So first up is the Time Trial, and I have strong hopes for a good ride, my aim is to be first under 23 rider as I'm confident about my abillities, but I know that I'll have to rdie well to get a high place overall. Joe Nally was the first of our guys out of the gate, and he set the best early time two minutes ahead of the previous leader. Nobody was able to beat him, so when I started my ride he was still leading, there were no official time checks, but I had Dan Lloyd in the car behind me and he was giving me unofficial time checks every 10 kilometres, which were useful. I came home in 3rd at the time, but I was beaten by a number of riders, and ended up 11th, which put me 7th Under 23, which I was a bit disappointed with as I think I could of done better. Alex Dowsett won the time trial ahead of Steve Cummings and Stephen Dent, meaning Stephen was the 1st under 23, just 7 seconds ahead of Joe Nally in 4th.

After the disappointment of the time trial, I wanted to make sure I did something as I'm racing on my home roads, with the championships taking part in Keswick, which is just a stones throw away from my home. My family are here to support me, so I wanted to do something. As I knew I wouldn't be likely to get a result if I waited until the end, so i went for the break, and found myself solo, and away alone ahead of the bunch. My gap went out quickly and I started to feel comfortable as I had so many people cheering me on. It was an unbelievable feeling as I never imagined I'd be racing in front of my family so close to my home. I mean it's a shame that the big names like Froome and Wiggins aren't here, but they're focusing on the Tour which starts tomorrow, and I can't wait to watch on TV. When the gap got to 40 MINUTES I knew that I could hold the bunch off, and take just the perfect win in front of my home crowd. The reason I'd be given such a lead was that Sky didn't want to chase as they were afraid of the Yates Brothers, but they didn't have the team mates to chase me down, so nobody chased. As I crossed the line I couldn't help but start to cry, I'd just won the National Championships Solo and In Front of my home crowd, what more can you ask for? I immediately found my parents and they were both in tears, and I was in tears, so then I had to go onto the podium whilst crying. It was just such a surprise and unbelievable win. A Truly Perfect Day!

My first race a National champion was a big target for me, sure I'm disappointed not to race in the UK, but we had some problems with the race entry, so we decided to go to Belgium to race instead.

In the race we put Michael in the break, but we knew that when he hit the climb he could potentially win the race as we expected him to pull out a bit of a gap on us, as the bunch was being controlled by riders who weren't the best climbers. In the finale I managed to get myself 12th in the final sprint, as we fought it out with some of the best young riders in the world. I'm happy with my ride as I did the national champs jersey proud as I showed I can race against the very best.

This is one of my first big Under 23 stage races of the ear, so i wanted to make sure I put in a good ride. I've been given joint team leadership with Stephen Dent for this race, so I'm very happy to be given my chance to show everyone what I can do.

Today is the main mountain stage, so we wanted to try and get off to a good start, this means we decided to put Michael in the break as he's on good form at the minute, so we wanted to make sure we had him up there as he would be strong enough to hold everyone off if he was given the chance. And that turned out to be exactly what happened as the Colombian team decided they didn't want to be the only team chasing, so they let it go and they were caught out by Michael, who ended up gaining just over 10 minutes. Behind my legs gave up on the final climb after I forgot to eat and drink during the stage. Joe Nally rode away with Seb Henao, as he managed to come home for 5th, with Stephen just behind him in 9th. I managed to get home in 15th, meaning a top 10 is still in reach and maybe even a top 5, which I'll try to get tomorrow.

Today we just wanted to control the race, and we managed to achieve that, as we rode hard over the final climb to bring back the break. Michael just had to roll in as he got the GC, as well as the KoM rankings and the Young Rider. For me I was a little bit disappointed as I didn't manage to get into the top 10 overall as I finished 12th, which I guess is good as we won the GC which was the main aim and we got Joe in 4th and Stephen in 6th.

Today was my first big target of the year, as it was the first proper stage race we were doing, and I couldn't wait. This was a big race as it comes just before Avenir so I wanted to try and make a good impression to be in with s hout of team leadership there.

