Today was the first big day with some significant hill climbing. Again, the major player in today’s contest was the wind.
Discussing strategy before the race with Directeur Chris Georgas

Brooke Miller won the only bonus sprint of the day at 30-Kilometers into the race. As a result, Brooke was again today’s Red Jersey winner.

Some bad luck: Ruth Corset crashed when another rider and a big gust of wind cut across her front wheel. Ruth’s right-hand break lever and shifter was destroyed by the crash, so she needed to take a new bike from the team car. That lost her a lot of time–it was simply not realistic to get to the front of the pack.
Fast Feed.

A rider’s best friend is the team “Sougnier”. Think of the sougnier as physical therapist, emergency medical care, chef and psychiatrist all rolled into one. And, TIBCO has one of the best. Meet Martin. 30+ years in cycling and 15-years as a sougnier with national and pro teams.

Matrin is also in charge of snack time out on the race course. As the team’s sougnier, it’s Martin’s job to locate the “Feed Zone”, a pre-defined area about 50-kilometres into the race where he will restock racers with food and drinks. It’s important to find a good spot in the road for the “in-flight meal”–one that’s wide and smooth so it’s easier for the racers.

The feed zone has its own set of unwritten rules. No attacking in the feed zone–it’s quite impolite to start a sprint while your competitors are slowing to eat. Please don’t wait until the last minute to line up to grab your lunch bag because you might take down a close-by rider. If you’re the new rider, you’re expected to go to the back of the pack, grab water bottles and take them to your lead rider.