This week has seen the arrival, for the first time ever, of the ProTour to North America.  Riders and staff from Europe made the trip across the Atlantic this past Tuesday on a chartered plane from Paris.  A few lucky leaders had the cushy seats of the business class, while the rest were cramped in the back.  Regardless of how they traveled, each is dealing with some serious jetlag at the moment.  Just being around my teammates, I too feel like I traveled from Europe, and I have quickly fallen into the routine of passing out in bed just past 9 o’clock.

The weather in this part of the world at the moment resembles early winter.  Grey skies, passing showers and howling winds are ever present.  With the first race set to take place tomorrow in Quebec City, we are all hoping that the sun is able to push through the cloud-cover.  The course seems to be quite technical and undulating.  And if you threw in some wet conditions the race would be made in a matter of a few laps.

My first impressions of Quebec City so far are all positive.  The city is very beautiful, and is as close to Europe as you can possibly get, maybe too close.  Most locals really believe that this is France, and I have found that they seem to speak even less English than they would even in France.  Quite surprising as I sit in my hotel room watching Al Roker drive a streetcar through New Orleans on the Today Show.