Tour of Gizpuzkoa

We had the first stage race of our trip to Basque at the weekend, the tour of Gizpuzkoa. It consisted of a prologue and 3 road races with around 130 starters. We arrived at the prologue venue on the Friday night to find a 2km very tricky course, by very tricky I mean speed bumps, cobbles, kerbs and lots of hay bales. It was a lap round the town and had two 15% climbs in it which would make it more of a challenge. We all warmed up and soon off I went to the start and got the bike check done and waited for the off. The race went well for me except dropping my chain on a rough section but luckily got it back on for the final climb to the finish. I ended up finishing the stage in 3rd spot which was a nice surprise as usually prologues and TT’s are not so good for me.
So the next day I was up for it and it was a hilly road race. On the way to the start we drove the final climb which was 3km with the finish at the top, looked good. We sorted our stuff then headed to the sign on as a team before lining up for the start. It was neutralised for the first decent then the race was on, I soon found myself marked by the other teams which was a problem but the first split of the day happened on the decent which was a first for me. It was nuts, seen two crashes and I was off the road twice more just trying to keep up with the front group round the twisty corners. At the bottom we had a 20man group with about 30 seconds but it was short lived and the race soon came back together. The race continued along and as we approached the final climb I had made it into the front group off about 8 people without the yellow jersey and with a couple of solo attacks up the road. The climb wasn’t too steep so I waited for an attack to come and it was from a lad in a pink team, I followed along with the green jersey and off we went. He paced the whole climb but we couldn’t catch one of the boys who were still up the road and he went on to win the stage by 12 seconds and I finished third spot behind him and the green jersey. This kept me in third overall 10 seconds down. We then went back to our accommodation which was with the other teams and right next to the beach and got some munch before the next day.

The third stage was another road race and just as hilly as the day before but there was also the heat which was going to be a big problem, it was 42 degrees the whole stage! It was the hottest I had ever raced in and it felt like I was in a sauna all day! Lucky for me I don’t mind the heat but it meant drinking about two litres every hour. Stu however hated the heat and therefore decided that since he was suffering so bad he would do the trips to the following car to get water which was quality and we were able to chill out in the bunch. There was a plan for the day and that was to make it to the final day without doing much work and then trying to gain at least 10 seconds on the final climb. The race panned out that there was a split on the main decent and me and Taylor got in it after dodging some hefty crashes and a group formed of about 15 going into the last climb. I attacked early in the climb and caused some damage but the yellow jersey was stuck to my wheel. I attacked a couple more times throughout the climb but couldn’t shift him and over the top we created a group of roughly 7 which worked until the finish which was uphill.  I went early in the sprint but got over taken by the yellow jersey in the last 100m and got 2nd place losing a further 2 seconds. So going into the final day I was 2nd in general classification 12 seconds behind.

The final stage was relatively flat start with one main climb 5km from the finish which we drove it on the way to the start, it looked steep and long enough to get some time. It was a good start to the day as I got to wear the green jersey as I was second in the stage points classification to the yellow which was the first time I had worn a jersey in a stage race which I was pleased about, on the downside I got a puncture on the way to the start which meant a wheel change and a bit of rushing about. Soon enough we were at the start with a plan: this consisted of Stu and Jack covering the early moves and Taylor staying with me all day. I just had to watch the yellow jersey and a couple of other numbers to make sure there were no sly moves up the road and keep hidden and save the legs for the final climb and then go flat out and try and get the 12 seconds needed. The plan worked with Stu getting in the early move of the day which took the pressure of us to chase as we had a man up the road but unfortunately it was eventually brought back. Then 3km from the bottom of the final climb we came out to play, I was sitting about 10th wheel in the bunch and I look across the road to see, Alain, Jack and Taylor lining it out, perfect! I slotted in behind Taylor and off we went ripping it along the coast and lining out the whole bunch. Alain then swung off with jack up next putting in a big turn and then finally Taylor doing his turn as we arrived at the bottom of the climb, spot on. I then attacked right from the bottom with the only one person able to follow, the yellow jersey. I ramped up the pace and started to put some attacks in to try and crack him and get a gap but I couldn’t shake him. I kept on the front with the pace as high as I could in the hope he couldn’t hold the wheel but every time I went he seemed to hold on. As I approached the top of the climb I knew it was getting harder to get the 12 seconds I needed but he was very strong and in the end he held me wheel. As we went over the top it was 5km of downhill to the finish and we had pulled out a lead of 40 seconds to 3rd wheel so it was going to be another sprint for the stage win. As we approached the final km we were keeping an eye on each other then with about 400m to go I went flat out in the hope I could go for longer move but he was much stronger and in the last 50m he came over the top of me to take the win in the stage. So at the end of the stage race I finished 2nd in GC, 2nd in stage points and 3rd in the mountains with the team also taking 2nd spot. So in the end it was a very good stage race for me and some top rides by all the lads to help me get there! Cheers for reading, Grant