So after yesterday's success we wanted to keep me in the lead, as well as the other jerseys, so we decided to send Rohan into the break, so he could go for the KoM and Points jerseys that he was leading. The points jersey here is a very strange affair, as the jersey is decided by intermediate sprints, so that makes it a very interesting prize. In the bunch we sat up and the gap opened to the break, which we weren't worried about as Rohan was the best placed rider on GC at just over 4 minutes. With 100 kilomeres to go we decided the gap was getting a little big, so we sent Simon to the front to monitor the tempo and to close the gap a little. Then coming onto the final climb we rode hard to keep the group together, and in the final kilometre the break were just ahead of us, so I pressed on to try and get a gap, but it didn't work out. Meanwhile in the break Trofimov took the stage, as Rohan did all the work on the final climb, but I'm happy as i kept the jersey, which was my main aim.





Today I knew I just had to follow Valverde and then see what happened at the end, but of course I didn't stick to that. At the start we got Rohan in the break, which allowed him to win the points and KoM jersey, which is a great result for him as he deserves it. Then we caught them on the final climb, so I followed Valverde and then with 3 kilometres to go tried to get away, but he reeled me in i the last kilometre and just got round me before the finish, but I was happy as I'd kept the lead by 17 seconds to Valverde, and the team had shown we were super strong. I'd also just like to mention the fact that the development team managed to get Tom Humphrys into 7th on GC, which is an outstanding performance as this was an incredibly hard race, and it just shows how talented they all are.

1	Alejandro Valverde	Movistar Team	4h47'59
2	Adam Yates	McLaren Honda	+ 8
3	Rigoberto Urán	Omega Pharma - Quick·Step Cycling Team	+ 37
4	Fabio Duarte	MTN - Qhubeka	+ 51
5	Dayer Quintana	Movistar Team	+ 1'38
6	Joseph Dombrowski	Team Sky	+ 1'54
7	Tom Humphrys	McLaren Honda Development Team	s.t.
8	Peter Kennaugh	McLaren Honda	+ 2'14
9	Mikel Nieve	McLaren Honda	s.t.
10	Teo Geoghegan Hart	McLaren Honda	s.t.

Dippofix wrote:
Also nice to see no one froze to death or got hit by a snowplow, riding in the alps in February.

So today I knew would be a hard day as it's always hard to start a race with a mountains stage let alone a mountain time trial. From the start I knew I would have to ride hard as I'm here to win the GC, so today would provide a good test of who would be up there on the GC at the end of the race. Diego Ullisi set the best early time of the day with a 47'08". However Carter Jones came home just ahead of him, so I thought that time would stand for a while. Then Geraint came home and beat the time by over a minute, which I was completely shocked by as I didn't expect Geraint to beat Carter by that much, but it just shows his form at the minute. Then Nico came home just 30 seconds behind G. Then Tony came home 5 seconds behind that. Then Kwiatkowski and Majka both came home over a minute back, which really suprised me as I thought they'd be closer to G. Then Teo came home just 9 seconds ahead of G, which showed that Teo is climbing better than ever, and I can't wait for the Tour as we've shown today I have the best domestiques in the world, and when July comes we'll be a force to be reckoned with. However when I started my ride I didn't feel very good, and I went to hard to try to compensate, that meant that I came home 54 seconds back on Teo.



Mark Cavendish won today's first sprint stage ahead of Nacer Bouhanni and Heinrich Haussler, after a perfectly timed sprint from another perfect leadout provided by his Omega Pharma team, with Mark Renshaw and Tom Boonen making it an easy win for Cavendish as he only had to stretch his legs for a brief second before having time to perfect his victory celebration. The day started with an early breakaway of 3 riders who fought it out for the KoM points, with Taylor Phinney taking the jersey with 20 points. The GC however remained the same with Teo Geoghegen Hart at the top of the rankings, with a 50 second buffer over the first non team mate of Thomas Lofkvist.

Today was a hard day for me as I've felt a little under the weather recently, and to start with on the stage I thought I might have to pull out as I didn't feel good, so we decided to put Linus and Nico in the break, to cover it for me. We wanted to try and keep Teo the jersey, but we knew it would be hard. Then on the final climb I started to feel better, and was able to follow the attacks, but I knew if I tried to attack I'd get blown away by the others, so I just sat on and followed, behind G was the next of our guys, but we lost the jersey by 1 second to Valverde, with me moving up to second, which i was happy with as I rode hard and when I wasn't feeling so good, I couldn't of asked for much more.



Today I felt better than yesterday, and I was hoping to try and maybe pick up some bonus seconds to get ahead of Valverde, but the break went early and we didn't want to chase it as it would show Valverde what we were up to, so I sat in the bunch, then in the finale I just followed him and tried to stay as close as possible. I didn't even see Kreuziger and Sagan riding away for the win, but I'm happy for Sagan as he has been unlucky recently and Tinkoff has been pretty criticising of him, which is a bit unfair. So I crossed the line on Valverdes wheel meaning the time gaps stayed exactly the same.

Today the main aim was to keep Simon in the KoM jersey, and then to see how Ben did in the finale. We managed to put Simon in the break, which was good as it meant we could save ourselves. Tomorrow is a key stage for me, and I know that I need to make it as good a ride as possible as the race is so close between the top 3 riders, with only 21 seconds separating us. I mean I'm happy the place I'm in as I'm feeling better everyday so tomorrow I should be back to my best, and wearing the World Chmpion jersey should help me to drive forward, and hopefully I can get the stage and the GC. Meanwhile in the final Sagan produced another great sprint to take the win with Swifty in 4th, but we are in a good place for San remo as we have him and Simon that can go for the win, so we're in a good place.



