directors' direction to ride like pros on the front, try to harness 180 banitos, like trying to restrain a flock of humming birds.
the poo hit the fan on the first climb. we got swarmed a few hundred meters from the climb. . i busted around the left side and swung on to the front and tried a roberto heras before he got busted for dope and when was still on the postal team (he got busted while on liberty seguros) and held off the attacks to the top, then a few birds went flying .. garcia was on my wheel, closed the gap. . and then it went a little hay wire from there. . i was moving backwards and garcia on the front alone (stew, mCk, hanson rode STRONG on the flats) (we looked like champs on the front all day) (but ended up loosing both 1st place positions, so we weren't at the end of the day, but during it. . sayers would have been proud) i made the second group over the major climb and garcia was on the front group but had to close a gap himself leading into the last 1km climb to the line.. . so he got gaped at the finish. no more jersey, but, hey, now we can race our bikes again.
garcia said he would have liked to kiss the podium girls again. . he'll just have to wait another day or two.