Day 3. Davos, Switzerland to Livigno, Italy
133km. 3200m of climbing.
4hr55min. 9th in Masters on the day. 16th in Masters GC.
Excellent day. Rode back into this thing. Didn’t start that way.
Image of food I carried on course today. Banana, fig bar, two waffles, two Rice Krispie squares, one Snickers and one Shot Block. A lot of food to get down while riding hard.
Pink socks had not been working for me so I recommended the switch to green. Wilbur obliged.
Team Canada day. Award for fastest Canadian team. There are two other Canadian teams who are strong. Both beat us yesterday. We were motivated today.
Rolled out of Davos at the back of the A-group (first 85 teams) pack. More safe than fighting for the front with the aggressive Euros and relatively easy to make up position as soon as the road turns uphill.
Unfortunately day got off to a challenging start. Another flat 5km into the stage. Watched every participant pass us while we fixed the wheel. Looked at Wilbur and realized we were both very close to declaring the day done and switching gears to an easy ride. We didn’t.
Hammer down for an hour to ride through most of the field and get back up to the other two strong Canadian teams. Rolled with them until 30km to go. At the start of the last big climb of the day (like a Seymour) we hit it and gapped the group we were riding with. Rode solo for most of the balance of the ride.
Descended and had 7km flat terrain to the finish. Were with the leading mixed team at this point and they asked for help pulling them to the finish. We worked for them and they showed appreciation at the finish. Coincidentally, this is the same team we met in 2012 and nicknamed “nice bikes” due to their - nice bikes. They didn’t have much time for our Canadian humour in 2012. More time for us today.
Finally got my legs under me. Nice to not be holding Wilbur up. We had a blast out there. Finished the day with customary “wheel” and beer. In a beautiful Italian ski town tonight. Village elevation is same as the Whistler Roundhouse. Typically poor weather here due to the mountainous conditions. Not today.
Attended the day’s award ceremony and received our Nations Champion jersey. We will wear them tomorrow and be called up to the front start line for the Day 4 stage.
Biggest day of the event tomorrow. Hoping we don’t pay too much for today’s effort.
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