Before the stage today I was as nervous as I've ever been before a race, I knew that I had to do one of my best time trial to win, and I just managed to get past Valverde, with him finishing 10 seconds behind me meaning I took the GC by 9 seconds. I set off riding as hard as I could as I knew that 12 kilometres wasn't much to gain that amount of time, I had Ivan in the car giving me all the time splits, and at the intermediate split I was 3 seconds ahead of Valverde, so I made sure to press on as much as possible and when I crossed the line I collapsed off my bike as I had given it everything. I then watched as I saw my time pass by before Valverde got to the line and I couldn't believe that I'd managed to win the race, after the start that I'd had losing 54 seconds to Teo in the first time trial.

The start of the race was very hard as their was a lot of riders wanting to get in the break, it meant that the break didn't go until 160 kilometres to go, so that was 100 kilometres just attacking constantly. We managed to get Danny [Oss] in the break, which meant we didn't have to chase saving energy for later in the race. As we started to ride over the capo berta, there was an attack from Taylor Phinney so I followed it, but he eased off and we were caught quickly. Then over the Cipressa we rode as hard as we could and we smashed the group to pieces, that meant there was only 50 riders left in the bunch, then on the Poggio we went even harder and managed to shrink the group to 30 riders, as well as catching the break. From then on we were in control and we marked the attack of Kwiatkowski with 2 kilometres to go. Swifty then gave me the perfect lead out for the win, as Cavendish had lost to much ground on the climb to get to the front, so he came home 15th. The team did a great ride today and I'm so happy to take my foirst monument win and hopefully it won't be my last of the year.

Today is going to be my first big test of the season, as ll the big names are here and are here to win, so that'll make it hard as I know that I have to make sure that I don't get dropped. My team for this race isn't as strong as at Tirreno, but I've got Pete here who is riding well after his 2nd overall at Paris Nice to Froomey. We started the day by putting the Prancing Horse (Tony Gallopin) in the break as he's climbing well and he's such a strong rider. On the final climb we caught the break, but nobody attacked as we set a fast tempo, the climb wasn't long enough to attack it hard enough really, but in the final kilometre the road flattened out, and I was able to sprint past Froomey for the win. Today showed that our team is strong no matter what the team as Mick and Brice were able to hold a high pace until the final kilometre, and Igor was killing it at the foot of the climb, so it was great to see how strong our team is.

Seen as Tony wanted to defend his KoM lead it meant he had to go in the break, that wasn't a great thing as it meant we didn't have a proper leadout man for Thor in the finish, although we weren't expecting a win as Thor admitted himself he's not the best bunch sprinter any more, although he is on decent form at the moment, which of course will be his last year as a Pro, before joining the team as a manager next year, so we're happy to keep hold of him as he's one of the nicest guys you can meet. Anyway Tony managed to pick up the KoM points so we were happy as that was his target, so he just sat on the break from then on. In the finale we had nothing we could do and Kittel took a close victory from cav, with Thor back in 9th although we didn't get the lead out right, but there's nothing we could do about that and it wouldn't of mattered as Thor told us afterwards he had a flat tyre, so he wqsn't able to go flat out (Literally)





Today was a brutal day on the bike, come the end I had nothing left. On the final climb I was able to respond to the attack of Froomey, but when Quintana went I just couldn't follow. Luckily I was able to get second on the stage meaning I stayed ahead of the rest, but today was one of the hardest stages I've ridden. The guys set me up perfectly after killing the race over the climbs, meaning I didn't really have to attack, but I let them down and I feel terrible for it as they rode like 50 men today. Tony went in the break so he's still got the KoM jersey and the Points, but yeah I'm gutted.





We managed to get Tony in the break yet again, so he had an almost unassailable lead in the KoM. Then a break went away over the HC climb, which was pretty much just a split at the front, although no favourites went with it. We managed to get Brice and Igor across to the group, they then linked up with the break. On the final climb Quintana and Froomey attacked with Kelderman going with them, however we were able to catch up with them on the descent but in the sprint I had nothing left. I mean Tony almost beat Wilco but the line came to early for him. It meant I didn't lose any time, but I didn't gain any which was a shame for me as I wanted o get the jersey back.



Today we started to let the breakl get a big gap, so that it would stay away. I mean in the finish Ivan told us that Jan Bakelants had took the stage, but to be honest we didn't care as we wanted to save energy as tomorrow is going to be another hard day.



Today I didn't feel to good, we didn't put anyone in the break as we wanted to save energy for the final climb, but then when Froome and Quintana attacked I had nothing to follow them so I just had to limit my losses, but to be honest I'm happy to get 3rd as it shows my form is coming along nicely. Next for me is the Tour of the Basque, which will be another hard week of racing, so I'm looking forward to it as I think I can do well, especially as we are slowly getting closer to the Tour De France.