The prologue was all about just not losing time, and I managed to do that coming home 11th just over 10 seconds back behind Will Clarke of Drapac who took the win. Joe Nally came home 2nd just 2 seconds behind and then Richie Allen was our next best rider in 5th. I was happy with my ride as it set me up well for the rest of the race, and my legs felt good.

As I was the leader today i got the guys to control the race until just 2 kilometres the top of the race's second category climb, I knew that it was quite early to go as there was still about 30 kilometres to go, but most of it was uphill, and I knew if it didn't work then I'd have a team mate who could take the win. My favourite tactic is always to attack early and I made sure I used it today. When I attacked the group had shrunk to such a size that hardly any of the leaders had team mates left, and they were afraid to follow me, so I immediately got a gap, as the favourites gambled and waited for their team mates. I kept riding at my tempo and the gap kept going out and out as the other riders looked at Colombia Coldeportes to chase for Duarte, but they refused. By the finish I'd gained 9 minutes on Duarte, with Joe Nally taking a spectacular 3rd just 30 second behind him. What A Strange Day!

Today was a hard day for me, yesterday had tired me quite a lot, and with the time trial being completely flat, I didn't expect a stage win. In the end I managed to limit my losses to a minute as Joe Nally took a stage win to move himself up to second overall. I'm satisfied with my ride as it's not like I've lost to much time, but I hope to train my time trialling to get better when it's a flat course.

Today was a hilly stage, but we knew it wouldn't be to hard. In the final few kilometres we controlled the race and kept everyone in toe until the final kilometre, when we all went for the sprint. I managed to get home in 6th on the same time as the winner Lopez, with Duarte in 3rd, and Ali Lievers our best rider in 4th.

Today we took our time during the stage, and then Ben and Richie tried to go for the sprint, but they just couldn't match Blythe who took a great win. Tomorrow's the final day and I'll of taken my first GC win, which I can't wait to do as it means so much to me.

On the final day Blythe took his second stage win, as I cruised in at the back of the bunch to seal my first stage race win. I think this win, shows I have good form and that I can win Avenir if everything goes right for me.

The last big preparation race before l'Avenir, and its a big one. With four days in the high mountains it's the hardest race we've done this year, and we wanted to make sure we did as well as possible.

The first stage was a flat stage, but as this race was so hard we haven't brought a sprinter, so we didn't get involved with the chasing and Axel Domont of the French National team was able to stay away to the finish, which is a bit annoying as we've lost time before the race has even started, but that's racing and we've got to move on and improve on it.

The second stage meant the first day in the mountains, and I was looking down the startlist before the stage, and I didn't see anyone the stood out as a superb climber, which is a shame as the race is a prestigious race, yet none of the best climbers turned up. It made our life a lot easier however, as we started a hard tempo from the off and by the top of the first category 1 climb, there was only 23 riders left. Then by the top of the second there was just 7 of our guys with all the other riders dropped. On the final climb I went solo and managed to get a gap as the other guys had sacrificed themselves for me, and didn't have anything left. I crossed the line with a huge gap over all my rivals, and with our guys all filling the top 7 on the stage. (just to let you all know the difficulty is on extreme, from now on I'll be selecting the race line ups.)

A 17 minute gap to the first rider not on my own team is ridiculous, especially after only two stages, but I can't do anything about that. Today was another dominant ride for us as we filled all of the top 6 places. On the first big climb we did the same as yesterday and hit them all hard, almost immediately we caught the break and the 6 of us were away. On the final climb myself and Joe rode away from the other 4, and then with 5 kilometres to go I soloed away to take the stage win. I have a very comfortable lead now over everyone, so in the next few days I'm going to see of we can get wins for the other guys as they deserve it after all the work they've put in for me over the past few days.

