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The Ellen Plas Diary 2003
Welcome to the Ellen Plas Diary. Ellen is a soigneur with the top German women's team Equipe Nürnberger Versicherung, a job that's 20 percent masseur, 20 percent gofer, 20 percent morale-booster, 20 percent den momma, 20 percent chef and 20 percent organisational wiz... and 120 percent busy.
Ellen Plas interview: Taking care of business with Equipe Nürnberger
Tour de l'Aude: From perfection to disaster and back again!
Stage 6 - May 22: Castelnaudary - Castelnaudary
An easy laid back morning, we had everything in hand. I feel so relieved that the further we get on this tour, the easier it gets for me. It looked like it was going to be a nice sunny day. That means, a lot of bottles in the coolers and loads of ice on top of them.
The race start and finish were in the same town as yesterday. I decided to leave Thomas at the finish and have him prepare everything, in case I returned late from the feed zone.
It seemed perfect to go feed on the second climb of the day, at km 77. I got a ride from Wendy, the Farm Frites soigneur to the town of Fanjeaux. Cute little French town… but the hill into the town was open, long and very steep. When I told my girls where I would be feeding, Petra, with all her experience, already knew exactly where was the best spot to give out bottles. And she was right, the first part was way too steep, but after a kilometer it flattened out a little, so at least they had it easier and were able to let go of the handlebars.
We still had some time before the riders arrived, so I used the time to write the postcards that I had bought two days ago. They will probably arrive when I'm in Canada or the US, but it's the thought that counts, isn't it?
There was the peloton! I was so proud of my girls, they were all in the first bunch. Each and every one took a bottle; they must have been really thirsty. I had taken one extra with me, which I got rid of really fast. Too bad I only had one extra … everybody seemed to be screaming at me. Please, Ellen, do you have any extra? I felt so bad! Next time I'll take 20. I'm usually generous with spares, and I often get mistaken for the 'neutral feeder'. Especially after the Tour last year, where I had driven the second car in the race, and had helped a lot of girls. In Plouay, the first race after, everybody was trying to get bottles from me in the feed, which really pissed me off, because when you're focused on your own team jerseys, and somebody grabs the bottle you're holding, which of course you don't let go, they just smash it out of your hands on the ground. And nobody gets any benefit from that.
After the riders had passed I walked down the hill to meet up with Wendy so that we could go back to the finish. She was still waiting for one of her girls, Olga. I felt so sorry for her, as she passed she said, "There is only one thing I really want now, and that is to go home". Poor little thing. Hang in there Olga, only 3 more days to go!
At the finish, Thomas had everything set up. It all looked great. We were ready for those girls to roll in!
Got myself an ice-cream though… can't do without on a hot day like that. (Okay, any excuse will do!)
Then the usual finish-routine: clean up, change clothes, pack it up, and back to the hotel. Started the laundry and got started on massage.
I've really found my rhythm now. That virus I got in the beginning must have really worn me down, though. Normally I'm very energetic and I have been practically dead the last days. Now I'm so happy to feel that my strength and motivation is coming back.
Nice relaxing time… Had music on, as always, the lights dimmed, my flowers from the prologue still brightening up the room… Perfect atmosphere.
All of a sudden Jens came in the room. I thought "this must be serious", as the whole tour he had only dropped in to give me the schedule for the next day. And now he actually came in to talk… that could mean only one thing! A night on the town!
So after I finished massage and took care of the saddle sores, we went to Trèbes, had wine and chatted. It was fun, we joked around a lot. And with a little bit of wine, the tongues get loose, and then all the juicy stories come out. We should do this more often, ha ha!
Almost one o'clock, alarm goes off at 6h30… Again a double stage tomorrow! Time to get some sleep.
Stage 7a - May 23: Montreal d'Aude - Bram, 35km
Stage 7b - May 23: Bram - Saissac, 63km
I honestly don't know where to start… or how to describe what happened today, as all of my memory has been influenced by the one event that determined the end of the day.
This morning I was still thinking of nice things I could do for my girls to make the hard race a little bit more bearable. Little did I know that I wouldn't even have time to do all the things I had in mind.
It started out as a really nice sunny morning (I've already heard tomorrow's weather forecast, and it doesn't sound anything like today). A double stage, so getting up early and a lot to think about.
We left for the race at 8h40, we got to Montréal by 9, start at 10. Really easy. Just check on what everyone wants on their bike during the race, as tastes tend to change according to the weather and length of the stages. It wasn't far for us to get from the start to the finish, maximum 5 km. The riders would do a loop.
It was expected that all the teams would stay in Bram for lunch, but as the last time we had a double stage we had been sitting outside such a long time, we thought that it would pay off to return to the hotel (20 minutes' drive), eat there, rest a while, in our own rooms, and then go back for the start of the second stage of the day. Problem was that the hotel staff had sent the cook home, as expecting the teams to eat at their hotels. So I decided to take it in own hands. How difficult can it be to cook pasta?
Water, salt, pasta and wait 3 minutes. As I feared that would not fill all the stomachs, I also got turkey, cheese, tuna, avocado, tomatoes, salad and some good old French camembert, that with French baguettes. There wasn't anything left! And honestly, that was all so easy to prepare, and still the best that I had eaten in the last week. I didn't hear anybody else complain, as they were all very quiet all of a sudden.
The second stage would go from Bram to Saissac, which also wasn't a very long drive. We drove through incredible scenery to get there though, and through this little town that was full of old bookstores, with all used and antique books. Too bad we didn't have time to stop and check it out.