Today we went in with I think what could be described as a crazy plan, to split the race over the first sets of cobbles so that the other favourites had no team mates. And surprisingly it worked we eliminated a lot of the favourites, meaning that with 100 kilometres to go we had a full set of 8 guys with Cancellara and Vanmarcke. Although we knew it would be hard to beat them in the finale we wanted to see if we could blow them before the end of the race, so we drove on hard to keep Boonen and OPQS behind us who had use riders early to chase a break of 20 riders. The first time up the Kwaremont Ian just rode away from us, so we sat up and Cancellara and Vanmarcke just let him go. That meant that Degenkolb and Boasson hagen came back up to us, but we weren't to fussed as we knew we could get rid of them if we wanted to. By this time it was just me, G and Thor behind Ian, but that was more than the other favourites so we were happy with it. Then with 15 kilometres o go Cancelara attacked on the final time up the Kwaremont, and only myself and Vanmarcke could follow him. Then up the Paterberg I made my move and bridged almost instantly to Ian who was starting to suffer, then Vanmarcke came across with 3 kilometres to go, but I knew I had it as my legs felt good and I was a much better sprinter than Sep. In the final kilometre Ian went max effort and I came around him with 200 metres to go to get the win. Another monument ticked off the list.

Simon Yates is out of Roubaix, the day after he won in Flanders, Yates has announced his decision to withdraw from the cobbled classic that takes place next Sunday. Ivan Basso told reporters today, "We've decided that it will be best for Yates to skip Roubaix this year as we want to keep him fresh for the Ardennes Classics, he's shown he's in great form, but he's starting to get a bit of a cold, so we wanted to make sure he is well for the Ardennes as they are the big goal for us this year. Luckily we'll still have Geraint for the race so it's not like we don't have a leader now, Simon will of course be replaced with Matt Hayman, who's in great form coming into the race, so I'm sure he'll make a good thing of being in the team." Simon Yates then came out to tell reporters, "Sure, I'm disappointed that I'm not racing Roubaix, but the season I've had so far is my best ever and I don't want to ruin it getting a chest infection from a small cold." This means that Yates' next race will be Amstel, Fleche and Liege.

It's strange to be at a race and not to be the leader, but that's what I'm here for this week. The leader for us today is Ben Swifty and Pete Kennaugh, so I'm looking forward to riding as a teammate and repaying my team mates for the work they've done me over the first races of the season. The plan was to put Arry (Arashiro) on the front, so that we could save legs for the finale, as the route for this race is so difficult we knew that it would be a tough day in the saddle. We decided we wanted to try and keep the pace at the front very high on the climbs to limit attacks, as we had the two best hill sprinters in Swifty and Tony who is going well at the minute, which puts us in a good place. In fact the main favourite for the stage was Tony, but our leader for the race is Ben so that's who we're riding for, but we've said to Tony and Pete they can ride for themselves. Over the first climb I attacked so that the other teams had to chase and work to catch me giving Ben and Tony a free ride, but if they didn't then I would get the stage and the jersey.

However one the descent of the Alto de Agina I crashed, and as soon as I went to get up I knew something wasn't right. I then realised immediately what had happened, I'd broken my collarbone. The race doctor was there immediately and although I couldn't speak Spanish I knew by the negative look on the face of my DS for the day, David Millar that it wasn't good. Then the ambulance came and David told me that they were going to take me to the hospital for an x-ray. He passed me my kit bag and phone, then they loaded me into the Ambulance and I was off the race. That was the end of my Tour of the Basque Country.

As I headed to the hospital I decided to phone my girlfriend, Elinor Barker, but as soon as she picked up the phone I couldn't say anything but cry down the phone, I knew that this would effect my Tour preparation and I was gutted.

She reassured me and told me she was on her way to the hospital, she was great getting an overnight flight to be with me for the x-ray the next day, which made me feel a lot better seeing a familiar face that wasn't from my own team. The doctor told me I'd broken my collarbone in 2 places, and that i would need surgery when I got home to Manchester.

I was then told I was booked on a plane for the next day. The speed of it all made my head spin, and I know I couldn't of made sense of it all without Elinor.

So yeah I had the operation yesterday and now I'm sat in a hospital bed writing to you all with my arm in a sling, and my parents sat beside me. Simon came to see me yesterday and he told me that it was just as well I crashed as the next day it was raining, so trust him to make fun of the situation.

He told me he'd seen the crash and that it was pretty spectacular, he told me that once I'd hit the ground I skidded for a few metres, before impacting with a tree at the side of the road. that made me and Elinor both wince, but Simon was smiling, I'm not sure to be worried about that or not, but I guess that's brothers for you.

I'm hoping to get out of hospital tomorrow, although Elinor told me she heard a nurse say I'd have to stay in for another few days to make sure the operation was successful. I don't think I can take it though as I don't like hospitals as it's full of people who are a lot less fit and healthy than I am.

Tomorrow Elinor has to go as she's racing in Belgium, but Simon told me he'd come to chat with me, Lucky me! but I'm looking forward to that as I need someone to cheer me up. This of course means I'll miss the Ardennes Classics and probably, California.

The team set me up prefectley today and I couldn't of asked for anything else, they controlled the race until the final climb, where I made my move and I was able to get a big enough gap to get the win. I'm over the moon to link this win up with my win a few years ago. I think missing Roubaix was a good decision, and I think that this win shows that. We put Jens in the break to monitor the attacks of any riders, but we knew that when the time came we'd have to chase it as we wanted to control the race. On the final climb I went full gas from half way up the climb, with Rodriguez and Sagan being the ones to respond, but when I looked back over the top of the climb they were hesitating, so I pressed on and managed to hold them off. Today was a great day for the team as we rode well togather, and I think we've shown this year we may not have the strongest team, but we are the best team tactically and that's all due to our DS Ivan and Dave Millar.

