October 15, 2008 (Italy) – Quietly and consistently Columbia has achieved something outstanding during the last season. We have been winning races since the start of the year and the team never relented, taking far more victories than any other team – and doing it on all terrain, and at every type of event. I am now riding in Italy at our final races of the season. This Saturday at the Giro di Lombardia it will be over, and we’ll start focusing and planning for 2009.

The team’s success was the result of many factors: the right combination of riders, both young and veterans, the sprinter and climbers, the right management and a certain fire that we had to prove our worth after a tumultuous season in 2007. Leaders worked for domestiques, domestiques became leaders, and the majority of the riders on the team won a race. We sacrificed for the goal and for the team, which only built our morale, team spirit, and victory count. On a bad day a leader did not sit in the back and ride out the race, as many others would, but got to the front and worked for the team, and the goal.

The season finished off as it started, with victories. I slowly found the form that I had missed for over a year, and with that came confidence to perform at the highest level again. Cycling is not only my job but also a big element of my life and my passion – for that I never gave in to difficulty. At the start of the year, I struggled to find fitness, but on the front of the group, working for the team, I built on a base, found some speed, and gained confidence. Never scared to take the race in our hands the team became stronger; individually we worked harder, and as a team we learned to work together smoothly.

I spent much of the season racing with my teammate Craig Lewis. Craig has come back from a life threatening crash, and has endured more in his 23 years than most experience in a lifetime. He knows and values his good fortune, and with this understanding has come maturity. He doesn’t take anything for granted, and works hard at each race and at home, never complaining. This season Craig likely spent more time at the front of the peloton than most other riders. He rode for the sprinters to control the race, defended race leader jerseys, and jumped into breakaways. At races where he had never previously competed he gained experience and confidence, pulling the peloton, and making riders with twice his experience suffer. Through the season he became stronger, mentally and physically, as a result of his time on the front. This is how our team grew.

With a broken rib from my crash at the 2008 Road Worlds I am looking forward to some time off the bike to heal and recover. Since the Worlds I have struggled to find comfort on the bike although my fitness is still reasonable. Despite the injury, I am here to help the team. The races here in Italy are typically 1-day competitions with challenging courses that wind through the countryside. Cycling history is rich here and autumn is ideal for riding. There is no better way to finish off the year.

Over the next month we will return home to rest and refocus before heading to our first training camp at the end of November in Mallorca. There we’ll meet our new teammates, get comfortable on our new bikes, and plan the schedule for the season ahead.