Today for us was all about recovering as we knew that the break would stay away as their are a lot of teams who want to get something out of this race now as we're pretty much certain to win the GC now. Arnaud Gerard of Bretagne took the win as a break of 5 stayed away by 11 seconds ahead of the sprinters.

Today I managed to help Joe get the stage win, after we used the guys to get us a gap, and then we went away on the final climb to cross the line 1st and 2nd, which I'm very happy about as Joe has worked amazingly hard for me on the past few stages, so it's good to repay him for all his hard work. We extended our lead over everyone as well, so that's a big bonus for us.

The final day was an uphill Time Trial, which should have suited me, but I was very tired after the big effort I've made over the last few days. I came home 5th just 5 seconds back, as Joe took his second stage win in as many days, so I'm very happy for him as it shows he's super strong, and I'm glad to seal another overall win, even if it wasn't in front of the strongest line up.

Today wasn't the best start I could of hoped, I mean I lost 26 seconds to the stage winner, but on the plus side there's still a long way to go in the race, and I can gain this time back. Stephen was our best placed rider in 3rd, which means he could pick up the jersey in the next few days if we ride smartly. The stage was won by Koch of Germany ahead of Dillier of Switzerland, that means that the top two aren't our main rivals for this race, so at least we have the best placed GC contender.

We managed to get Richie up for 4th in the sprint, after we mucked up the lead out as we were unable to properly set him up for the sprint, which shows he has good legs as he came from about 15th to get 4th. Meanwhile we had an easy day in the bunch saving energy for when it mattered.

Jasper Stuyven took over as race leader today after taking his second stage victory in as many days. we tried to lead Richie out but we went to early, and he found himself swamped in the final few metres, meaning he came home in 12th.

Today was a good day for us as Joe moved himself up to 2nd overall, after a day which saw 8 of us get away late to steal a march on the rest of the bunch. We got the gap after Preidler attacked up the final climb, Jasper Stuyven was the first to follow, and myself and Joe bridged after a fast descent. Stuyven won the sprint, but more importantly we gained 20 seconds on our GC rivals like Herrada, meaning I took back the time I lost in the prologue, and Joe took some more time on him.

Today's the first big mountain stage of the race, so we hope the Joe can take the jersey, or if not then I can gain enough time to take it. We weren;t sure how the stage would play out as it was the first race of the year were all the best Under 23 GC riders were here, so we decided to put a guy in the break. In the finale the break stayed away and Harry came home second a minute behind Beltran, who took the GC lead. I managed to stick with the other favourites until the final kilometre when Herrada attacked, and I wasn't able to stay with him.

Now that Harry is our best chance of the GC win, we've put all our resources behind him. Today we wanted to get someone off the front to make the others chase and hopefully isolate Lopez, so i went for it and attacked solo with 60 kilometres of the 70 kilometre stage to go. I was caught on the penultimate climb by the Lopez group, which was then immediately reduced as our guys attacked it, and managed to distance Lopez by a minute by the finish, so we've closed the gap and hopefully in the next few days we can over take him.

Today was the final flat stage of the race, and Caleb Ewan was out to get himself the stage win, which he managed to do. Richie crashed in the final few 100 metres as he was in a good place to go for the stage win.

The final day means our last chance to take the jersey of Beltran, as we started the stage I made a big decision to go in the break and hopefully take the jersey. I knew that this was my only chance of gaining the time, so I took the risk. It was a do or die move for me, I just knew I had to ride for as long and as hard as I could. When we hit the penultimate climb I knew I'd done enough to get the stage, but I thought it would be touch and go whether I got the jersey as the gap was closing and I was beginning to tire. Then as I reached the summit the final climb Dan (Lloyd) in the car told me that I was almost 15 minutes in front of the GC favourites, and that Joe and Herrada had left Beltran behind. On the descent I stayed safe and rode it home for a great win, as I crossed the line I collapsed after the huge effort I'd put in. Then Brad, Stephen and Joe all came in with the next group about 11 minutes back, then Harry came across the line as he'd managed to pull out a gap on the descent which moved him up to 2nd overall with Beltran holding onto 3rd.