As we drove in to Saissac, we were impressed by the last kilometre. Because of the Tour de France and other big races, when I think of a last kilometre, I see a big, wide, straight road. This wasn't anything like it!
A steep uphill, followed by a right turn, then a double (!!) and short left turn, then uphill, turning to the right again and then at 120m from the finish a 90° turn to the right, and then keeping on turning right to the finish line. Talk about complicated.
We found a cool place underneath the trees, very welcome in this heat. I walked to the finish line to await the girls with cold drinks. The best thing was that, from behind the finish line, you could look down and see the downhill final kilometre really well. Sara Carrigan was the first one we saw flying down, then a group with Trixi in it, then a group with Judith and Madde. So then I had to wait for Petra, Conny and Margie.
I saw them coming down the hill, and then the radio on the motorcycle next to me yelled "Chute, chute!" ('crash!'). Already fearing the worst, I was on the edge… all my senses just sharpened: my hearing got better, my eyes saw clearer… and I saw two of my blue jerseys in the back of that group. I knew something was terribly wrong. Girls from other teams warned me that one of mine had crashed. Then Petra and Margie, arrived: "Conny crashed!!"
I took off like a torpedo. Now, I'm a really bad runner, bike riding and inline skating is fine, but running! DOH! In my sandals, downhill…. I didn't even have the air in my lungs to be running that hard, I just gave everything I had in me, to make it down to her. There she laid, all rolled up, the poor little thing. She had lost consciousness and they had put her an oxygen mask on. Jens got there the same time as I did, and also Petra, Judith and Margie still came down. We called her name to try and wake her up. It is so scary to see one of yours just laying on the street, so vulnerable.
The people standing around her really pissed me off. Crash tourists! How could the poor girl get air if everyone was standing bent over her?
I was so happy when she opened her eyes. We checked her on injuries and tried to put her up straight, which seemed to work. However, they still wanted to take her to the hospital, since she had lost consciousness for about 30 seconds.
The logical decision was for me to go with her. It took forever for a second ambulance to come, as the one that was there, had only one paramedic… the one driving it. I really didn't understand that. An ambulance follows for safety reasons, but if something happens they need to call on another one? Whatever.
Conny was pretty shaken up. Most of all very angry, because a Czech girl just pushed her out of the turn. In that double left turn, that I considered so dangerous, Conny was on the outside and the other rider went straight, and just ran her off the road. Very frustrating to crash when it's not your own fault!
The drive to the hospital took forever. The paramedics were nice though. And for Conny it was obviously a relief to have me there as translator. Having to go to a hospital abroad is a nightmare if they don't speak your language and you don't know what they're saying.
The emergency doctor was really nice. They patched up all the road rash, checked her elbow to see if it was broken and did a neurological exam. They wanted her to stay in for 24 hours, under observation, but in the end she really wanted to come back to our hotel, so she got released at own risk against doctor's advice.
That meant that I needed to wake her up every two hours during the night to check vitals.
By 21h30 we were back in the hotel. We were both exhausted. This stress just kills you. You stay uptight and focused during the whole situation, but as soon as the pressure falls off your shoulders, you just break down.
I almost fell asleep immediately, and that's what I'm going to do now.
Stage 8 - May 24: Axat - Axat, 123km
After the hot day yesterday, we totally got the opposite today! Cold and pouring rain, no hope whatsoever of even one little ray of sun. And a very hard mountain stage, with one 1st category climb and two HC (hors catégorie). Very small and narrow field roads.
We decided to split up for the feed zones. I went with Ruud from Powerplate to the first HC climb, and Thomas went with Adri, Ruud's colleague to the second HC climb. That way Ruud and I could prepare everything at the finish.
At the start when I put oil on Judith's legs, I swear to you I could feel how good they were! Somehow I just know, but don't ask me to explain it. She laughed with me, "You're just trying to boost my morale!" We'll see, babe.
On the climb where I fed, there was a break away with all the leaders from the GC. And my own Judith and Trixi! Such a good feeling! Then it was waiting for the others. I had made a couple of extra bottles for whoever wanted one. Those poor girls in that awful weather!
After the feed, the race went straight down to the finish. Luckily there was a hall some sort of party was happening that night, and we could use that to set up finish stuff in the dry and warm. We even had hot water on tap, so I could give the girls warm water to wash off with. I had hot tea ready, their after-race protein drinks, and all the rest of the things they needed. I got their jackets out of their bags, so I could give them something warm to wear straight after the finish. Little did I know that was gonna be the last thing on their minds!
Three kilometres before the finish Judith still needed to make up 11 seconds on Lyne Bessette to take over the jersey. It was so exciting! Judith came in third, as Suzanne Lungskjog won, but the important thing was the time gap between her and Lyne. We both immediately started our watches, to get the time difference. We just waited quietly next to each other.
The joy when it turned out we had taken the jersey was overwhelming! I stayed on the finish line to wait for the others to come and every time I saw one of my blue chicks, I put my arms in the air and jumped, so that they'd know. They all wanted to get to Judith as fast as possible. A lot of hugging!
The amazing thing was the number of people that came to congratulate me on the finish line. Every one seemed so genuinely happy for Judith. A really nice feeling.
As soon as everyone was there, I went inside to clean up and help them get ready. There were still a lot of girls coming in, frozen. I helped where I could. And still it was pouring!
Straight back to the hotel, and I bet there's wine for dinner!
It will still be a hard day tomorrow, I just hope my girls are strong enough to make it. But I believe in them. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
Hasta mañana,
Ellen
