March 31, 2010 – In my last installment for my Pedal column I reflected on the start of the season and my challenges for the upcoming racing schedule. Well the true Classics are upon us now and a good chunk of my early season races have come and gone with the next batch about to begin.

Volta ao Algarve was a great start and went just as well as I had hoped with a result of 15th overall. Good hard racing in Portugal (the race was won by Alberto Contador) was just what I needed to start off my season. Next came Monte Paschi Eroica in Italy where I had wanted to give myself a chance to stand on the podium! Even though that didn’t happen I improved on my previous two years 10th place finishes and was in the final selection going for the win!

The podium was right there but I was unable to match the pace of the top 3 riders. I was able to hang on to 5th place out of a really solid field and was pleased to ride well once again throughout the extreme conditions of the rolling hills of Tuscany. That is truly a beautiful race and I am happy to have made my mark on it. Needless to say I’ll be looking forward to that race in 2011!

My body felt great the next week in Tirreno-Adriatico, but couldn’t pull off the GC standing that I would have liked. I was lacking that little bit of snap and power needed to factor into the really selective finals. I was around top 20 through the hardest days but that was as high as I was going to get. With no time trial in the 2010 edition my chances to better an 8th place from the last two years wasn’t going to happen. The second to last day was where I decided to stop fighting for the GC and focus on helping Tyler Farrar on the last stage. I was able to contribute during the extremely fast and dangerous final circuits to Tyler’s near victory and finished the race feeling good. This left me extra hungry and motivated for Volta Ciclista a Catalunya that was starting less than week later!

I write this shortly after completing my second Tour of Catalunya. Third only behind the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia in age for stage races! This year was the 90th edition and a perfect race for me to capitalize on good condition gained by the hard racing in Italy. This year’s race started in Lloret de Mar on the Mediterranean coast just north of Barcelona with a 3.6km prologue. It is less than a 45-minute drive from Girona and as the team is based here we were able to ride to the start hotel the day before the race!

Pretty cool to ride to the start of a ProTour race from your house – that was a first! Along with this I’ve enjoyed one of my best results ever (a 4th overall in 2006) at this race. This gave me extra confidence and I was very focused on giving my best. The opening stage was very demanding not in length but in the importance of time gained or loss in the wet and technical conditions. I was able to start the race with a result that set the tone for the week, a high GC placing! After a lot of hard stressful days of fighting over climbs and down descents all over the amazing region of Catalunya I ended the week on the same time as 5th, with 6th overall! Along the way with help of my Garmin-Transitions team and unlimited support of Christian Vande Velde I placed Top 10 on 3 stages, Top 15 on 3 other and the worst result a 21st.

I can say I am more than pleased with my consistent performance and ready to build even further through my final goals of the 2010 spring season. One more stage race in Spain at the Vuelta Ciclista al País Vasco sounds just right to find some more condition and make a final push for my run at the Belgian Classics of the Ardennes.

Liege-Bastogne-Liege is the last “Spring Classic” and I want to finish with a strong ride, close out the spring and switch gears for summer!

– Ryder