I woke up to sunny and clear skys again this morning.  Stage 1 is a very late start at four in the afternoon, so the team and I did a morning ride to check out the course, very flat and wide roads. On the way back to the hotel we made a stop at the Hard Rock Cafe for a coffee. A very cool building with glass flowing down the side as if it were a waterfall.  It would be something to see it in the rain.  The race organization is doing a great job so far, with setup, hotels and promoting. They even had volentiers handing out race flyers all over town, and about a hundred kids racing this morning.

This race itself was quiet boring to tell you the truth. I felt bad for the 75,000 fans that turned out to watch. Everyone knew it could only end in a field sprint. A few minutes into the race two guys rolled up the road and a few minutes after that the voice in my ear(Tristan) was telling me to start riding. Ride I did. For 16 kilometers alone before Saxo finally agreed to put two guys up there with me. They each did thirty seconds and flicked their elbow signaling me to come back to the front. Seriously? I just pulled for over twenty minutes, I might need more than a minute to recover…  Anyway, we continued through the motions and pulled it together for the finish. The only problem is we were 2nd today. A great result, but not exactly what we’re use to.

Somewhere between the Dauphine and the Tour of Poland I hit the reset button.  The feeling I have now is the same I have at the very begining of the year. My legs are fresh and more importantly my head is fresh.  On the ride today I was even out there like a junior doing sprints to open up for the days to come.

Poland is far from what I had expected. Green grass, clean streets and even some very nice food make this a very pleasant corner of the world.  Adam Hanson, Michael Albasini and I headed out for a short hour ride through the center of Warsaw.  It is basically the essance of a business center, which was nice as all the six lane roads through town were empty of cars since its Saturday. Tomorrow’s stage should be one for the sprinters, 108k and dead flat. We have André Gripel, so that means that I will be spending most of the day on the front keeping it together for him.  Tomorrow will not be the only chance for André as there are many flat days this week. Let’s go win some stages.