Well, racing in Holland is something special: narrow roads with islands, speed bumps, mini-medians, roundabouts, poles, cobblestones, cars, tractors, people, train tracks, etc. The prologue yesterday was relatively subdued given that it was only me, but when you try to jam 180 cyclists on roads only as wide as a bike path, something not so fun is going to happen. In the neutral zone alone today there were 4-5 crashes. I can say that I thought this race would be ok (maybe out of ignorance) until we did the neutral roll out. Then my nerves were on high alert. I fought as I could, but it just isn't my cup of tea. I'm too safe, unwilling to take crazy risks, and too willing to grab my brakes. Perhaps if you're used to this kind of racing, it is ok, but I saw too many crashes today to make me happy. Anyway, I also didn't seem to have the legs. The wind was strong all day and after countless accelerations and echelons, I couldn't do it anymore. I'm disappointed because I thought that if I could survive today, I would have a chance of a good overall this week, but that disappeared now. So instead I will have to try and get into a breakaway to go for a stage. Really hope I can do that!
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