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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.
September 2: Another big loss
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Another day done, which means I’m one step closer to both the rest day and the end. Today we had a rolling stage, with one cat 3 climb. It seems like the race really got underway today, with lots of attacks and fast racing all the way around. It was nice to get things going.
However, our team suffered a big loss today, when our current GC leader, Josep Jufre, got caught and hurt in the big crash of the stage. He cut an artery in his arm on a road barrier, and it was bleeding too badly for him to continue, so he was taken to a hospital to try to get the bleeding stopped. That means that his race is over. I didn't see the crash, but Freddy did and he said it was pretty ugly.
It’s a big loss for Josep and for the team, since he was riding so well, which is huge, since he’s a Spanish rider in Spain’s biggest race. Personally, I had been looking forward to helping him try to break into the top ten. Josep has been a dedicated workhorse for the team, for Cadel and for myself all season, and I would have liked to help him have a great Vuelta in return. It was a big loss all the way around, but that’s the way bike racing goes – it’s easy to go from top to bottom in only a few moments, but hopefully he can bounce back fast and have a good ride in the remaining races of the season.
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The day pretty much ended up the way it started, fast until the finish, with a crazy final 2 km that saw sprinters and climbers both duking it out all the way to the line. I did a hard two km on the front going into the finish to help Freddy, but he ended up in front too soon, so it didn't work out. We’ll try again.
I keep thinking that something exciting is going to happen one of these days so I’ll have a good story to tell, but it hasn’t happened yet. So that’s all for now.
Thanks for reading,
Chris
- 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
