April 16, 2008 – Two weeks ago, when friends asked what race was up next for me, and I replied, “Pais Vasco” (also known as Pays Basque), their responses were always similar – an expression of sympathy combined with a cringe, as if I had just told them I was just about to have a tooth pulled without anesthetic.

The race is notoriously tough due to the relentlessly hilly stages – most stages have between 4-7 climbs – bad weather, and the aggressive and motivated peloton of Spanish climbers that see the race as one of the highlights of their season. The reason it is so popular amongst the Spaniards is that the Basque country is the heart of cycling in Spain and the stages attract large crowds and substantial media attention. Most Spanish cyclists are Basque and for them it’s at the pinnacle of the season as the Vuelta never passes through the Basque country due to their separatist culture.

Although the race is hard it’s also beautiful in the sense that the more a cyclist suffers the sweeter the victory but also because the countryside, even when it is pouring down with rain, is some of the most scenic in Europe. There are thousands of little mountain roads winding through the lush green woods that are quiet and serene as we climb up; and, then loud and raucous as we reach the summits covered in fervent Basque fans.

Team High Road went to the race not knowing what to expect. Kim Kirchen, one of the team leaders, was coming up to form from an average spring but had yet to perform at a high level; Lovkist was returning from illness; the Italian duo of Pinotti and Possoni were finding their stride but had yet to win; and the rest of the team, including me, was still trying to get the race fitness we needed for the spring classics or Georgia, and in the Basque Country we were hoping to find it.

The workloads in Pais Vasco cannot be emulated in training. The power peaks on the climbs, and the averages are higher and are sustained for longer periods than possible in a training session while the relentless accelerations on the small roads can only be paralleled while motorpacing. As long as a rider can come out of the race healthy he will find some good form in the weeks following the race.

The team did much better than expected. One morning in our team meeting, which takes place an hour before the race in the team bus, our director said, “I have a feeling we will win a stage here.” Nobody was really expecting much from our team but we had morale and spirit, and in cycling that can take you to the line first. That afternoon, Kim Kirchen won easily in a field sprint just ahead of Road World Champ Paolo Bettini (Quickstep). The team had ridden well for him and the victory boosted our morale to another level.

The following morning Morris Possoni jumped in an early breakaway and fought until the final kilometers only to be caught 10km before the finish line. He was disappointed he was caught after such an effort, so the following stage he attacked again and found himself in a breakaway early in the stage that he was hoping would stay away until the finish. This time it looked as though the break would stay away, and it did, right until the last meters when the field sprint caught Morris from behind and Kim passed him at the line for the victory. It was an impressive effort by both Kim and Morris on a tough stage.

I enjoyed some good moments during the race where I was able to do a solid job for the team up front and was also consistently climbing well until I had some Achilles tendon tension on the last two days. I was unable to walk without pain and pedaling for four hours was even more difficult. I had to ride less aggressively on the climbs and final time trial so I wouldn’t damage it anymore. Now that I’ve had a few days rest I feel back to normal, the tendon has healed, and I am looking forward to the coming Ardennes Classics next week.