Rank	Name	Team	Time
1	Simon Yates	McLaren Honda	6h08'18
2	Peter Sagan	Tinkoff - Saxo	+ 11
3	Joaquím Rodríguez	Team Katusha	+ 16
4	Tony Gallopin	McLaren Honda	s.t.
5	Simon Gerrans	Orica GreenEdge	s.t.
6	Daniel Martin	Garmin Sharp	s.t.
7	Philippe Gilbert	BMC Racing Team	s.t.
8	Alejandro Valverde	Movistar Team	s.t.
9	Daniel Moreno	Team Katusha	s.t.
10	Rui Costa	Lampre - Merida	+ 1'18

We stuck to the same plan as Amstel by putting Jensie in the break, but we decided we would hit it the first time up the Mur de Huy to split the group and to try and isolate Valverde, Martin and Sagan. We weren't able to split the group, so we decided to just hold the tempo. In the final 4 kilometres Valverde, Sagan and the other favourites attacked constantly, but we didn't panic and we just reeled them in, it meant they were dead by the time they hit the final climb, where I was led out prefectley by Tony who was able to get 3rd after all the favourites had tired themselves out. Meanwhile Ben rode a perfect final climb to come home 2nd meaning we got a 1-2-3, which we shouldn't of got as this is racing at the highest level possible, so the favourites should be able to split our team up. Although obviously I'm not complaining as this year is turning out to be perfect for me as I've won every race I have targeted. I think Liege will be a different race as the the finale isn't the main climb, so the attacks will go earlier into the race, so we'll have to watch out for that.

We managed to put Pippo in the break, which allowed us to just take it easy. We knew that today would be tough as the course isn't the same type as Fleche and Amstel, so I knew that It wouldn't suit me as well, but I was still confident I could get the win, and even if I didn't we had 3 other riders who could win it in Tony, Ben and Pete. I was happy to get a text from Adam yesterday telling me he'd watched Amstel and Fleche at home with my parents, and that they were crying when they saw me cross the line, my parents always have been emotional when we win. Adam also said that he would be watching from Liege today, so I'm looking foward to seeing him at the finish. Although this morning I wasn't expecting to see him getting into the team car to watch the race, so I was happy and we had him cheering us on all day. With 40 kilometres to go we split the race up to just us and the favourites, then with 20 kilometres to go riders started attacking and we were struggling to control it so I went solo, but nobody came with me and they all sat up behind, so I lost energy by that as I was caught with 11 kilometres to go. Then Sagan made his move with 5 kilometres to go and I was unable to follow him, the other riders then looked at me to do the work, but I had nothing in the finish i was able to hold onto 4th, but I'm annoyed as I was in a position to win and I mucked it up. The guys did a great job for me and I'm annoyed I couldn't finish it off.

Today was just the perfect ride for us today, we decided not to go for the intermediate sprint with 5 kilometres to go as we knew it would be hard to recover afterwards, so we made sure after the sprint to press the gas to the max to make those that had gone for it suffer, and it worked we came into the final kilometre with 4 guys leading out , and we had Thor spare by the finish meaning he could come home for second, which he's over the moon with, and it shows that when we try for a sprint we get the win. I think this is our first proper lead out of the year and we get the win, so it just shows that when we try it it works out perfectley.



Today was a hard day on the bike, as I knew that to keep the jersey I would have to go flat out from the start. At the first check Ivan told me that I was 1 second behind Vasil Kiryienka, and that Ion was 2 seconds behind me, so I knew that i was in a good place to keep the jersey as the stage didn't really interest me. In the final few kilometres I tried to just maintain my speed, so that I didn't blow before the finish. Ivan then told me that Ion had just beaten Kiri by 5 seconds, so I knew he had done a good ride, and that took the pressure off me as it meant that we would keep the jersey no matter what time I did, but I was able to come home 3rd only 0.33 seconds behind Kiri.





Today we had Mikel as leader, but he's been sufferring from a cold recentley so we weren't to hopeful about the result, so we put Cam Meyer in the break, and he managed to hoover up the KoM points, but on the final climb we had a nightmare, Fromolo got in a move with 3 team mates that we somehow missed so we had to chase to close that down, then we hot the bottom of the climb and Mikel just went, which in hindsight wad to early, but then Formolo attacked us and rode away for the win, with Mikel and Ion being caught in the final kilometre by the bunch. All round today was a pretty terrible day for us as we suffered a lot and we didn't get anything out of it. I mean the development team rode amazingly getting 3rd on the stage and moving into the lead of the team prize.



Today we had another tough day with a crash in the final kilometre meaning I lost Thors wheel, but it was to late for him to go for himself, so he led out the sprint without anyone behind him, he did manage to hold on for 4th but we could of won if he'd known. Although Ala did a great sprint to get the win, and he's a young guy, so it's always good to see a young guy win, but to be honest I wish it was a young rider on my team rather than on another team, but oh well.



We couldn't of done anything more today, we did a great lead out, but I wasn't able to get the better of Alaphilippe before the line. Thor led me out with 500 metres to go, but I let Alaphilippe get the jump on me and I couldn't catch back up before the finish. Hopefully we're able to gain back some time tomorrow in the Time Trial, but I think that's very wishful thinking.





