I woke up with an instant check to the flexibility of my knee...nothing ...nothing atall. Perhaps I was imagining it yesterday when so much was at stake. My achilles tendon however was definitely hurting like hell. Doctor Steve, the tour medic (who was already being nicknamed Doctor Death Wish on account of his colour blindness with traffic lights), gave me an anti-inflammatory spray and a pill and said to take it easy.
This was not a day to be taking it easy though... one of the longest stages with our first major category climbs. After a lovely spin through Brussels, which that early on a Sunday morning was totally empty, we headed out into the Belgian countryside. The weather was still pretty miserable with on/off drizzle.
As the day progressed the undulating countryside peaked and troughed in increasing intensity. I did what I usually did and started way too quickly. The ‘young pups’ as they were known, four very fit friends all about 27 years old, had decided to lead off at quite a pace after the first drink stop, and I tagged along with them. Big error and i paid for it later...the last few hills were 7-10% gradients and went on and on.
One hill however was in parts a 22% gradient and led up to a tribute to the Belgian Eddie Merczkx. Still alive today he is one of the worlds cycling greats. This particular hill was where he used to ‘attack’ the other riders.... it seemed to work...he won the Tour de France 5 times!
One more brutal climb later we arrived to a very comfortable and modern eco-friendly hotel before it got too dark....it had been by far one of my longest days in the saddle!
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