July 2011

There isn't much you can say about Le Tour that hasn't already been written a million times over. The world's biggest free sporting event is a circus that sweeps up more and more fans, stage by stage, year by year.

It's big enough to command the attentions from major high quality sponsors such as Skoda who, since 2004, have supported the young rider jersey and partnered the Tour de France. Their association with cycling has grown by the year and Condor are proud to have a brand that believes so heavily in the sport as part our team, Rapha Condor Sharp.

Skoda took the time to take us inside the circus on stage 15. The stage saw Thomas Voeckler retain the yellow jersey to the delight of everyone in France. Mark Cavendish and the organised HTC train took victory in the sprint and Mr Cavendish keeps the green sprinters jersey in the Alpes.

Fans lined the route for 190km waiting for ten seconds of cycling. The race, including the break, cars, team cars, support cars and main bunch stretched nearly 2km in length.The publicity caravan that had driven past hours earlier had the most dramatic and detailed floats you can imagine. At the finish huge free TV screens showed the race.

The only thing left to say is, when you watch the television coverage you get inspired but it doesn't begin to really scratch the surface. Try and visit the Tour de France, if you can. The atmosphere, the passion - there is nothing quite like it.

Vive le Tour!

Images from the stage are on our Flickr.

Mighty Rhys, our version of Thor - God of Thunder, shares his experience of stage racing, as a selected member of the Eastern Region Team.

Prologue

Only a short stage today, but a good opportunity to test the field and to see what kind of competition lurks ahead.

A short spin in the car from the Newport Campus, where most of the riders are staying led us to Llangybi [LLan-guh-bee]. Alex and I hadn't checked out the route for the individual Time Trial, so having found the start point, we set off in the car to drive the 4.2 mile course.

All was well until 3 miles in, when the course turned a sharp left and it was all uphill to the sky. My hopes of powering to an early advantage over a rolling TT course were dashed, and I saw Alex rubbing his hands together with delight. His petite frame was perfectly suited to the last section of the TT and saw him gain 5 seconds on me.

I clocked 12:28, Alex 12:23 - placing us 17th and 10th of a field of 100.

Day 2

Just got back to my room after a massage. Luxury.

Today wasn't a bad day. I lost no substantial time to my main opponents. However, a break got away very early on the first lap. I saw no GC contenders go away and I am still trying to conserve energy so as not to blow for the hillier stages - so I didn't chase. As the weather closed in on the 2nd lap the gap got bigger and bigger with no organised chase. The rain meant a lot of people had multiple punctures and mechanicals and the A-road sections were a bit sketchy.

I finished 22nd over the line in the first chase bunch with an overall time gap of +2:11 from the leaders - 17th in the GC. I'm hoping that the energy conserved today will help me in the days to come.

Tomorrow is a hard day with an early start. A lumpier and longer circuit, followed by a Team Time Trial in the afternoon.

Garmin data here.

The fancy footwear afforded to the riders of team Rapha Condor Sharp is now available in the store.

Ultra limited edition, the Easton EC90 carbon sole has been numbered up to 600. The Giro Factor shoe is dressed in the signature pink, black and white, known worldwide as the Rapha Condor Sharp team colours.

In the box you'll find a leather keyfob stamped with the shoe number and team logos.

One of our bike fitters, Rhys Howells, returns to his homeland this week. The Welsh lad is racing around the hills and valleys in the Ras de Cymru stage race.

Anatomy of stage race preperation

1. Bike (obviously!)
2. Lightweight wheels for road stage
3. Spare wheels for neutral service van
4. Deep section wheels for prologue TT and team TT
5. Spare Vittoria tyres in case the roads are very rough
6. Spare tubes
7. Helmet and glasses for the photos
8. Extra extra large and stiff cycling shoes
9. Cigarette lighter operated pressure washer for cleaning the bike, after the inevitable rainy conditions that Wales will inevitably present
10. Food and crockery for accommodation, gels, bars and recovery powder
11. Bucket with degreaser and lubes
12. Reliable track pump
13. Clothing: 2 jerseys, 2 sets of bibs, 2 base layers, 2 of everything else
14. Flag, reminding me of where I'm from, and where I'm going!