@TSF Expect the unexpected

@Kurt Yup, allthough he should probably have podiumed. On paper he's better than Petit and Jerome.

@Shonak Nah, can't see it happening. If anyone from RTÉ is in with a shout, it'd be Shane Gibson, methinks.

@Sutty Yeah, they learned their lesson.

This was my second world tour race of the season, and realistically seen, I would need to be really lucky to finish in the Top 10. I was interviewed before the start of the race by Eurosport, which was pretty cool. In the actual race, the highlight of the first half was a minor crash, in which Phil Lavery was also involved, though in the end, everyone could carry on. Then, with 94 km to go, tragedy stuck. In a huge crash, me, Ian Bibby, Boonen, Cancellara and loads more went down. I got up and carried on, but it was hell at the start. I had hit my shoulder hard, and I wasn't sure if it was serious or not, but I carried on. As soon as the real race began, I was way out back, and should probably have quit. But that's not me, I'm not a quitter. And so, as I laboured on in the back, it was up to Shane Gibson to fly our flag. As Vanmarcke took down Stuyven and Rast in the front group, Shane suddenly found himself in a group with Van Avermaet, Roelandts and Debuschere, with only the breakaway between them and the finish line. With 30km to go, the cobbles were over and Shane was in the 8 man frount group, consisting partly of the early break and partly of his earlier group. The group kept splitting up however, and in the end, he had too little energy to keep up with the big guns. In the end he took 8th in a photo finish behind Fabian Cancellara, beating nearly every other pre race favourite. Meanwhile I finished 169th, just under 25 minutes behind Roelandts. I still did better than poor Ian Bibby though, as he was hit worse by the crash and missed the time cut.

After the race the doctors examined the shoulder, and didn't find anything too serious. This was probably bad news, as it meant I was cleared to ride Gent-Wevelgem. So only two days after hitting the deck hard at the E3, me, Sam, Shane, and to everyones suprise also Ian, lined up in Deinze for the cobbled race which probably suited us best. If everything went to plan, we could lead Sam out in the end. That was, if I even held out that long. I had hoped the pain would get less if I slept over it, but in fact it only worsened. I had some extra padding on my shoulder, but it was still hell everytime I rode over even the smalles pothole. I didn't think I'd make it past the first cobbled section. After the Casselberg, I was very far back in the pack. But there was enough time to recover, and so I carried on. At the Kemmelberg, I took it differently and pushed myself to stay at the very front. It worked at the start, but towards the end, the pain took its toll, and I missed the decisive split, alongside Sam and Shane. Completely out of the blue however Fenn, Andrade, Millar and Bibby made the split and had excellent chances if they could keep themselves there. The groups briefly rejoined at the second ascent of the Kemmelberg, but eventually I just couldn't keep up. Everyone gave their best to stay in the front group, which lead to everyone being spent by the time the sprint for catching the breakaway (ultimately fruitless) started. Fenn was our best in 20th, whilst it took me more than 10 minutes more to reach the finish. Still, I was proud to have finished at all more than anything else.

@Sutty Indeed, and it may not be getting better as hoped...

@Hoyle Especially for a monument winner, long seen as the next Sean Kelly.

Today something completely new at this level happened to me. Paddypower listed me as top favourite for today. Just ahead of guys like Tony Gallopin and even our actual leader Sam Bennett. In fairness the profile suited me perfectly, a primarily flat stage spiced up with some cobbles and hills. We said we'd decide on the road who would get priority, and of course motivation was sky-high to prove the bookies right. The more the race progressed, the more it became apparent the shoulder still wasn't up for it. As we passed on to the cobbles, I was dropping further and further behind. The shoulder was killing me. Phil Lavery was staying with me, but I told him to get back up front and ride for Sam. Of course I lost contact with the front group, but even staying with the second group on the road was causing me some serious troubles, more so than it should have for what is only meant to be a sore shoulder. To take the sting from the humiliation of not even staying with the pack, Sam won the stage from a reduced bunch sprint, spoiling the French party, which means I can't be too unhappy. I'm still not sure what's up with my shoulder, other than that it's a lot worse than it should be. I've basically got two options now: Keep on going at least for the Driedaagse, then ride the monuments and hope for the best. Or I skip them, recover at home, and hope I don't lose too much form towards my big targets in May: The Irish Crits Series and the Ràs, all upgraded to .1 for this season. I think I'll have to decide what to do in the morning...