I won it!!!
Here I am on Stage 6. Before this day, on Stage 2, I had broken away with a former pro and multiple Tour de Korea winner, putting 45 seconds into the entire field. Stage 2 ended with a 20-km bridge that took us out to an island (with a crosswind that beat everyone down) and back to the coast (where it became a tailwind ). But when we approached the finish, they weren't expecting us so soon, and there were cones blocking the sprint. They awarded my breakaway mate the win (he's Korean!) ha ha ha. So he got a 4-second time bonus on me.
So on stage 6, I knew I had to attack. I crested the last mountain with the King of the Mountains and we proceeded to TT it 25 km to the finish. However, 10 km from the finish, I rode him off my wheel and soloed in, moving into the yellow jersey with a 36-second lead.
But the drama didn't end.
On stage 7, the weather changed rapidly, going from cloudy and in the high 40's to freezing temperatures with freezing rain and snow during the course of the stage! I was hypothermic and don't remember anything of the last 20 km of the stage. Luckily, I got great care (and also the next day was a rest day). I struggled some, but I was able to bounce back and defend the jersey until we arrived at the finish here in Seoul on Sunday.
I said it last year, and I'll say it again...10-day stage races are hard. We had a professional nutrionist preparing our food, and I ate like a horse...to the point of discomfort sometimes. But I still lost weight. And you have to be able to manage your emotions well because it's really easy to choke and make mistakes (as I saw some of my competitors do). There's also a degree of luck involved. Most riders had crashes at some point. On stage 1, I was hit in the arm by a flying bike but didn't go down. The arm was sore for a couple days, but I had no other mishaps. In this race, I call that lucky!
This is certainly my best win ever.
Here I am on Stage 6. Before this day, on Stage 2, I had broken away with a former pro and multiple Tour de Korea winner, putting 45 seconds into the entire field. Stage 2 ended with a 20-km bridge that took us out to an island (with a crosswind that beat everyone down) and back to the coast (where it became a tailwind ). But when we approached the finish, they weren't expecting us so soon, and there were cones blocking the sprint. They awarded my breakaway mate the win (he's Korean!) ha ha ha. So he got a 4-second time bonus on me.
So on stage 6, I knew I had to attack. I crested the last mountain with the King of the Mountains and we proceeded to TT it 25 km to the finish. However, 10 km from the finish, I rode him off my wheel and soloed in, moving into the yellow jersey with a 36-second lead.
But the drama didn't end.
On stage 7, the weather changed rapidly, going from cloudy and in the high 40's to freezing temperatures with freezing rain and snow during the course of the stage! I was hypothermic and don't remember anything of the last 20 km of the stage. Luckily, I got great care (and also the next day was a rest day). I struggled some, but I was able to bounce back and defend the jersey until we arrived at the finish here in Seoul on Sunday.
I said it last year, and I'll say it again...10-day stage races are hard. We had a professional nutrionist preparing our food, and I ate like a horse...to the point of discomfort sometimes. But I still lost weight. And you have to be able to manage your emotions well because it's really easy to choke and make mistakes (as I saw some of my competitors do). There's also a degree of luck involved. Most riders had crashes at some point. On stage 1, I was hit in the arm by a flying bike but didn't go down. The arm was sore for a couple days, but I had no other mishaps. In this race, I call that lucky!
This is certainly my best win ever.