Before the race I had a number of managers coming up to me offering me a ride for next year, with a number of WorldTour teams showing an interest, however I am unsure if it is to soon to join the WorldTour, I mean it wouldn't be a leadership role, but there's an offer that would give me a grand tour ride. I think after this race I'm going to have to take some time to think about my decision as it's a big decision as it could make a huge difference in my career.

First up came the time trial, that was a big target for me as it was a nice hill;y course, but I knew my main rival may turn out to be my team mates, as they are both strong against the clock. As I set up I wanted to make sure that I didn't go out to hard and kept a steady tempo throughout. As expected Joe set the best early time, which I knew would stand until I got there at least as the favourites were still to go later on. I was behind Joe at all the time checks, but I pressed hard on the descent and I knew I was closing the gap, but it wasn't quite good enough and I came home second 4 seconds behind him. Then I sat back to see what was going to happen, no riders beat mine or Joe's time, which meant that with only 3 riders to finish. Herrada was the first in and he came home in 3rd, then craddock came home in 4th, and finally Stephen who had lead at the first check, and was second at the second, but as he crossed the line he came home 3rd, giving us a 1-2-3, with myself getting second in my first Worlds, not to bad!

The road race was next and an unusually hilly course meant that we had to keep our wits about us as all the best young climbers were here to try and win the race. From the start we were in control and that proved to be perfect for us. We split the bunch early so that the other riders were isolated, and I was then able to control them. We kept everyone in toe, and then on the final climb I was able to distance Henao to take the win. Ellissonde came home for 3rd with Joe coming home in 4th, after riding hard on the final climb for me. As I crossed the line I couldn't believe I'd done it, I immediately broke down and started crying, luckily my parents were there to see me win, and my dad was in tears, it was a brilliant win, that I could never of imagined taking at the start of the year, but I've proved this year I deserve to be the best, and I wouldn't of done it without my parents.

The first stage was the hardest, and we rode well as a team to keep the race at a high pace up until the final climb, where we were able to keep the favourites in toe. However in the final kilometre I couldn't match Dayer Quintana who took the stage and the jersey, but hopefully tomorrow we can take it back, as we rode all day and then I lost it in the final kilometre.

Today was the final day to take the jersey, and we put everything into it, but we weren't able to quite manage it. I attacked, and Joe attacked, but Colombia were amazing and controlled the race perfectly. Luckily we managed to get the stage win as Alistair timed his sprint perfectly, to make something out of the weekend for us. I've decided not to race in Lombardy as it's been a long and hard season, and I am to tired to race the race in a way that I would want.

Today it was all about just doing the best ride I could, but I wasn't expecting nything. Luckily Alberto managed to put together a solid ride to come home in 8th. The win was taken by Tony Martin who proved his dominance in the time trials. Froome came home 3rd, meaning Alberto would have to gain time on his rival to take the overall win, but we were confident he can do it.

Today we wanted to try and get Peter (Sagan) the stage win, so we controlled the race all day, but come the finale we were all distanced by an attack from Rui Coasta, which saw himself, Froome, Kwiatkowski and Rodriguez pull away from the group, but we were able to limit the loss to 25 seconds, it means that Alberto is now in 5th, just 50 seconds back. Meanwhile I rolled in at a minute, meaning I'm not going to do anything special on the GC, but that's not my aim for this week. I'm here to learn and to work for Alberto.

The first flat stage of the race, and we decided to wait until late on to make our move, but we over estimated the solo break of Pim Ligthart and he was able to hold us off. Behind Ben gave Peter the perfect lead out, but Kittel managed to get past him in the final few metres to take second on the stage, but it shows we're up we just need to launch Peter a little later.