Today we all did a great ride as we made sure that everyone knew that the final climb would be where the results came down to, so we backed off to start with, so that at the finish we had the gas to go full blast up the climb. Early on it was Tom Danielson, who set the best time, but Jensie came home and was able to beat the time, so from then on we knew that if we rode smart we could gain some big time. When it was my turn Mikel finished just ahead of me and set a new best time, but I was able to almost catch him on the climb and beat the time by almost a minute, which surprised me a lot, from then on I knew I'd win the stage. Ion was the last of our guys and he manged to come home just behind me, but more importantly Fromlo struggled up the final climb, so ion moved back to the top of the GC, with myself moving up to 3rd, so a great day for the team.





Today was another great ride by the guys today, we knew that tody we had to fight to hold the jersey, we controlled the race all day, then on the final climb we rode our socks off keeping the race together until the final kilometre, before Mikel went away for the win, and I managed to get second moving myself 5 seconds closer to Frmolo, but Ion lost time in the final few metres, meaning he lost the jersey, but we did all we could, so we're happy with the performance today as we showed we're back to our best in the mountains.





Today was just the perfect day for me, we knew that I had the chance of getting the GC win, so I got the guys to control the front of the bunch, so that i could take the intermediate sprint, which I managed to do which meant that if I won the stage I would get the GC win, which I desperately wanted, in the final few kilometres there was a nasty climb, meaning that we had to think about our lead out so Matteo and Jensie led me into the final kilometre, and when Alaphilippe went I knew he'd gone to soon, so I waited until 200 metres to go and then used his slipstream to get past him. I';d done it I'd taken The Tour of California by 3 seconds from Formolo, and I couldn't believe it. Behind me Joe Nally and Stephen Dent from the McLaren development team managed to get 3rd nd 4th to show that there not only great GC riders, but they can sprint as well. I'm also happy to announce that they have been given a guest team place at the Dauphine and the Tour De suisse, after the UCI decided to offer wildcards to a development team, instead of adding another World Tour team after Astanas loss last year. Of course Giant Development and Bissel have already ridden this year, so we got the message yesterday, which is great news, and the guys are going into it thinking they could get a top 10 on the GC, which is great.

General Classification.

1	Simon Yates	McLaren Honda	23h28'45
2	Davide Formolo	Cannondale	+ 3
3	Mikel Nieve	McLaren Honda	+ 1'41
4	Joe Nally	McLaren Honda Development Team	+ 1'50
5	Joseph Dombrowski	Team Sky	+ 2'02
6	Vasil Kiryienka	Team Sky	+ 2'06
7	Stephen Dent	McLaren Honda Development Team	+ 2'16
8	Brad Dransfield	McLaren Honda Development Team	+ 2'41
9	Ion Izagirre	McLaren Honda	+ 2'54
10	Cameron Meyer	McLaren Honda	+ 2'57

Today I couldn't of got off to a much better start, my first race back after breaking my collar bone and I was able to get a great start to come home 4th and best of the GC contenders, which puts me in a great place to get the jersey on the first mountain stage if all goes well. Simon also put in a great ride meaning that he could get the jersey tomorrow as he put in a strong ride to get 2nd just 4 seconds back, but to be honest I don't think anyone could ever beat Tom as he was flying I mean he averaged over 55 kilometres an hour for the 5.8 kilometres course, so it would of been a tough thing to beat him.



Simon was absolutely gutted after today's stage as he thought he could get the jersey, but he punctured with 2 kilometres to go, so that meant we had no one for the sprint, luckily he managed to stay in the bunch, but with a flat tyre he couldn't do anything in the sprint. Although hopefully tomorrow we'll come to the fore tomorrow when the race hits the hills, so I'm looking forward to that as it shows where my legs are before the Tour.



Today we told Tony that he could ride for himself as we knew that this sort of stage would suit him, and it paid off. I was able to come home just behind him, meaning that I held 4th on GC, which I'm happy with as the guys ahead of me will all struggle in the mountains. I have Porte and Lofkvist just behind me on the GC, but I'm confident that I can stay high as my legs are feeling better every day of the race, so by the mountains I should be going well. I think this race has shocked the guys on the development team as they're suffering with the pace, although I'm sure that that they'll do better when the roads starts to go up in the big mountains.



Today was a simple day for me as Simon decided to just take it easy, this meant that we could just sit back and take it easy for the day, and I think I'm getting the form back before I crashed. Elinor came out to see me today, which geed me up as it was great to see her as I haven't seen her for a week as I've been training in Colombia ready for the Tour, and she's been in Belgium with her team. Elinor coming to see the race has made me more determined for tomorrow as Ivan has said she can come in the team car tomorrow, so hopefully I'll do a good ride to make her visit worthwhile.



Today Elinor in the car really spurred me on to do as good a ride as possible, it just wasn't quite enough to manage to take the GC lead but luckily the team managed to keep the GC lead as Tony put in a superb ride to keep the lead, and Tony and Simon moved up to the top two places on GC, which was great for us. At the first check point Tony was leading by 2 seconds ahead of Phinney and Simon, Ivan told me that I was just 4 seconds down, so I pressed on and tried to hold that gap, but Tony and Simon kept getting faster and I couldn't quite match the. Although I had no shortage of encouragement as Elinor was screaming down the radio at times, so that was good for my morale as I can' remember the last time I had that much support in a race.





I don't think today could of gone much better for us today, as we managed to get Michael in the break, which meant we had the best placed guy on GC, so we could just sit back and let the other teams do all the work, except they didn't and the gap went out to 12 minutes, so we decided we had o close the gap a bit, so we weren't to far behind, but we didn't close it that much, which meant that Michael took the jersey, which took the pressure off us as we have a solid gap to riders that Michael can out climb and he has over 5 minutes on us. A great day all round for us!





