Here is a quick recap of the past couple of days of my life.  The final stage of Poland was spent riding the front of the peloton in hopes of setting up a field sprint for Andre.  Through the mountains, blowing winds, constant attacks and wet conditions, we managed to bring the race together in the closing kilometers and Andre did what he does best and won the sprint.  It was a hard fought victory and a tough way to end a weeklong stage race.

A short night of sleep followed and I was soon in the Krakow airport before 5:30AM heading back to Spain.  Two flights and a long taxi ride later I was finally home in Girona just in time for a great lunch on the patio with Courtney.   We spent the rest of the afternoon catching up at one of the many sidewalk cafes in town.  A solid night’s sleep in my own bed and the new day brought even more adventure.

An easy spin, to loosen up my sore and tired legs, around town with my agent, Andrew, and then back home to try to enjoy each passing moment with Courtney as I was heading back to the Barcelona airport that afternoon.  This time, the plane is bound for Lyon, France as the five-stage Tour l’Ain begins tomorrow with a 3-kilometer prologue.  As you can see, the life of a professional cyclist can be hectic at times.  You just have to roll with it and take each moment as it comes.

The Tour of Poland has treated us well so far this week.  Dry conditions and some exciting finishes have made for an enjoyable week.  HTC-Columbia already has one win in the bag, but we are still looking to add to that tally as well as have a rider or two in a good spot on the general classification.  Even though a few of the stages have been raced at a snails pace at times, we have been faced with plenty of challenges and each day has been increasingly harder.

Each day we have finished on a very technical and quite dangerous circuit.  The roads alone are hard enough to navigate.  Potholes are so sporadic that you have to remain 100% focused at all times.  And even when the roads are smooth they ride as if you were surfing the asphalt.  The Polish seem to be missing an important link in their road construction equipment, the steamroller!

On the finishing laps, railways, cobbles and off-camber turns are added into the mix.  These conditions open the door for anyone with nothing to lose to take the win.  I am sure it is exciting to watch on the television, but at times I could think of better places to be!

Today and tomorrow will see the overall race sorted out.  Plenty of hills are still ahead of us and the racing is just getting faster.  It is pretty obvious that many of the riders here put in some serious time on their bikes this summer.  I am feeling good heading into the final stages, just need some luck and to deal with a great deal of suffering and a good result will be waiting for me on the weekend.

The Tour of Poland is now underway as we head out for the 2^nd, and longest, stage of the race today.  I am packing up as we are leaving our massive hotel-built from some Polish black money, no doubt-that is far removed from even the remotest village.  I am not sure what would bring customers to this resort, or if they have ever, until today, filled the thousand rooms it probably contains.

Warsaw, and the surrounding landscape are dead flat, but after we finish today we will be in the foothills of some surprisingly big mountains that border Slovakia and the Czech Republic.   It will take us some 250-kilometers to get down there on some boring roads, but the sun in shining and there will be plenty of fans waiting for us on the finish circuits.

Yesterday was a nice opening stage.  Not too much stress and a good way to ease into the race.  HTC-Columbia took control of the race from the beginning while every other team had some sort of excuse for not helping us.  Seemed like every other sprinter in the race had some kind of issue and was on a bad day.  Yet, when the finish came, lo and behold, everyone miraculously overcame their illnesses and was mixing it up in the sprint.  A massive crash soon followed as we raced between narrow barriers at full-speed.  Fortunately, I escaped unscathed and will be one of the lucky ones to start today with all of my skin.

My journey to the Classics this year did not turn out the way I had envisioned just days ago.  The airspace never opened up here in Europe for the flights to run and my team was unable to work out any other options, waiting hours on hold trying to book any method of travel.  So I decided to take matters into my own hands and rent a car to drive the 1,300 kilometers to Belgium.  I found that even though the cost to rent a car for a one-way trip was approaching the 2,000 Euro mark per day, I could rent the same car and return it back to Spain for just 20 Euros a day.

My mind was made up.  I would pick up the car in Girona, drive to Belgium and race through Liege-Bastogne-Liege, then drive down to Italy to pick up Brendan Quirk for a few days of training on the Giro d’Italia course and finally bring the car back to Girona in early May.  I am tired just from writing about all of the driving ahead, but at least I know I will get to where I need to be.  The outrageous bike charges and the countless security screens that come with air travel will not be missed either.

Driving in Europe is not all that bad either.  I am amazed at how much the scenery changes in such short distances.  Being from America I am use to driving hours on end before I was out of the deserts of the West, or the mountains of North Carolina.  Here in the space of a couple hours you go from the arid landscape of Provence, past the high mountains of the Alps and you are in the rolling pastures covered in yellow mustard seeds that make up central France.  The scenery defiantly keeps the drive entertaining, but I was more than excited to pull into our team hotel late last night.  It was a long trip that took some thirteen hours from door to door, but I am happy I did it.  It is great to be back with the team and where I belong.  I hated watching Amstel on TV, and I didn’t want to be in that same position the rest of the week.  These races are some of the best of the year and regardless of how I feel after the long drive I can’t wait to race tomorrow.

For 2010, Fleche Wallonne has had a pretty significant course change.  As always we pass the infamous Mur de Huy three times.  With its slopes kicking up above 20% it has always been a deciding factor, but probably never more than it will be this year.  In past editions we would pass the Mur two times before the finish on the third trip up, but those first two times were always far out from the finish so the pace was calm.  This year the 2nd passage comes just twenty-nine kilometers from the finish, so it will play a vital role in the race.  The run-in to the 2nd passage will be chaotic, as we all know the race will be decided there.  HTC-Columbia’s goal is to have some riders up the road by then as with a finish like tomorrow it is always good to be a little ahead of the game.

