Tdu stage 5

A special treat for Aussie cycling fans today with arguably the nations premier race finishing atop the famed old willunga hill faking on Australia day. The day was duly won by a perfectly executed attack from Simon gerrans which made it a very Aussie victory. Aussie boy, aussie team, and great Australian victory. The crowd was incredible as it always is on this stage every year at the tdu turning the willunga climb into Australian cyclings very own collasium!



I had high hopes for today but these quickly evaporated early into the stage. The pain in my ribs was just unbearable today and I could not handle the pace. Despite the supportive work of all my team mates to keep me fresh for the climb. I was unable to handle the sharp pain when the race hit full speed on the climb and simply to do no more than sit up to avoid risking any further more serious damage. Not being able to take a deep breath or accelerate out of the seat unfortunately makes racing at the world tour level very very difficult! Anyways it has been a good exercise in dealing with such an injury and while. Hope I don't ever have to endure it in a race again I will be even better prepared should it occur in the future. It simply has not been my week here in Adelaide so I am looking forward to the final stage then getting home and getting stuck into some solid training and ensure that I am front and centre prepared next time I hit the starting grid in Europe. As a team it has also been a challenging week with all bar 1 rider crashing and nursing nasty bumps and bruises. Most importantly as a group we have not allowed it to get us down and kept a positive outlook on each day knowing that the tide will turn for the bright green jersey very very soon.



Cjw





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