Today we had a feeling the break would stay away again, so we put the Panzerwagen into the break, but he was high on GC, so that acted as a bonus for us, but in the finale I followed the attack of Contador, but Michael started to suffere getting dropped and losing the jersey to Ulissi by 2 seconds, but he rode his heart out and he couldn't of done anything more, for me I was happy with my ride as I stayed with the attacks, and in the sprint I managed to get a decent placing, so considering this is my first race back at the top after my injury, I'm very happy.



Today was a great day for me, we knew that the jersey would be a difficult one for us so we tried to focu on getting the stage, and the guys set me up perfectly they lead me out to the bottom of the final climb, and from there I was able to get away with Contador and Michal before winning the sprint. I think it shows that I can win the Tour now as my legs are coming good, and by the time we hit the key stages I think I'll be back to my best. Now for me I'm going to an altitude camp in Colombia to prepare for the Tour, and then I'll be back 4 days before the Tour where I'm just going to rest and try to get as much energy in the body before the race starts. Michael managed to take back 7 seconds on Ulissi in the final kilometre, but it wasn't quite enough.

Today we knew was a chance for Simon to get the jersey, so we made sure to control the race, so that he could have a go in the finale. In the final kilometre he attacked with Matthews, and they managed to get a gap, but come the sprint Simon wasn't quite as strong as Michael, but he could still get the jersey tomorrow, so we're going to race for the win tomorrow and hopefully get him the jersey. I'm glad that I also managed to only lose 14 seconds to Simon, but I'm a bit annoyed that I lost time to Schleck as he's a big threat, especially after his Giro win ahead of Pete, who told me that Andy was just flying and he couldn't do anything to stay with him when he wanted to go. I'm glad that he's back at the top as he's a nice guy, but I know he's a big threat.





Today the stage didn't quite work out for Simon as we tried to lead him out, but he just doesn't have the kick of Kittel and the rest, so he managed to come home 6th, but we're happy with that as he took some important green jersey points. It means that Simon's now in 3rd 20 points behind Matthews, however we managed to take the KoM jersey courtesy of G, who went away early, but was distanced in the finish, meaning he has lost any chance of a high GC place. As we're here for the GC we don't really have a perfect lead out train, but Simon has myself and Tony G so we're not at a lack of power as Tony could get Top 10s if he wanted to.



Today we decided to just take it easy as there's the time trial tomorrow, which could cause a big shake up n the GC. Simon knew that this would mean a lack of points towards the jersey, but he was willing to take that risk as he could get the jersey tomorrow if he puts in a strong ride. In the finale we sat back an let the sprinters do their thing, and Cavendish took the win by a wheel, so that makes it ok as Cav's a nice guy and I'm glad to see him get the win.



Simon managed to get the stage win today as he'd hope, which meant that he took the jersey, and I'm happy for him as it's a great result for him, but also I did a good ride to move up to second overall. At the first check Ivan told me that I was leading by 2 seconds from Tony, which surprised me as Tony has been going well at the minute, so that showed me I was on for a good time. Then at the second time check I was 3 seconds behind Taylor Phinney, who was starting to get faster. I crossed the line 5 seconds behind Phinney, but I knew Simon was riding quicker and he easily won the stage by 14 seconds from Phinney.

Today we wanted to try and pick up some green jersey points, however we didn't get the lead out right, so we used energy when we shouldn't of, which meant that Simon didn't have the same kick at the finish, meaning he could only manage 15th, which still means he gets some points, but not as many as he would of hoped for. Tomorrow is going to be an important day for us as it's the first summit finish of the race, although its just at Super Besse, which isn't a huge climb, but I still want to make sure I don't lose time.



Today I'm happy with my ride, as we knew that it would be a hard day as Super Besse is a steep climb, but I managed to get to the bottom of it at the font, and then when Rodriguez attacked in the final kilometre I was able to go with him, but I just didn't have the chance to get round him as he was flying. Simon managed to hold onto the jersey, but I moved up to just 9 seconds back with Froome now 3rd 38 seconds behind Simon. Tomorrow is another hilly day, so we'll have to watch for the attacks as they are bound to come as people will want to start gaining time back on us.



Today we knew that it would likely finish in a small bunch, so we wanted to make sure that Simon or Tony was there as they could win a sprint from the riders here. Over the final climb Andy Schleck attacked, but we managed to reel him back in, and then keep the pace high to prevent any more attacks. In the final kilometre I led Simon out from 400 metres to go, and I was able to hold on for second, which was a great things as my parents are here to watch the stage today, so for them to see us finish 1-2 was quite emotional. I'm just so happy as they saw us win the stage, with Simon in the yellow, and hopefully when they come to see us in Paris, they'll see me in the yellow and Simon win the stage again.



Today was quite a boring stage, the break went away early. Giant then chased it down, and led Kittel out perfectly for the win. Simon tried to get up there but he gave a lot yesterday to get the win.





Today was just the perfect day for me! I don't think I would of done anything different if I was choosing what was to happen. On the final climb I found myself in a break with 5 of the best climvers in the bunch, but I saw Froome wasn't there so I pressed on an tried to keep my own tempo. Then over the top I looked back and saw Contador was the only rider with me, but Lofkvist was chasing just a few metres behind, so i pressed on and tried to do as fast a descent as possible. Behind Froome got caught in a group that didn't want to work with him, so he sat up and we gained almost 3 minutes on him. In the final kilometre Contador came past me for the win, but I'm happy with second as I got a large chucnk of time from everyone, and I'm know in the jersey.

