This was written when I was still on the O-Tour, the Sunday before the Swiss Epic. I couldn’t look at the course, so kindly, Jennie has done this for me!

Our start was timed for 14:02 and I was in good spirits for the race, when I was on the bike I felt quite good in the morning. But the change came quicker than I expected!

Jennie started very quickly and I wanted to follow her, but after just a few hundred meters I had “acid arms”, not a good sign at all ! I had to back off one gear, thankfully Jennie was good at adapting and matched me perfectly.

I coped with this for 3km before it finally eased just as we started to descend. On the downhill the leaf turned as expected and I had to adapt to her speed. Jennie was on a charge. This is always the case with a team race. You are as strong as the weakest link. In other words, this is the essence of a team.

But importantly, we got on well, we had no falls or mechanicals….

The second rise at the end of the Prologue went better for me and I could put in some work as leader.

Finally, we were able to cross the line with the second place time, just two minutes after Lüthi / Pirard but ahead of Hug / Darbellay.

It’s a real shame I couldn’t match Jennie’s pace at the beginning !

Translated @RickHarrison