May 18, 2005 – We are now at the first rest day and about half way through the Giro. The first half of the race has left much of the peloton bruised and battered as there have been several crashes and many riders have been counting the kilometers until the rest day.
The time differences between the hitters for the overall classification haven’t really changed all that much since the start of the race but in the next week it will quickly become apparent which riders will contest the final Giro podium.
On the rest days we wake up late, eat a normal breakfast, go for a short ride, have some lunch, get a massage, catch up on emails and phone calls, and try to relax as much as possible before we have to get back on the road again.
Paolo Savoldelli is looking stronger each day and is confident as we head into the mountains. He had a great time trial but in the middle of last week he lost 40 seconds when he was caught behind a crash as we approached the finish line. If he hadn’t lost the time there he would be leading the race in the pink jersey. The team has suffered a little in the last few days as Ryder sustained several bad abrasions from a brutal crash and our climbing ace Tom Danielson had to quit the race due to a knee injury.
Ryder pushed himself through some incredible pain the last couple of days so that he could get to the rest day and recover as much as possible before the mountains. Tomorrow we have our last flat stage before the hills begin. The stage is long but pancake flat with finishing circuits at the end. It will be one of the last days for the sprinters to vie for victory. We will simply try and keep Paolo out of the wind and as fresh as possible for the coming mountains.