The first mountain stage was an important day for us as it showed us where we were compared to the other GC riders. The stage started with Peter going into the breal, it gave us a freedom to do what we wanted. On the final climb we went to the front and tried to keep a hard tempo, which shrunk the bunch a bit, then Alberto made his move and only Rodriguez and Froome were able to follow, that moved him up to 4th on GC at 41 seconds, but Rodriguez won the stage with Alberto in 3rd.

Today we didn't get the lead out right for Peter, who came home 4th, after Ben went to early and faded meaning Peter had to go early, and was passed by Viviani, Kittel and Demare who took a great stage win.

Kwiatkowski took his second stage win today, as Alberto was able to gain time over Froome, and moving himself up to 3rd, just 31 seconds down, going into the final two difficult days. I worked hard early on to set up Alberto, and I was able to get him in the final selection, which I'm happy with as I did my job properly.

The final road stage, and we knew we had to do something. I went in the break with Peter to try and take the stage win and to get the KoM jersey. I went solo on the final climb and was then caught by Alberto on the descent, who was in a group with Froome, Rodriguez and a couple of our team mates. I fought to stay with them and with 5 kilometres to go Alberto went solo, and started to pull away. By the end he had enough to take the stage and with it the jersey, so we are over the moon with our ride today. I also took the KoM jersey, so I'm very happy as I managed to get myself some success.

Today was the last stage, so we wanted to give it everything to try and get the win. Alberto did a great ride to take the stage, ahead of Chris Frrome, and a great ride by our best Chris, Chris Horner to get 3rd. I managed to get myself 14th, which was enough to take the KoM jersey, and place 11th overall, which I'm happy with as I've beaten some amazing riders like Nairo Quintana, who suffered a lot yesterday.

The first stage was always going to be perhaps the most interesting of the week, so it was my job to get in the early break, and to see what happens. It ended up that I was able to stay away and take the jersey and the stage. The bunch behind saw the large number of riders that were in the break from all the main teams in the bunch, so nobody wanted to chase, that meant we were able to work together to pull out a gap of almost half an hour by the final climb. On the climb Bobby Julich in the car behind me told me to go to the front and to set my own tempo, and by the top I'd puled out a gap over the other riders, I then rode as hard as I could to the finish. As I crossed the line I couldn't quite believe it, my first win and it put me in the perfect place to take the overall win.

Today was a sprint stage, so we took it easy as we didn't have a sprinter as we are here to focus on the overall. Mark Renshaw took the stage, after a great lead out from his team mate Jack Barton, who I'm very happy to see doing so well. Mezgec was second after his Giant team did all the work, to make sure the break didn't stay away. The next few stages are going to be very important for me as I need to make sure I don't lose any time so that I can keep my GC lead.

Today was a key stage for me and I was able to achieve what we set out to do. We worked all day to keep the break together, and we somehow managed to accidentally split the bunch on an early climb, so from then on we were in control as Rodriguez and most of the other main favourites found themselves in the back split, so we pressed hard and managed to keep them there, which meant on the final climb all we had to do was keep Costa in tow, who was the only real favourite in our group. Costa put in an attack with 7 kilometres to go, but we reeled him in and then we got Tommy Lofkvist to counter the move, and he was able to get away and take the stage win, which is a great result for him. I managed to hold onto the wheels of Alberto and Costa, so that meant I extended my lead over everyone as I gained almost 8 minutes on Slagter who's in 2nd place, which gives me a nice buffer over everyone.

Today was another important stage, but as it wasn't a summit finish I was quite confident I could stay in the bunch. We were able to hold the bunch together, and on the final climb we were able to split the group, so there was just the best climbers in the bunch. In the sprint Tommy L managed to take his second stage win in as many days, as I rolled in at the back of the bunch to take even more time on my nearest rivals.

I don't have much to say about today Farrar took the win for Garmin, as we just sat back and relaxed before the important final few days.