After being sidelined last week with a throat infection I feel like my body is finally getting things sorted out.  The forced break has come at an opportune time.  With a big block of racing already under my belt a little rest has done my body and mind some good.  It is also Courtney’s last week here in Europe, so we have been able to enjoy our time together.  At least I have, since she has basically been taking care of my every need while I have laid around the house this past week.  I wouldn’t be surprised if she is ready to get back to the US and take a break!  But we have had a great time regardless.

It has also been nice to sit back and watch some of the racing action this week, with Flanders and Roubaix taking place.  There is no better way to get motivated for my races ahead than by watching these guys battle each other over the cobbles.  I really have an awesome couple of months ahead of me.  The Ardennes week is fast approaching.   I will be racing in all three, Amstel Gold, Fleche Wallone and Liege-Bastogne-Liege.  These are three of the biggest and most exciting races of the year for me.  The crowds and the courses make this week special.  Then it is off to northern Italy where I will check out the courses of the last week of this year’s Giro d’Italia.  A close friend of mine, Brendan Quirk, will be joining me in the Dolomites for a great week of training.  Then it is the Giro itself.  My first Grand Tour, I am not sure what else you can say about that!  As always in life, there is much to look forward to.

I am very glad to have the Volta Catalunya behind me now.  What a rough week, from hard times in the race to uncomfortable times out of the race.  I am just happy to be at home with Courtney.  It is has been over a month since I last slept in my own bed or was even able to prepare my own meals and just function as a normal person.  I am sure I will reap some benefits down the road from all of the racing this month, but for now I am just looking to relax!

Spring has arrived here in Spain.  The winds, coming from the south, are blowing stronger each day and bringing with them warmer temperatures.  A very welcomed change from the harsh winter we have endured.  After a few days on the couch, with long mornings of enjoying coffee, I should be back in working order.  Just in time for what might be the hardest week of racing of the year in the Basque Country.  The Vuelta al Pais Vasco is a race that strikes fear into every cyclist and whenever it is spoken of one word always comes to mind, “Ouch!”  The endless climbing will surely be great prep for the Ardennes and the Giro, but it will come with its fair share of suffering.  But I will have plenty of time next week to worry about all of this, for now it is all about enjoying life at home.

It is a strange feeling to be racing so close to home, but one I really like.  This year’s Volta Catalunya, like the past two editions I have competed in, started just down the coast from Girona in Lloret de Mar.  A very familiar prologue kicked things off, and the following day we started on the outskirts of Girona itself, in Salt.  I really feel spoiled to have a ProTour race that passes through Girona, as well as the US national championships taking place in my home in Greenville.  It is a taste of what it is like to be Belgian, for instants, and being able to race the Tour of Flanders, or many of the other big races near your home.  You know every corner, every hill and every pothole.  And you have that little bit of extra motivation to perform well.

I spent most of the first stage thinking about all of the training and suffering I had done on these exact roads to prepare my body for these races.  I also couldn’t help but notice how much easier we glide over the hills in the race compared to when I am training by myself.  I am always amazed at how fast the bunch can get moving when it wants to.

HTC-Columbia has already had a very successful Volta Catalunya.  The prologue went very well, and Mark Cavendish has made it very clear that he is back from some early season setbacks with a great win into Banyoles.  Within just a few short weeks of proper training and racing he is back to winning and showing why he is the fastest man on two wheels.

Now we head into the mountains, direction Andorra.  The next three days will be very difficult I feel.  There might not be a mountain top finish to any of the stages, but the roads will be constantly tilting up and down.  And if the previous races this year are any indication, we should see some epic race days ahead.

After finishing up the Volta ao Algarve with a fairly strong ride in the final time trail I am ready for what lies ahead. Spring has made its first appearance here in Girona, and my pale skin saw the sun for the first time this week. There is nothing quite like those first few warm days on the bike after a long a miserable winter. Those are the days when the hardest part is forcing yourself to turn your bike back towards home.

I feel my fitness is heading in the right direction now. After a rough start to the racing season, with two crashes, too many flat tires to count and the horrendous weather, I can say that the bad luck is behind me. Now I can look forward to performing well in Paris-Nice. I will spend this week in Girona working on some longer distances as there are many stages over 200 kilometers in Paris-Nice, and then next week I will head up to Nice with Courtney to meet up with some family and recon the last couple of stages. I can’t wait to see how it all goes. Much of my time lately has been spent daydreaming about wearing the white jersey after the prologue!

The Challenge Ciclista a Mallorca marks the start of the 2010 racing season for me. It is quite a strange way to begin as well. The five-day race looks like a typical stage race, yet the format is far from the usual. There is a final overall for the general classification, just like the Tour de France, but each stage is raced separately. Only if you choose to race all five days will you be in the running for the overall title. I know, it sounds confusing, but it is just like what I grew up racing a lot of in the South, the omnium.

Most teams bring over half of their roster here since ten riders can start each day (instead of the more normal six-nine) and it doesn’t have to be the same ten everyday. With some riders skipping a stage or two, spots open up for others, and you could see over fifteen riders sharing the week of racing.

It is a pretty nice way to roll into the season, and I feel it’s great for the fans as well. They get the chance to see twice as many of their favorite pros. The fans also get to ride out on the same roads that others, who are not racing, are training on for the day. A training camp with race days and twenty teams all in the same area is basically what it boils down to.

The first two days were rather flat, so I opted out of those and arrived here today ready for the final three stages in the mountains. Each stage seems to get progressively harder as well, and the weather is not the brightest in forecasts. But I am remaining positive that this will be a great start to the year. With all of the training I have done the past few week’s things couldn’t be better. I am just looking to erase all of those question marks that you typically start the season with. Will I be strong enough to finish? Will I be strong enough to be at the front? Could I be there fighting for the win? By the end of the week I hope to answer them all with a “yes.”