Today was a great day for me, I extended my lead over everyone in the race. Today the guys rode hard on the Tourmalet to split the race up, and we managed to do that, even distancing Froome and the likes, meaning that on the final climb I only had Contador and Lofkvist to worry about, so I made sure to keep the tempo the guys had set to try and discourage any attacks, but Contador attacked and then just as I caught him he went gain, and I just couldn't follow him. In the end I lost 13 seconds, but as he moved up to second I managed to extend my lead on the GC to 2 minutes rather than the 1 minute to Lofkvist at the start of the day who'd struggled on the final climb.





Today was a bit of surprise for me as I wasn't expecting to win today, we put Simon and Tony in the break to monitor any attacks as we thought that we'd not see the break for the rest of the day, but up the only significant climb of the day we were forced to ride hard on the front to chase down the attack of Froome as we didn't want him to gain any time back. Then on the descent we caught Tony and Simon, which meant we thought one of them would get the sprint, but in he final kilometre I went early, and nobody came past me with Pete holding on to take third, and Alberto taking 3rd. Simon managed to get 4th after being boxed at the start of the sprint.



Today was anothe very boring sprint stage for me, the break went away early. Then Giant controlled the race like they always do before setting Kittel up for the sprint win. Greipel and Farrar came home 2nd and 3rd, but they were never going to beat Kittel as he had a clear bike length on them all.



Cavendish left the race this morning after crashing yesterday, that meant OPQ didn't have a real leader, that allowed Stybar to go into the break, whi we didn't want to chase so we went and fanned out across the road to prevent Giant from chasing, sure some people might see it as unfair, but we didn't want Kittel to get full points today. It worked and Stybar won the stage with a 1 minute margin after dropping his breakaway companions over the final climb of the race.



Today was just a regular day yet again. Break goes away. Giant chases the break. Kittel Takes The Sprint. The only change today was that Degenkolb managed to hold on after leading Kittel out for the win, with Greipel taking 3rd.





Today was another great day for us, we put Geraint in the break along with Simon and Tony G. Simon picked up the sprint, and then him and Tony rode full gas to give G a big lead coming onto the climb. He was able to hold us off, finishing with a gap of 11 minutes and managing to move up to 4th overall. Behind I used Roman and Pete to shrink the group of favourites and I countered an attack from Contador and he was unable to follow, he ended up in a group with Pete, Roman and Mikel, as well as a couple of the other favourites, that meant that Contador didn't want to work so I was able to pull out a 1 minute gap over the bunch. Simon managed to hold on to get 4th on the stage and a lot of valuable green jersey points, as he slowly closes in one Kittel. Tomorrow is another tough day, but there's a long way to go to Paris, although 140 points is a big gap to bridge in 5 stages, but I'm confident in his abilities.





You know the panzerwagen proved today, why he is such a great time trailler, we put him in the break as the downhill finish suited the break, but also so that if I attacked I'd have someone to chase and work with on the descent. The gap got pretty big, meaning we knew we wouldn't catch him. He then just rode the other riders off his wheel, including Simon who managed to pick up the intermediate sprint. Behind we controlled the race, and up the final climb I made my move, pressing on alone on the descent. Sadly Contador had a crash on the descent meaning he lost 2 minutes on me, but in my view that gives me a stronger place on GC as I now have 5 minutes on second. Although I don't want to gain from others misfortune. Tomorrow is the final day in the mountains, so hopefully I can hold my gap and then make it into the time trial, and hopefully win the race.





Today wasn't a great day for me, but I'm happy to keep the GC lead as it means I've only got 4 stages left until Paris. We started the day by putting Simon in the break, so he could pick up the sprint points, which he was able to do, but it's to late for him to take the jersey now as he's still 100 points behind Kittel, with two sprint stages ahead. In the finale we caught the break, but when Froome attacked with 2 kilometres to go I found I had nothing left to follow, so i rode at my own pace and was able to limit my loss to 3 minutes, and 2 minutes on Contador. Today I rode badly as I gave so much yesterday and wasn't able to fully recover. Tomorrow is a slightly lumpy stage that the break should stay away, as the favourites will want to rest before the final Time Trial.





Today was a surprise result for me as I wasn't expecting to take the stage. As the race started a large break went away, but OPQS wanted to control the race for Kwiatkowski so they reeled in the break. Then up the final climb he attacked and I was able to follow, then in the final 500 metres I went for it and was able to hold him off. Behind Simon led home the next bunch 23 seconds back, which contained Contador and the other favourites. Tomorrow is an easy flat stage that will probably end in a sprint won by Marcel Kittel, but you never know something could change.



Today Kittel did win the bunch sprint as expected, however it was the bunch sprint for 9th rather than the stage win, after a break of 8 managed to defy the peloton. We decided at the start of the stage to not chase, although to be honest I don't think anyone was expecting us to. It seemed Giant weren't to interested in chasing alone either as they let the break get an 18 minute gap, which we decided was to large, and we worked with Giant to close it until the gap got to 10 minute, then we sat up and let them do the rest, but it was to late as the break managed to stay away.



