Tour Feminin en limousine

24^th – 27^th July 2008

Stage 1 – 4, 6 km prologue

Stage 2 – 121 km

Stage 3 – 123km

Stage 4 – 96 km

From Tour of Bretagne to this tour

I only had 3 days in between to rest and recover Together with 18 hours driving
from and to the next tour. For me it wasn’t enough and from

the way I felt in Bretagne I should have known I would be tired.

I have to add that I am the only girl in the team that did al 3 tours (la Grande boucle, tour of Bretagne and tour of Limousine) and we were only 2 doing both Bretagne and limousine, with a hard training camp in the Alps

I had to get trough all 3 tours to get into form for a really hard 8 day stage race in France next month (Le Route de France) and also because July's training was important for building up to World championships, if I get selected to go. Arriving a bit late in Europe I am still racing fresh and the races can only make me stronger.

I tried to give my best in the prologue but my results showed that I wasn’t my normal self,

and Dany (Team manager) said I must just ride to finish it. But honestly to ride every day hurting from the start isn’t fun.

I started feeling better as the tour went on, but the stages were still extremely hard.

It was a hilly tour with no flat roads. I am just glad it’s over.

I'snt this just the most beautiful post office you've ever seen. It was at the start of our last stage in France

My next races are Saturday and Sunday in Germany, Sparkassen Giro UCI 1.1.

The woman’s race is in the morning and the men in the afternoon. I am so happy to have a full 5 days with no travelling, racing and training campsJ. Tomorrow I will definitely be going for an easy spin to the nearest coffee shop for “pannekoeken en koffee verkeerd, alstublieft”