Team Slipstream diary

Throughout the year, Cyclingnews will feature a regular Team Journal from Team Slipstream/Chipotle, with entries from various members of the squad, who will share their experiences and feelings of competing in North America and Europe. Cyclingnews is proud to be a supporting sponsor of Team Slipstream/Chipotle, providing some of North America's most promising cyclists with a great opportunity to develop as riders, racing among some of the world's top racers in professional events.

Index to all entries

June 13, 2007

The bad luck bug

By Lucas Euser

I really wanted to write my next update on some behind the scenes, breaking the culture barrier type of stuff that I have been encountering here in Spain, however, if anyone has been following our teams efforts this year or just happened to run across the Euskal Bizikleta results you are probably saying to yourselves, "Oh, Slipstream, yuz got some 'splaining to do."

First off, if you haven't seen, don't bother looking, not one of us finished. That being said, here's an explain why. It seems that recently quite a few members of our team have caught the bad luck bug. Whether coming in the form of sickness or the extremely inopportune flat or broken spoke, this bug was destined to not give up until it got us all.

The bug was victorious at the 2007 edition of the Euskal Bizikleta. What should have been (take note) a wonderful three-day event in the heart of the Basque Country. Day one of the race everyone but one guy is filling up to par and ready to race their bikes; giving slack to the one we all start the weekend. By days-end we didn't fair so well; the one guy not feeling so hot from the gun and everyone else chalking it up to a bad day on the bike.

A little massage, a little dinner, a quick browse of the world wide web (and/or 20 minutes of incessantly refreshing my email account hoping someone has just happened to email within the last 10 seconds) then off to bed for everyone. Within about an hour I quickly realized things aren't normal and there is no way I'm getting any sleep.

Another hour of moaning, tossing and turning goes by and sure enough the sounds of my stomach turning are shadowed by sounds of what seems to be extremely painful vomiting coming from at least two other rooms in the quite hallways of our quaint little mountain hotel. Next thing I know my roommate is booking it to the bathroom and sounds of stomach lining being torn out are becoming common as crickets on a warm summer night.

As the roosters crow there are four more of us down from what seems to be food poisoning, but not everyone has it... yet. So five down (remember original guy from first stage) and three to go. Stage two starts, two of the five tried to start but didn't make it past the first 20 kilometres, one more guy finds his way back to the cars thinking he is just having a bad day and then he barely makes it to the finish. Needless to say he didn't start Stage 2b, the rain soaked TT that ended up getting cancelled for the last six riders due to an apocalyptic type storm that decided to roll in.

Count? Six down, two more to go. While those guys are racing, or attempting to race, my roommate and I don't leave our bed, only standing to make the few rather rapid steps to the bathroom. For the entire day and, if you count the night before, a solid 24 hours. The brief attempt at dinner then right back to bed made it a good 33-34 hours straight in bed, I think that's definitely my personal record.

We are down to the morning of the last stage, two guys left. Wait, scratch that, one guy hasn't slept and has been driving the porcelain bus all night so he's not starting. One guy left, our only hope, our saving grace, makes it 80 kilometres into the day. He had regurgitated his breakfast multiple times before calling it quits in the feed zone.

Done, terminado, finito. The entire Slipstream team taken out. By what? Who knows. Some say food poisoning, some say a virus or even an evil Basque stomach demon. Wish I could tell you the reason. Most of us are doing better, some still hurting a little, but it passed relatively quickly. Regardless it was the most miserable three days I have spent in a long time. As our Spanish mechanic put it, it was "un puto desastre," but in true Slipstream fashion we ride as a team and we go down as a team.

I promise my next update will brighter and more encouraging, but just remember even as pros we have to fight through the bad to get to the good.