I've done it! I've won the Tour De France! I can't believe it, it can't quite sink in to be honest. As I was riding today I could hear all the crowds cheering for me, and that spurred me on to ride harder. At the first check Ivan told me that I was 3 seconds behind Tony, with Richie Porte 5 seconds ahead that made me realise I was going pretty well. Then at the final check I was level on time with Lofkvist, and Tony was starting to pull away at 10 seconds ahead. From then on I knew I'd won the race and that I'd done enough to get the win. In the final kilometre I was able to ease off slightly and take in the atmosphere, before celebrating as I crossed the line. Simon came home 15th at 1 minute 13 seconds down, which isn't bad as he had to have a bike change after a problem with his gears just before the first time check. Tomorrow we're going to ride for Simon to try and get him a special win.




Today we were so close to the perfect finish, but we didn't quite have the speed to get ahead of Giant as they are focused completely on the sprint and we were trying to lead out with 7 climbers, so yeah we knew it would be hard, but to get so close is hard as we rode great today, so all the guys should be happy with their ride as they were amazing, as they have been throughout this Tour, and I couldn't of done this without them as they have been the perfect team and I'm so glad I could repay all their hard work in this race and throughout the year. When I saw my Dad afterwards he was crying his eyes out, and that caused me to start, so yeah it was an emotional day for me.

Final Results

General Classification

Rank	Name	Team	Time
1	Adam Yates	McLaren Honda	81h15'15
2	Thomas Löfkvist	Orica GreenEdge	+ 3'53
3	Alberto Contador	Lotto Belisol	+ 4'18
4	Chris Froome	Team Sky	+ 11'08
5	Andrew Talansky	Garmin Sharp	+ 17'01
6	Andy Schleck	Trek Factory Racing	+ 17'10
7	Nairo Quintana	Movistar Team	+ 18'25
8	Peter Kennaugh	McLaren Honda	+ 18'33
9	Geraint Thomas	McLaren Honda	+ 19'26
10	Joaquím Rodríguez	Team Katusha	+ 19'38

Points

Rank	Name	Team	Points	General
1	Marcel Kittel	Team Giant - Shimano	49	438
2	Simon Yates	McLaren Honda	41	310
3	Adam Yates	McLaren Honda	10	287
4	André Greipel	Lotto Belisol	55	282
5	Michael Matthews	Orica GreenEdge	43	266

KoM

Rank	Name	Team	Mountain	General
1	Alberto Contador	Lotto Belisol	0	120
2	Adam Yates	McLaren Honda	0	117
3	Simon Yates	McLaren Honda	0	100
4	Chris Froome	Team Sky	0	89
5	Julian Arredondo	Trek Factory Racing	0	74

Today was a great day for me, I got the guys to ride on the font and prevent the favourites from attacking, and they rode amazingly I mean they were still there at the end and Simon managed to do pretty well in the bunch sprin. I always think it's strange to see a bunch sprint at the top of a climb, but I guess it just shows how everyone is so close. Anyway I attacked with 2 kilometres to go and nobody came with me, which meant that I was able to fully commi to try and gain as much time as possible. Behind Valverde and Martin pulled away from the bunch with Porte, but they weren't able to catch me. Tomorrow is another hard day, but I think I have the legs to manage to get the win.

Today was all about just holding riders off for me, as I had a good enough gap, I just had to make sure I finished in the front group, which I managed, so I'm happy as I still have the jersey, and all the hardest days are over, meaning the race will come down to the final Time Trial. Today Brice went in the break to go for the KoM points, but we kind of gave up on that. In the finale I just followed the wheel sof Martin and Valverde, but the group that finished together was pretty big, so in the final kilometre I just tried to make sure there wasn't a time gap, and there wasn't so I'm happy.



What a day, the break went almost immediately today and we decided to just let it go. However the break was only 1 rider, but I suppose in hindsight he's one of the best in the world. With 70 kilometres to go there was an attack from Ulissi, Albasini and Rast, but nobody saw it as a threat so we just let them go. In the end it turned out we couldn't get them back, but it didn't matter to us as Kittel won the sprint as everyone would of expected.



Today wasn't a difficult day, the break went away and Giant controlled it as they always do. Then Kittel got the win, we managed to get Simon home in 6th, just behind Stephen Dent of the development team, who is normally a climber, but managed to get a decent position in the sprint, so I'm very happy for him as he's still up there on GC.



Today we didn't quite get the gap to the break right, we let them get to big a gap, and we couldn't quite catch the final rider and he was able to hold us off. Behind I followed the attack of Kwiatkowski, who was trying to get across to his team mate up the road. We started to pull away, but then in the final sprint I was beaten by Kwiat and Joe Nally from the development team, who managed to move himself up to 5th on GC, which is amazing. I'm also happy to say that the boys have been given a special invitation to the Vuelta, so that'll give them a chance to show themselves, and next year they've been offered promotion to the Pro Continental level as Novo Nordisk is being relegated.





Today I knew that the stage would suit my rivals more than me, so I wanted to make sure that I could just keep my lead going into tomorrow, and I was able to do that so I'm happy. Today Ion went early as he was feeling good and we wanted a guy up there as today was so unpredictable with the hilly circuit we were on. In the final kilometre Valverde attacked, and I couldn't follow him, he was able to gain 26 seconds, but I still have a comfortable 20 second lead and I am a stronger time trialler if all goes well.



I'm over the moon today as Stephen put in a sensational ride to take the win, he was the best rider on all of the course. I mean at the first check he had a 5 second lead over me, and by the finish he hgad 31 seconds, which is just unbelievable and I'm so proud as I pushed a lot to get him on the team last yer, and I'm looking forward to having him on the main team next year as he's just signed a contract with us for next year. For me this was a good day as I kept the GC lead, and managed to get the overall win, which was my aim for today, so yeah. I'm very happy.