Today was the final mountains stage of the race, so i was quite confident I could hold onto the race lead as I had almost 24 minutes on Alberto, who was the best GC favourite. We kept the race together, so when we hit the final climb I knew that I was going to keep the GC lead, so i could afford to ride at my own tempo and not try to match any of the favourites attacks. Alberto went for it early on to try and bridge across to the break, he was able to do so, but by that time Henao was away and he took the stage win. Alberto was able to secure second overall with Tommy Lofkvist taking 3rd, so a great week of racing for us.

With the finishing circuit being very rolling, we always knew that the break was likely to stay away, and so it proved with Piedra of Caja Rural staying away, with Renshaw leading home the bunch to take 2nd on the stage.

Today was an interesting stage for me as it was an uphill prologue time trial, which was very interesting for me as I've never done this type of stage before. Rui Costa took the stage, but I was able to fight my way to second place after a hard day on the bike. I managed to come home just 4 seconds back, this week is going to be very important for me as we've got a young team, our job is to get Tommy L the win and we hope we can do that.

Today wasn't a stage for us, so we just sat back. The break managed to stay away and Nick Nuyens took the win ahead of Adam Hansen, with Cavendish leading the bunch home for 3rd, after another perfect lead out from Jack Barton.

Today was the first difficult stage, and we got through it quite comfortably with Tommy coming home in second just behind Kristoff. Costa lost some time on the final climb, meaning I took over the GC lead, which I wasn't expecting as I'm here to work for Tommy, but its a nice surprise to have the lead.

Another hilly stage and another change in race leader, as I lost 48 seconds after missing the split on a crosswind rampaged run in. Tommy managed to get on the right side of it with Brad, moving himself ever closer to the top of the GC. gerrans won the stage with Tommy second again as Henao took over race leadership.

Roman Bardet took the win today as we weren't able to follow him and team mate Peraud over the top of the final climb. Behind Tommy was able to come home 4th to move up to 1 minute of the new leader of Uran, as we go into tomorrows final time trial, which should decide the race. I did a lot of work on the early climbs o set Tommy up and he did a solid ride as we start to focus on the Giro.

Today Tommy managed to take second on the stage, but it wasn't quite good enough to take the win as he finished 3rd overall, just 30 seconds behind Uran who won ahead of Peraud. I didn't do a good ride losing over a minute to the winner on the day, Tony Martin, but I think that I underestimated the headwind in the final few kilometres. Overall I'm happy with my form coming into the Giro.

I can't believe it! My first Grand Tour stage, and somehow I managed to get myself the overall lead. The team time trial was always going to be a good race for us as we brought a super strong team here with some of our best climbers to back up Tommy, and with Peter and Edvald for the sprints and the more lumpy stages. We rode hard, and at the first time check we were 1 second ahead of BMC, which gave us a boost and in the final few kilometres we pressed on to take the win by 6 seconds. In the final kilometre I found myself at the front as we crossed the line, then Bobby Julich told me I had to go to the podium for the leaders jersey, and I didn't believe him to start with, but he assured me he wasn't joking so I went up and sure enough I had the jersey, which I still can't believe.

Today was another great day for me, as I was in the lead we did a lot of work on the front of the bunch, over the first categorised climb, which was a very brutal steep 5 kilometre climb, we decided that it was time to make sure that our work didn't go for nothing, so we kicked on and split the bunch to pieces. We pressed hard meaning only 20 riders came with us, then on the descent I attacked to mean that Cavendish and Kittel had to use their few team mates to chase, but they decided not to and I was away. I managed to hold them off as the they decided to wait for reinforcements, but a lot of the favourites were caught out by us, so Tommy gained time over everyone but Uran, who managed to follow us. In the sprint Peter was able to get 2nd ahead of Cavendish and Kittel after they tired themselves out driving to try and close the gap to me. That meant I had a 2 and a half minute gap over Sagan in 2nd, with the rest of the team all on the same time. The nearest GC contender is Rigo Uran, who was dropped on the descent with Ivan Basso and he's now over 5 minutes behind me.

