Cycling News

30 June 2010

We have just arrived into Rotterdam for the start of the Tour and the town is buzzing with energy. It’s always great to arrive at the Grand Depart because you know that the race is just a couple of days away.

I love the Tour. It is (in my opinion) the greatest sporting event in the world and I’m so pumped to be starting my 5th edition. As tough as it is, racing in front of millions of spectators for the whole month of July is something I can't describe.

I feel like I’ve got a lot of experience behind me with six grand Tours under my belt but then again I’m racing with the likes of Stuart O’Grady (starting his 14th Tour de France) and George Hincapie (15th). Those guys are inspiring and their knowledge on the road is impressive. 

All of the Team SKY members arrived into Belgium last night. We arrived one day early so we could check out the stage three pave sectors. It’s really important to know the roads for this stage as accidents on the pave occur all the time. A large percentage of the riders racing the Tour don’t ride on the cobbles so it can make for a dangerous day at the office. Throwing such a technical stage like this into the race can cause a bit of ciaos and I just hope the races makes it through ok. No one wants their Tour to end on stage three. Team SKY, along with well over half of the Tour peloton, were on the course today. We had a good look at the stage then jumped on the team bus for the transfer to Rotterdam.

Tomorrow will be a busy day filled with media requests, medical examinations and the official Team Presentation. Everything usually runs pretty smoothly and you try to conserve as much energy as possible. Everyone is in the same boat so you just get on with it and enjoy the process. 

On Friday we will do a reconnaissance of the Prologue course followed by a number of meetings to discuss the race. The boys at the Giro were super impressed with the structure of the team meetings and that is something that I’m looking forward to. It’s so important to know 100% what the roles are of each and every team member especially when you have the goal of getting a team mate on the podium in Paris.

SKY has assembled a great team of staff to look after us for the next month. One of the best things about everyone is that they are all super motivated. This will be the first Tour for a number of the staff so just like a rider on their first Tour, it’s super exciting. I remember the buzz of my first Tour. I was neo-pro with Ag2r Prevoyance and was so desperate to race. When I got the call up one week before the start I was pumped. One of my mates from Australia dropped everything and jumped on a plane to come watch. That’s how special the Tour is.

Team SKY have four guys making their Tour debut. Michael Barry, Edvald Boasson Hagen, Steve Cummings and Serge Pauwels. They all have a huge wealth of knowledge from racing the Giro and Vuelta and it’s great to see them line up for their first TDF.

Well that’s about all the news I have for now. I’m going to be writing a blog each day of the race so make sure you check out my website for the daily happenings from the Tour. Thanks everyone for all your support.

Simon.

www.twitter.com/simongerrans

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