June 13, 2018 (Saint-Georges, QC) – As the caretaker of the riders, there is always something more the swanny can do to make life easier for the-. Some small detail you may have forgotten or a small idea you had not yet thought of.

Today that detail was tinfoil.

At breakfast in the team hotel today there was a large supply of really good waffles. While we have ample gels, bars, blocks and more for in-race feeding, sometimes the riders want something a little more solid. Today it was the waffles, and the riders wanted tinfoil at breakfast to wrap them to put in their jerseys. Of course I had not thought to bring a roll of tinfoil to breakfast at 6:30am, so the waffles were carefully wrapped in napkins and secreted away.

Today was a 177km rolling stage. It was hot, it was windy. While our riders projected confidence before the start, with several even lining up right at the front, I sensed a few of them were nervous and uncertain with what lay ahead. Our team’s mission is to develop young elite riders, so putting them in a position just outside their comfort zone is a good thing. It is part of the mission.

As the race got underway, Jocelyn, our bottle-filler-in-chief, and I, along with a caravan of all the other teams’ soigneurs, sped off to the feed zone. When the race came through the feed zone for the first time, all seven of our guys were in the main group. When they came through for the second feed, all seven were still there. And when they came through for the third and final feed, again, all of them were still in the game.

The boys were doing alright indeed.

Somewhere between the last feed and the finish, our rider Justin Purificati flatted and there was a delay in getting the team car to him. He chased back on, and spent a huge amount of energy doing so, and then got gapped again. In the same stretch of race, our youngest rider, 19 year-old Christian Gomes of Lethbridge, lost contact with the main group and rode hard to limit his losses to the finish line. The stage finished in a sprint and all of our other five guys finished in the main pack with the stage winner.

When we got back to the hotel after the stage, our most seasoned rider, Tim Rugg, said that today’s stage was the best he had ever seen Ride with Rendall perform in a race at this level and that, barring a mechanical or accident, it is looking like a very good week for the team.

Our guys did really well today and can be proud of their rides. I’m sure proud of them.

Tomorrow is a different beast with a summit finish on Mont Megantic. The forecast is for a high of 12 degrees and rain. That is going to take a lot of waffles. I’ll make sure to remember the tinfoil.