I woke up this morning feeling better having gotten a much better night’s sleep, jet lag is still affecting the legs but the plan today was 5+ hours with the first 2 hours being rolling and mostly flat - best news I had heard in a while. The original plan was actually to do the same ride as yesterday which would have put me in the unfortunate position of trying to chase back on after the first climb 5 miles into the day, barely enough time to digest breakfast. Thankfully, George had a better suggestion which was welcome news.
Team meeting before the ride
We all assembled again by the team truck at 9:40 AM. There were some riders and some media hanging around, and I got a chance to get a photo of me and Chris Butler. For those of you that have never heard of Chris, you probably will. Chris is a graduate of our Hincapie Development Team. Remarkably, he has only raced for 2 years but his natural ability as a climber and dedication to the sport will take him far. He has already impressed many here, often being one of the first riders on the big climbs which has been surprising to most but I expected no less.
Posing with former Hincapie Development Rider, Chris Butler
Today the team broke up into 2 rides - Ride 1 was a 3:30 minute loop with interval training for the riders racing next week in Qatar, and Group 2 was the 5+ hour group that needed to get some climbing in. Now, I’ve never considered myself as someone that “needed” to get some climbing in, but I figured why not try again. We start at a fairly leisurely pace but that didn’t last very long, I slot myself in at the back so as not to disrupt the two by two team pulls at the front. I got to have some good conversations with some of the younger riders which made the first 2 hours blaze by. On to the Pacific Coast highway where we hit some nice rollers and I’m actually not feeling bad at all. That is until we go left, George drops back and here we go again...
“Ohhh Rick, this one is super nasty!”
Great, problem is that I don’t really know where I am so getting dropped will make for an all day trip looking for the hotel. The riders stop for a nature break at the bottom (perfect I can get a head start) so I keep riding, but that only lasted a few kilometers (ok not too steep, I can hang on). I slot in at the back and try to hang on as long as possible. I start to come a little unglued and by the looks of the road ahead we aren’t even close to the top. I start drifting back and the team car pulls next to me – 2 options, ride alone lost for who knows how long or hold on.
Based on how sore my arm is today - guess which option I chose? Not ideal, but I did get to see how the real pros do it up close and personal. We hit the top and I jump back on to the back of the group where we hit a few kilometers of rollers before the kamikaze drop back down to the ocean. It was great descending with the guys - it seems that on every level of the sport 2 things always apply. 1) If you’re feeling good, you normally show it at some point and 2) Everyone races downhill; these guys were no different. Back onto the Pacific Coast highway where we rode rollers for the next hour or so until we ride into Malibu. We are over 3 hours into the ride and the road is starting to look familiar.
Wish I could have enjoyed the view a little better
Up ahead the guys start merging into the left lane which from the Pacific Coast highway can only mean one thing - crap! Here we go again (oh no, its the damn climb we did yesterday, I’m dead!) Nature break again for the guys so I go for the head start option. The only difference is that this climb is brutally steep at the bottom so I got caught right away. Hanging on to the back was no option here as I didn’t have an excuse this time. But thankfully I remembered how to get back to the hotel, the car pulled up next to me and made sure I had food and water (thanks guys) and I plugged away uphill for what seemed like an eternity. Maybe because I was starting to crack - 5+ hours and I’m ready to get off my bike. Thanks Graeme for the protein shake when I got back, I needed that badly.
The protein shake held me over while I took a shower and got ready for lunch. At this point food was something I needed quickly, but it seems my body decided I needed a nap much more as I sat in bed and fell asleep right through lunch. Och had invited me to the final team dinner at a posh restaurant called Ago’s in Hollywood. We all loaded on to the charter bus (nap number 2). I can’t really remember the last time I had a two-nap ride, but it’s not every day I’m getting bottles handed to me by a pro team and racing George and Cadel to the Pacific Coast highway, so a two-nap afternoon was in order. Dinner was amazing and we all had a great time, it’s something I will remember for a long time. I am super excited about George being a part of this team as all of the staff and owners really make us feel like we are part of the family. Thanks to everyone at the Team BMC organization for allowing me to be a part of such an amazing weekend, see you all at the Classics.
Alessandro Ballan and George
Stay tuned for tomorrow post about the Ride for Haiti fundraiser.
Thanks for reading