E3

What a weekend.  I crashed again, which to be honest really pissed me off as I was going well. But you cant do much when you puncture your front wheel coming into a corner. Up until then I had done everything right and I had some really good sensations in my legs. I couldn't believe it coming into the first cobbled section.  I was in the top 5 riders and it was so easy there. The shit fight before it though was unreal, but well worth it!  The 2nd section came and I was again in the front 5 along side the big boys and it really was easy.  In the legs I felt great, but it was in the head that I felt the best.  I mean all I had to do was look at the legends riding beside me. Then after the Eikenberg with 60km to go I crashed and it was race over for me. Sure I wouldn't have done anything special, but I felt I was good enough to at least try make it to the finish with the first group.  Nevermind.

I raced Sunday too, but man alive, it was like these guys hadn't raced the day before. The speed was incredible.  they didn't even have a piss stop, which normally is a sure thing.  I started thinking shit, my legs feel alright, I've recovered well. End of story and I'd rather not go into the details.  Not many finished which made me feel a bit better, but still!

DE PANNE

What a disaster. I went from feeling so good at E3, to not even being able to ride myself out of a wet paper bag here at the first stage of De Panne....and I'm not joking either!  I knew straight from the start that it was going to be a bad day, thank god they rode 3hrs very easy or I'd still be coming.  I finished though, not feeling really bad, but just nothing in the legs.  Right now I am sitting here wondering what the hell has gone wrong, and so is my team director....oops!

Stage 2 was going to be a long 240km. I decided that no matter how I feel, I am going to try to go up the road before the 3 climbs.  I waited till about the 10km mark and then hit out with a group.  We got away and they let us go. We came to the first climb and man did I struggle, but hung in there all the same.  At the top we were joined by a GC rider, which seriously pissed the whole group off as that means we'd be brought back and thats what happened.  I did manage to stay at the front over the cobbled climbs and felt alot better.  After that all I wanted to do was finish feeling well. Thats what happened.  On the finishing circuit it was fast, really fast. These boys really are going good, they should be too as the first big classic is only round the corner.  Once again I'm a passanger in what feels like a lokomotiv.

Stage 3.... wow.  Today was my worst day on a bike.  Not going to go into it, never felt like this before.  its weird.  Very very disappointed.  The name I gave this tour before it was '3 days depression'.  That is exactly how it has been!   Better now than later, I keep telling myself, and that the season is long.

RENNES

Well I never made it here as I woke up the morning after De Panne with a big, very big saddle sore.  Could not sit on the seat.  I went to the doctor, turns out it is an abcess and it has probably poisoned my system.  Maybe a reason why I crept so badly at De Panne?  Who knows.  So now I have got to rest it, wait for it to soften and then they are going to drain it....(nice!)   So now Gent Wevelegem is out, Paris Roubaix and also all of next week. A huge disappointment for me, as I really wanted to ride Paris Roubaix and get all muddy.  My time will come though.  So now I have got to rest it, make sure it totally goes away as they tend to come back if they are not looked after.

I've had it all: been sick, crashed (alot!) and now a dirty old abcess...... Here's hoping its the last of it, so i can get on with getting some results.