Cycling News

By Simon Gerrans*

It is regarded as one of the riskiest descents on a bike of them all in the Tour de France. I am talking about the ride back down a mountain after a stage finish like what we did after today's ninth stage. On this occasion the decent was down Hautacam, the finishing location for the finish. It was frantic. It was nuts; even though I was one of the last guys to ride down because I was one of the last up. When I set off though, I joined the police escort down. But then that got delayed due to someone on a bike having had an accident - a reminder of the hazards that can face any cyclist. Even though the race is over, the crowds are still as excitable during these descents. Most worrying is that after a stage they are also more prone for making poor decisions and colliding with someone. Having reached the bottom safely and survived the last two days in the Pyrenees, I have no complex about admitting that I am looking forward to the rest day. I am glad that it has finally arrived. As usual around the 10 day mark of the Tour, I am starting to feel a little heavy in the chest. So the rest day comes at a good time. But at least I know how to detect these things now and get on top of them. I try to stay a jump ahead. When the body gets tired , the first thing to go is my chest. With the way my chest feels right now, I certainly made sure that I was rugged up for the ride down from Hautacam. That took a bit of time. And I even got a 'rev up' for being the last rider to get going. But that long going downhill when you are not prepared, can turn the slightest ailment a major one. As for today's stage to Hautacam, it was it was a pretty full on day. With it being Bastille Day and July 14 a lot of Frenchmen were motivated to try and milk a bit of telly time. And it is not only the riders. Former cyclists Marc Madiot, who manages the La Francaise des Jeux team, is one such example. He had the television cameras put in his car this morning. I also heard he played the French national anthem at this team meeting this morning. That is how much guys like him put pressure on their teams. As for Cadel Evans? It is great to see him in the yellow jersey, especially after the drama of Sunday when he crashed in the Pyrenees. But I suspect that it may be a tactical error that he has it now. I believe it would have been much better if it was on Franck Schleck's shoulders for the next week. Cadel is good enough to take the yellow jersey off him at l'Alpe d'Huez. And he is definitely good enough for the last time trial. But Schleck's CSC team are a really stastically strong team. And that will test Cadel. What is sure is that it all makes for a great last 12 days of the Tour.

* My apologies for the delay in this posting. It was written on time, but not posted on time. I had a flat tyre!