for a minute or so and had a minor concussion. Luckily I am pretty much fully recovered at this point and have gotten back on the bike. Up until that day though the trip was awesome! (and even afterwards I made sure I didn’t get too down about it, crashes happen).
For the rest of the trip I helped the team out in anyway I could, mostly accompanying our soigneur until the last day when I was cleared to go in the team car by the medical director. Overall it was a great trip, and although I didn’t get to complete the race this year, I saw my team have a very successful rest of the week with one podium and 2 other top ten finishes. I also am very grateful that I was able to race the whole week last year and then have a chance to return this year, which I know is more than a lot of guys get. That realization definitely helped me cope with crashing out this year. Thanks again for helping me with my trip, it has made the financial side of it much less stressful!