| Langkawi Home |
| Races & Results |
| Startlist |
| Photos |
| Map |
| News |
| Features |
| Diaries |
| 2003 Results |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
9th Telekom Malaysia Le Tour de Langkawi - 2.2
Malaysia, February 6-15, 2004
Rider Diaries
 |
Mountain Man: The Roland Green diary
Nationality: Canadian
Team: Canada
Dual world MTB champion Roland Green proved his worth on the roads of Malaysia in 2003, winning the King of the Mountains prize and finishing fourth overall. This year, Roland wants to win. Stay tuned to see whether the mountain man can do it.
Echelons? Who said echelons?
Maur, Stage 6 start, February 11, 2004
Two days ago on the road to Tampin (Stage 4), with three KOMs along the way, I really wanted to test my legs and see how I was feeling. (Roland attacked a third of the way up the second Cat 2 KOM of Bukit Pass, but was quickly brought back by Colombia Selle-Italia - Ed). It wasn't to try and break away or anything, but just to test how I was going on the climbs. My legs responded OK - it's not the form that I had last year, but it's good.
Yesterday, I was really happy how we rode as a team. For Eric to win and us to get the first place on team GC and move up to fourth, that was cool, and it's coming together for us now. For me, I wasn't happy, but I wasn't surprised. I kind of died at the end a little bit - I didn't really have the power. But it's pretty much all I could expect, y'know.
Sometimes its good to come back into form slowly. At this level, it just takes the tiniest little bit, and you see the difference. Just those extra couple of pounds of body fat can make the biggest difference.
The team objective today is to be active in the breakaway. We want to get in a good break, and for that break to make it to the finish. But there's so many teams with good sprinters and we haven't had a bunch finish yet, so it's going to be a lot harder to stay away. It's not going to be a case of just rolling off the front.
After Cyclingnews' Tony Tan asked whether I was concerned about the echelons that might form today, I'm a little concerned now... I wasn't really thinking about that (thanks Tony!). I was thinking today was going to be more of a tail-crosswind. So echelons for sure, but not the worst kind of echelon that forms in direct crosswinds. Every day I'm feeling more and more comfortable in the peloton, so in any echelon, it's just a matter of getting in the front or organising enough guys to get another line going. If I'm in trouble, I know I'll have some help, but it's also a matter of how fast the stage is going; I mean, if it's going really fast, there's only so much your team can do.
The nerve in my left hand's giving me a bit of trouble, so I'm wrapping some medical tape around the bars. Just because my hands are so bloody big eh! From now, it's just a matter of doing the best ride for both Eric and I up Genting. Genting... that's really all it comes down to - and being as active as we can throughout the rest of the race.
See you guys,
rg
Editor's note: Roland finished in 70th place today, the same time as winner Ivan Quaranta. He is currently placed 15th on the overall classification, 2'45 behind overall leader Marlon Perez.
