Thank goodness for a head wind ... yes, really

I didn't sleep great last night. Exhaustion is beginning to set in. Technically I'm halfway there now but it would be a major disservice to my brain to try and convince it that it was all downhill from here. My optimism was not high this morning thanks in part to the bad sleep and also because of the heavy legs I was dragging down to breakfast. Generally I felt quite lethargic and was gearing myself up for a day of survival, as though this whole experience has been anything but.

The first climb of the day was relatively calm -- a first in this Ras -- and everyone held on but clearly everyone had felt a little lethargic this morning because that climb was used to stretch the legs for the next time we went up the pace was back to its chaotic best. The Baku team, who obviously had no problems sleeping last night, led the bunch up it at a frantic rate. The peloton was strung out immediately and guys started drafting out the back. I got up over the top with what was left of the bunch just about in sight and a crowd of us chased hard and got back on when the momentum momentarily went out of the front of the race.

It's a rare occasion when you'll hear a cyclist give thanks for a head wind, but today was one of those times. A stiff wind for the next 80 kilometres meant that things went slower than normal and I could drift to the safe confines of the middle of the pack and save some energy. A break of three or so had formed just over a minute up the road and the pro riders were happy enough to leave them out there for a while. I don't think any of us county boys disagreed.



Still, a good headwind doesn't last forever and soon it turned into a cross-wind. This kind of wind is the most dangerous to a large pack because it sets up nicely the risk for splits in the bunch and that is exactly what started to happen. It was a rolling road with a third category climb in the middle and when the savages at the front began trucking, things got tough. There was little shelter from the wind if you weren't riding in the gutter and with every little lump in the road three or four more guys would pop out the back. If I could have got myself towards the front I was going to have a go at the sprint but it was so hard to get forward at all with the side wind. We were basically following the wheel in front and getting around anyone slipping out the back.

In the end I was just happy to finish in the main group and I think everyone in the race finished quite close to the days winner.

Now, if I have somehow made today sound like an easy day then you'll be glad to know tomorrow will be making up for it. 154.6 kilometres on the old saddle -- 100 of them flat before we hit five categorised climbs in the last 56 including one first category and two second categories. And if that doesn't sound like we're being worked hard enough, the stage after is probably the toughest of the race ... I mean, Ras, so far.