Today we put I van in the break to monitor any attacks, and as we thought he would stay away, which he was able to do, but sadly he was able to take my jersey off me, which was a shame, but at least we still have it in the team. Hopefully I could get it back in the next few days, but I'm unsure if that will happen. I was able to hold onto Thomas and the rest of my main team mates, so I'm happy as I didn't lose any time to them.

Today was another hilly stage, and I followed my role again today to the letter. I controlled the break until the final climb where Thomas attacked, and managed to pull away to get a 15 second gap on the rest of the field. Edvald led home the bunch for second, where as I lost a minute, but I finished with Ivan, meaning I didn't get the jersey, and he was able to retain it for another day.

Today was a mixed day for us as Peter took the stage win, after a great team ride. I took back the jersey, but it was because Ivan punctured with 27 kilometres to go and he wasn't able to chase back on, which we're gutted for him as he's such a nice guy, but inside I'm very happy to be back in pink. Joe Nally spent all day in the break, but they were just caught with 200 metres to go, so as Peter went for the win he was forced to pass Joe who if he'd gone just a little earlier would of got a great stage, but there's still time for him to do that.

Michael Matthews took the stage today, after finding himself in a bunch of non sprinters after Samuel Sanchez attacked over the final climb of the day. Tommy managed to follow the attack, and then take yet another second place as he proves himself to be ultra consistent. I managed to come home in the main bunch, just 23 seconds back, keeping my lead on the overall.

Today I lost my jersey to Edvald who put in a stunning ride to put over 6 minutes into Tommy on what proved to be an incredibly difficult cobbled stage. Edvald won solo ahead of Kristoff and Wiggins. It means thet Edvald now has a 6 minute lead over Tommy, with myself in 5th just over 16 minutes back. It means that Thomas in is a very good place as he has 15 minutes on Wiggins and closer to 20 over Uran, as all the GC favourites lost a lot of time, on what proved to be a very important stage for us today.

EgArB wrote:
I like this story. Nice job

We Lost Peter from the race on the rest day, after his crash on the cobbles left him with what turned out to be a broken wrist and arm, so we're very disappointed as he was starting to race very well, and to show that he could fight with Kittel and Cavendish. Today was the first summit finish of the race, and we hoped this would be the first time that Thomas would show the rest that he was the strongest. We put Joe in the break, just so we didn't have to chase behind, we didn't think he'd stay away but he did. Behind we didn't want to chase him down, so we sat back and let the others do the work. Somehow Edvald rode amazingly and managed to hold onto the main bunch of riders, which we were in, until the last kilometre where he was distanced slightly, but still it was an epic ride from him, so we're all very happy here.

Today was the time trial, and I knew I would struggle as I've never been suited to flat time trials, but I was able to limit my losses to 50 seconds as Rohan Dennis took a well deserved stage win, ahead of Malori , with Wiggins in 3rd as he proves to be one of our closest rivals for the GC. Edvald took a second back on Thomas to keep the lead, but we weren't sure how much longer he would keep it, as he's on good form but there are some hard days yet.

Thomas finally managed to get himself a stage win today, after proving his consistency, he took the win. He attacked with 2 kilometres to go on the 3 kilometres ascent, which seemed to be a slightly longer version of the Mur de Huy. Behind Costa got second with Dumoulin taking 3rd. Edvald finished with that group just 13 seconds back.

Geschke took the win after a flat run in until the final 7 kilometre climb, as the break was given a gap that was just to big to close. Thomas was the first rider from the bunch, as he took a minute out of Edvald, who I shepherded all the way to the line as we proved again we are a strong team. With Thomas' consistency it means he's got a big lead in the points jersey, as we enter the final week and a half of racing.

