It’s been awhile, so here is an update of what I’ve been doing. Less than two weeks ago, after the race in Igorre, I attended the first meeting and presentation of the new team, Omega Pharma-Quick Step in Belgium. It was a lot of fun because both the sponsors and all the riders where there.
After that, the team left for some team building, but I went back to Mallorca. I’ve been carefully continuing to train and discussing the next steps to improving my fitness with trainer Peter Hespel. I hope we’ve now found a good balance. I’m not expecting miracles, but I do hope that I’ll race with a better feel. Actually, it couldn’t get much worse...
The weather in Mallorca was really nice for training and I enjoyed it. I even rode with Kreuziger’s dad. Tereza Hurikova, Jiri Jezek and a few other Czechs were there too. It was good for my motivation. Meanwhile, it’s now Thursday and I’ve been in Calpe with the team since Tuesday. But don’t worry, I’m returning to Belgium on Friday.
Yesterday I trained in the hills for four hours with a small group that included some big names: : Dario Cataldo, Sylvain Chavanel, Levi Leipheimer, Kevin De Weert, Bert Grabsch and Peter Velits. This is actually the first time I’m seeing how things work in a professional cycling team. Everyone is super motivated and works very professionally. I’ve never seen anything like it.
It’s really great for me to be here and be a part of this. This weekend I’ll focus more on cyclocross. Essen and Namen. I hope I’ll do well in these races and I hope to be back to my old self. My motivation is high and my moral is even higher, and my fitness...? Another month and a half of (hard) work! :-)