Where do I start?

Where do I start?

First of all, I would like to talk about the amazing performance of my fellow countryman, Philippe Gilbert. What an amazing 10 days it must have been for him to put himself into cycling history. To pull off four of the major one-day classics of the year in such an impressive way has made a mark in Belgian cycling that will be hard to match for a long time. I also have to say that even with all his success, Philippe is the best representative of how — despite being a super star — to stay humble. He provides an excellent example for young athletes: Even if you are winning big races and are dominating a sport, it is always important to acknowledge your teammates, sponsors and competitors.

Now on a Trek-Livestrong side, I was telling you how some of my riders were having doubts and were dealing with injuries and illnesses going into the Tour of the Gila.
The boys did an amazing job on Day 1, finishing 3rd (Joe Dombrowski), 5th (George Bennett) and 20th (Dale Parker). With such a good start, we decided to wait until the time trial to reassess our plans for the rest of the week. Day 2 ended in a bunch sprint and Joe Lewis scored some important points in the sprint classification.
I knew going into the time trial on Day 3 that our best chances for good results would come from Michael Vink who ended up 8th and Dale. Dale blew me away by winning the time trial. He is only 18 years old! (My first “wow!”)
Day 4 was the downtown Silver City criterium, where we were hoping that Joe Lewis could score some more points in the green jersey competition. He grabbed some points before the final sprint and crossed the finish line with a two-arm victory salute. (My second “wow!”)
The last stage is the hardest and most decisive for overall classification. At this point, we were in 4th (Dale), 6th (George) and 12th (Joe Dombrowski) overall. George was the last rider to stay with the untouchable and eventual winner of the Tour of the Gila, Francisco Mancebo. George showed impressive talent climbing. He unfortunately had to let Mancebo go 10km from the finish. That left all his hard work unrewarded when the following group caught and passed him 5km from the line. Remember his name because I can guarantee that George will have a brilliant career. He showed guts, character and great talent. Joe Dombrowski and Dale ended up 3rd and 4th on the stage, ending a week that I wouldn’t have dared to dream of going into the race.
Trek-Livestrong won the team overall classification, the green jersey with Joe Lewis and the best young rider classification with Dale, who, by the way, ended up 2nd in the individual classification. Joe Dombrowski was 6th overall and I am on my way home as proud as any sport director could be.
Hell yes!