Today we knew that Edvald would lose the jersey, we had a plan and we stuck to it. We used Edvald early and then when he blew Joe dropped back with him to protect him and to see what they could do to limit the time losses. We then used Mick, Ivan, Jakob and Chris up until the final climb, where they all blew and I was left to take up the pace. I did so and when Tommy attacked I eased off to ride at a steadier tempo. Just over the top Uran attacked and took a few other riders with him, distancing Tommy, then on the descent Tommy couldn't get back, but I was able to get myself home for 8th just ahead of Wiggins. That meant I moved up to 3rd as Edvald dropped to second, so I knew I had a realistic chance of getting a top 10 as I had the legs, I just had to be careful as Uran and Peraud were starting to close. The stage was won by Peraud ahead of Uran and Pinot. Overall we were happy with the sage as we followed the plan and it all worked out.

the_hoyle wrote:
Nice start to the story, but no offence, your guy looks very OP and is just looking ridiculous like the Yates Brothers story with the amount of success...

Today was the uphill Time Trial, which looked to be a very hard day, with the last 5 kilometres being on gravel roads. I just wanted to try and do as good a ride as I could manage. Thomas won the stage ahead of Peraud and Uran, but I managed to fight my way to 4th place on the stage, which really surprised me as I wasn't expecting to do so well, but I'm glad as it shows my strength. I managed to hold onto 3rd overall, and I'm closing in on Edvald in 2nd who lost 2 minutes today.

After a hard few days we knew that the break was likely to stay away and so it proved as a break of 7 stayed away with Bert De Backer of Giant taking the win ahead of Kristjan Koren and Vincent Jerome. It was an easy day for us as we cruised in the bunch and just enjoyed the day.

Today was one of the hardest days on a bike for me, I blew on the second climb of the day, and I just didn't have anything to give. I lost so much time it's unbelievable I mean I lost something like 40 minutes to Thomas who did a solid ride to extend his lead. I'm now over 20 minutes behind in the young ider ranking, and there was nothing I could do to get it back now. For me now it's all about breakaways and working for Thomas. I guess the journalists were right when they said I couldn't keep it up as it was just so so so hard today.

The flat time trial today was another hard day for me as I lost more time as Wiggins took the win ahead of Dumoulin and Malori. 2nd place overall is now Uran who lost time to Thomas today, but Wiggins' awesome ride today put him in 8th place. Edvald is still holding on to a top 10 in 10th, but I think he'll lose more time in the next few days.

The flat stage was taken out by a break as Gregory Rast took the stage ahead of Dowsett and Rabottini as we all took an unofficial rest day. The final 4 days are going to be the hardest of the race, but hopefully I could get something out of it after a difficult last day in the mountains.

Today was another tough day in the mountains for me, but it was all worth it. I suffered so much today, but I managed to take the win after I rode hard in the break all day. After I crashed with Cunego on one of the descents, I was worried I'd lost my chance but we got back on and up the final climb I managed to hold off Tommy who gained time on the other favourites, after a fast descent to the final climb. But yeah I'm very happy with the stage win.

Today was another day for the break as De Marchi was rewarded for his constant attacking with a great stage win. I was very tired after yesterday, and I wanted to try and save energy as I have an outside chance of the KoM jersey, if I can get away on the final day, so I'm going to save energy until then. Thomas was able to finish with the favourites as we get ever closer to the end of the race.

Pirazzi took the final big mountains stage, before the final day tomorrow, as the break contested the win for the fourth day in a row. I worked early on for Thomas and then tried to save as much energy as possible as tomorrow has a lot of KoM points on offer so I want to try and get them, as I could get the jersey if I manage it. Thomas was then able to finish with Uran and Pinot to keep his lead on top of the overall, going into the final day, which appears to be a formality with a solid gap of 10 minutes over Uran and 12 minutes over Pinot.

Today was a brutal day with 5 laps of a hard circuit containing a category two climb. I went in the break to pick up the KoM points, and I was able to do that, but I blew with 3 laps to go, and Chris Horner came across to me and then left me. On the last lap Jakob attacked from the group of favourites and went solo to the finish. Uran led home the bunch with Tommy in 3rd to seal a great Giro win. I finished a long way down on the bunch, but I had done enough to take the KoM jersey ahead of Tommy.