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Stepping up - The Chris Horner diary
From being the USA's top domestic rider for several years to riding for a ProTour team in the Tour de France, Chris Horner is always on the up.
A talented all-rounder, Chris had a successful year Saunier Duval-Prodir in 2005, and is now riding for Davitamon-Lotto. As one of the team's key men in the Vuelta, Horner will be detailing his progress in this special diary for Cyclingnews during the race.
August 31: It's the little things that count
Welcome to stage 6, or the aftermath of stage 6, I should say, since it’s over.
Today we were back to the flats, with a windy, flat and hot stage that travelled 177 km. It wasn't too long of a stage, unless you were the solo rider who broke away after 10 km and spent most of the rest of the stage going it alone. My feeling on the topic is still the same – I've got to hand it to him for making the attempt, but I'm still glad it’s not me! He was brought back, as usual, and Olivier Kaisen, one of my many ten foot tall teammates (honestly, they're all gigantic), went on the attack. He didn't survive, and it all came down to the predicted field sprint.
It’s been interesting here – all of the flat stages have been very low-key. No one has been interested in racing hard, so it’s been like riding in the gruppetto all day. Definitely a new experience for me! Since Robbie didn't make the time cut yesterday, the team objective will be to get Freddy up there for the sprints in the upcoming stages.
Today I was actually very ready to get the race started and move on to the next stop, since yesterday’s hotel was less than impressive – I know that sounds like a minor thing, but when I spend half a day on a bike and the rest in a hotel, it makes a big difference on the bike part if the hotel part is nice – quiet, comfortable and with good food! Oh, and with the temps still pretty hot – cool rooms! And since our hotels change almost every day, whenever we get a bad one, it’s comforting to know that it’s only half a day until we get to try our luck again – this time hopefully for a good one!
Personally, I'm feeling all right, except for a persistent saddle sore that just won't go away. I've been given a round of antibiotics to take, so hopefully that will heal things up so I can get back to business.
Also, it was exciting to hear that Christophe has been brought out of his coma and is doing better – it’s always hard to hear about a teammate crashing, so it was nice to get some good news about how things are going! But please keep him in mind, since he has a long recovery ahead of him!
- September 17: Three from three
- September 16: A little taste of home
- September 15: Getting ready for the TT
- September 14: Team-mates got me through
- September 13: Total chaos
- September 12: The psychological warfare involved in peeing
- September 10: Looking for a rest day
- September 9: TT Time
- September 8: Lucky 13
- September 7: Karma?
- September 6: A delirious idiot
- September 5: Form is coming around
- September 3: A tall order
- September 2: Another big loss
- September 1: Looks can be deceiving
- August 31: It's the little things that count
- August 30: Survival in the mountains
- August 29: Calm before the storm
- August 28: A long, hot day
- August 27: Real racing
- August 26: Groundhog Day
